‘We aren’t even allowed to dream of a future in politics’: gender disparities in Indian youth political interest, engagement, and aspirations

Overview

Across countries and contexts, girls face structural barriers to their political engagement and leadership. This cross-sectional mixed-methods study investigated the moderating role of gender in factors shaping youths’ political engagement in India. Data from 602 high school and college-aged youth (68.9 per cent girls, mean age = 17) from 27 cities in India revealed significant gender disparities. Boys reported higher political interest, engagement, and career aspirations, while girls demonstrated greater awareness of gender inequities in politics. Age-related trends indicated that boys’ political engagement was higher with age, while girls’ remained constant. Conversely, girls’ awareness of gender inequities was higher with age, whereas boys’ awareness was lower. Hierarchical linear modelling analysis revealed that two variables were associated with youths’ political interest, engagement, and career aspirations: the extent to which parents politically socialised their children (such as encouraging their children to engage in politics) and youths’ awareness of gender inequities. Notably, political engagement was positively associated with political interest, but only for girls. While parent political socialisation was positively related to both boys’ and girls’ political engagement, its impact was more pronounced for boys. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses, conducted in collaboration with youth researchers, provided insights into youths’ perceptions of the gender gap in Indian political leadership. Participants attributed the gap to patriarchal norms, structural barriers, and prejudices about women’s abilities to be political leaders. Boys more often blamed women for not pursuing political careers, while girls pointed to systemic issues. These findings underscore the need for interventions to promote girls’ political engagement and leadership, and to educate boys about the structural roots of gender inequities.