Every Women’s Day, March 8, the conversation rightly revolves around equality and equity — or the lack of it. This year was no different. While our Constitution, with its emphasis on equality, prohibition of discriminatory practices, and mandate for pro-active measures to empower vulnerable sections, especially women, has undeniably fuelled progress, the pace of change remains agonisingly slow.

India now has over 1.4 million women elected at the grassroots. Thanks to the 73rd Amendment, at least a third of the roughly 250,000 gram panchayat leader positions are reserved for women, meaning there are at least 83,000 and more women sarpanches. The common idea prevails that their menfolk are the real decision-makers, not them. Even if we concede this silly speculation and only a small percentage are truly effective leaders, that number would still be enough to fill all our legislative assemblies and both houses of Parliament with competent legislators many times over.

Every Women’s Day, March 8, the conversation rightly revolves around equality and equity — or the lack of it. This year was no different. While our Constitution, with its emphasis on equality, prohibition of discriminatory practices, and mandate for pro-active measures to empower vulnerable sections, especially women, has undeniably fuelled progress, the pace of change remains agonisingly slow.

India now has over 1.4 million women elected at the grassroots. Thanks to the 73rd Amendment, at least a third of the roughly 250,000 gram panchayat leader positions are reserved for women, meaning there are at least 83,000 and more women sarpanches. The common idea prevails that their menfolk are the real decision-makers, not them. Even if we concede this silly speculation and only a small percentage are truly effective leaders, that number would still be enough to fill all our legislative assemblies and both houses of Parliament with competent legislators many times over.

And yet, we have only around 14% women in Parliament. This, despite women comprising over 48% of the electorate and a remarkable 66% of all voters in last year’s national elections. The fact that women constituted less than 10% of candidates fielded speaks volumes about their status within the parties. The enactment of the 2023 law providing for 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and assemblies promises radical reform, but the caveat that it will only become operational after the next census and delimitation of constituencies casts a long shadow of uncertainty over its implementation.

Attention to the economic position of women is not just a matter of social justice but it is a compulsion for progress. International Labour Organization’s estimates for 2024 point out that India’s female labour force participation is the worst among all the G-20 economies: It declined from 35% to 31% in the decade to 2023. It’s not surprising then that women contribute just 18% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Experts suggest that had there been parity in employment, an additional 235 million women in the workforce could have injected a staggering $770 billion to our GDP by 2025.

Women do toil, tirelessly, but often thanklessly. The wage disparity is a constant. The gap only widens as women climb the corporate ladder.

Even seemingly beneficial legislations, like the amendment to the Maternity Benefits Act, can have unintended consequences. While increasing paid time off for childcare is a positive, studies suggest it can also lead to less hiring of women, particularly in smaller businesses. A more radical and more equitable approach could have split time off work between father and mother, signalling that both should be equal caregivers.

Numbers do matter — particularly telling in the profiles of systems tasked with delivering justice. More present in subordinate courts (35%), women judges’ numbers dwindle to a mere 13% in high courts. Similarly, women make up only 12.3% of the police force. At the officer level, this dwindles to 8%. Though institutional efforts to make change have quickened, it has taken the police over a decade to go from 3% to just over 12%. The India Justice Report calculates that, given current recruitment practices, some states will take over 500 years to reach even 30% representation.

The National Human Right Commission underscores the resistance and compromise that exist against the very notion of equality. When, in 2019, a legislative amendment presented an opportunity for genuine representation at commissioner level, both government and the institution could not bring themselves to go beyond committing to anything more than having “at least one woman” as a member. Everywhere, the upper limit of the collective imagination seems to trap women into tokenism or cap women’s presence at 33%, as if suggesting parity is in itself an indication of temerity.

We know the numbers. We know the challenges. But the pathways to true equality remain obstructed by deeply entrenched traditional beliefs, cultural biases, and the ever-present threat of violence. For women to fully contribute economically and politically, they must be demonstrably visible in the public space. This requires an environment where their safety is assured. Delivering this safety is an imperative for the State.

The rising crime graph signals a positive shift. The increase in reporting and registration of crimes against women indicates that avenues for complaint are increasingly being used and pressure on the State to respond is growing. This is a sign of voice and agency, a welcome break with silence.

The State has a crucial role in leading social transformation and has indeed often taken steps to ensure women’s safety, illustratively, through legislation like the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act of 2013 mandating safe workplaces.

However, these advancements are often undermined by inconsistent implementation and societal attitudes. State actors frequently reveal an ambivalence toward women’s autonomy, with resorts to moral policing and victim-blaming instead of upholding constitutional guarantees of equality. Witness the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code, which, despite claiming to merely regulate and not intrude, mandates compulsory registration of live-in relationships under threat of punishment. The high court, in upholding this requirement, spoke of the “brazenness” in such unions. This prioritises societal norms over autonomy, putting moral policing over constitutional rights. Disconnects between progressive legislation and regressive attitudes, coupled with implementation challenges, has hindered the creation of a truly safe environment for women.

Overall, then, the status and condition of women continue to reflect discrimination and subordination. More alarmingly, the projected pace of progress suggests this lag will continue for decades. Unlike the rapid integration of technology, no discernible disruptor is on the horizon to accelerate the snail’s pace of women’s real-life change.

Environments everywhere must re-configure and acknowledge that hindering women’s fullest participation hinders the nation’s collective ability to achieve social justice and a thriving economy.

Maja Daruwala is chief editor, India Justice Report. The views expressed are personal