Survey on Women Issue

Prelims level : Mains level : GS:1 Role of women and women's organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
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  • When women exercise their ballot, they are most likely to vote for a leader who makes battling crimes against women a priority, according to a survey conducted by Change.org.

About:

  • Women voters are most concerned about their safety, and the issue ranked top among a total of 39 issues that were polled as part of the survey.
  • Among the other top concerns for women were waste disposal, faster judicial process, pollution, and the supply of water and electricity. On the other hand, growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and jobs were the most important issues for men, and crimes against women ranked much lower at 15th position.
  • A total of 20,000 men and women participated in the study that was conducted online in January by Change.org, a website for petitions. The respondents included 16,000 women and 4,000 men, who are Change.org users.

Findings:

  • There was also general acceptance that women were grossly underrepresented in Parliament.
  • Unsurprisingly, out of the 40 issues, most likely to impact the Lok Sabha elections, female respondents ranked crimes against women on top. Men ranked it much lower (at 15th position) on the priority list.
  • Issues like education, freedom of choice in religion and freedom to marry out of their choice, marital rape, female participation in workforce, menstrual hygiene, girl child education, maternal health and infant mortality, environmental issues, waste disposal, air pollution and forest conservation were also listed as priority for women voters
  • The survey finds that women want to directly engage with politicians but are still uncomfortable with in-person meetings. They prefer digital petitions as a significant way of connecting with their elected representatives. The survey also shows that gender issues will play an important role in the upcoming General Elections.
  • The findings also show that while both women and men are most likely to vote a candidate on the basis of his or her track record in spending funds and raising issues in Parliament as well as on poll promises, a higher percentage of women (70.3%) voters are likely to be influenced by these criteria than men (66.54%).
  • Men, and not women, are more likely to be influenced by a candidate’s party, shows the study.
  • A total of 21.9% men and 17% women said they would vote for a candidate on the basis of her or his political party. Women also care about mental health, religious freedom and forest conservation more than men. Men worry most about GDP growth and jobs, rural infrastructure, corruption, police reforms, public transport, uniform civil code, and roads.
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