Socio-Economic Determinants of Women Leadership in Panchayati Raj in Odisha

This paper aims to report on socio-economic determinants of women leadership in Panchayati Raj in Odisha. Orissa was the first State to implement the Constitutional Amendments related to Panchayati Raj and held elections in 1997. The objective of the study is to assess the socio-economic determinants of women participation in local government across Odisha. The methodology chosen followed a two-pronged strategy, including quantitative and qualitative approach. The study thus adopted random sampling from across three Panchayats from each district/ block comprising three EWR's from Ward Member and Sarpanch Category followed by one PS member and one ZP member in each district. The study findings follow a logical flow presenting their broad profiles, the age groups they belong to, chief occupations and sources of income, educational backgrounds, the caste and religious group to which they belong and the type and size of families they hail from. All these attributes provided the necessary background to understand the trends of awareness, participation and performance of elected women representatives. Finally, the impact of elected women representatives' participation in their own and in their community's development is evaluated.