The need for gender equity in urban bureaucracy

The Hindu

24-06-2025

India is in the midst of a profound urban transformation. By 2050, over 800 million people, about half the population, will live in cities, making India the largest driver of global urban growth. As cities expand spatially, economically and demographically, they are rewriting the social contract of a modern India and shaping the future of its democracy and development.
In the last three decades, progressive constitutional reforms have advanced gender equity. The 73rd and 74th Amendments mandate 33% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Governments (ULGs), further strengthened to 50% by 17 States and a Union Territory. Today, women comprise over 46% of local elected representatives (Ministry of Panchayati Raj, 2024), as a rising presence of mayors and councillors.
However, the bureaucratic apparatus that implements their decisions remains overwhelmingly male. While women's representation in grass-root politics has increased, administrative cadres (city managers, planners, engineers, police) exhibit a stark imbalance, limiting the ability of cities to respond equitably to all citizens. As we invest in highways, metros, and smart cities, we overlook a foundational aspect of inclusive development — gender equity in bureaucracy.
The bureaucratic gender gap
Despite more women entering the civil services, the urban administrative architecture remains male-dominated. As of 2022, women constituted just 20% of the Indian Administrative Service (IndiaSpend-2022), with even lower representation in urban planning, municipal engineering and transport authorities. In policing, only 11.7% of the national force are women (Bureau of Police Research and Development-2023), and often confined to desk roles.
This gap is cause for concern. In cities, the engagement of women is different. They rely more on public transport, make multi-stop journeys for work and caregiving, and depend on neighbourhood-level infrastructure. An Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and Safetipin study found that 84% of women in Delhi and Mumbai used public or shared transport; it was 63% for men. Yet, urban planning prioritises mega-projects over safe, accessible, neighbourhood-level mobility. A 2019 Safetipin audit across 50 cities found over 60% of public spaces were poorly lit. With few women in policing, community safety initiatives often fail to resonate with women.
This underrepresentation is not superficial; it affects outcomes. Women officials bring perspectives shaped by lived realities. Studies by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations and UN Women show that they prioritise water, health and safety, and improve public trust in law enforcement through empathetic enforcement. Gender-sensitive design requires gender-diverse institutions.
Missed opportunity in gender budgeting
Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), which integrates gender considerations into public finance, is a promising but underutilised tool in India's urban governance. Introduced globally in the 1990s, GRB recognises that budgets are not neutral and can reinforce inequities if left unchecked.
India adopted a Gender Budget Statement in 2005-06, with Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Kerala leading efforts. Delhi has funded women-only buses and public lighting; Tamil Nadu applied GRB across 64 departments in 2022-23, and Kerala embedded gender goals through its People's Plan Campaign. Yet, studies by UN-Women and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy show that most such efforts suffer from weak monitoring and limited institutional capacities, especially in smaller cities. For many ULGs, GRB remains tokenistic, overlooking essentials such as pedestrian safety or childcare in urban planning.
In contrast, countries such as the Philippines mandate 5% of local budgets for gender programmes; Rwanda integrates GRB into national planning with oversight bodies; Uganda mandates gender equity certificates for fund approvals; Mexico ties GRB to results-based budgeting; and South Africa pilots participatory planning to anchor GRB in lived realities. These are not just fiscal reforms but also a reimagining of citizen-centric governance in cities.
Building inclusive cities requires moving beyond political quotas to ensure women's presence in bureaucracy. This demands systemic reforms in recruitment, retention and promotion across administrative and technical roles. Affirmative action, through quotas and scholarships in planning and engineering, is key to dismantling structural barriers.
Globally, countries as varied as Rwanda, Brazil, and South Korea show the impact of representation. Rwanda boosted maternal health and education spending; Brazil prioritised sanitation and primary health care; South Korea's gender impact assessments reshaped transit and public spaces and Tunisia's parity laws gave women more technical roles, improving focus on safety and health. The Philippines uses gender-tagged budgeting to fund gender-based violence shelters and childcare. Gender-balanced bureaucracies are not about fairness alone. They are essential for building safer, equitable, responsive cities.
The cities we deserve
As India aspires to become a $5 trillion economy, its cities must also aspire to be more than economic growth engines. They must become spaces of inclusion and equity. Gender must be mainstreamed into planning and implementation through mandatory audits, participatory budgeting, and linked evaluation. GRB should be institutionalised across ULGs, supported by targeted capacity-building.
Representation must also translate into agency, and help dismantle glass ceilings. Local gender equity councils and models such as Kudumbashree offer templates, especially for small and transitioning cities. Women are already reshaping governance as elected leaders. They must now shape how cities are planned, serviced and governed. When cities reflect women's lived experiences, they work better for all. To build cities for women, we must start by building cities with women.
Karthik Seshan is Senior Manager, Policy and Insights, Janaagraha