According to a report by the State Bank of India (SBI), a 1% increase in India’s literacy rate leads to a 25% increase in female voter turnout. The SBI report emphasises the key relationship between literacy and female voter turnout during elections in the country, ANI reported.
This means that an increase of 45 lakh out of 1.8 crore female voters during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections compared to the 2019 general elections could be due to improved literacy levels.
“We find that a 1 per cent increase in literacy rate leads to a 25% increase in female voter turnout ratio, which means an increase of 45 lakh female voters out of 1.8 crore female voters (2024 vs 2019 elections) is due to increased literacy,” ANI quoted the SBI report as saying. Further, the report highlights various factors that drive women voter turnout, with employment, literacy as well as the importance of home ownership being highlighted as key contributors.
Employment schemes: Flagship schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana also played a key role, adding 36 lakh additional women voters.
Sanitation: Sanitation is another important factor that contributed to 21 lakh additional women voters during last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Emphasising on the importance of sanitation facilities in shaping socio-political preferences for women, the report states, “Sanitation is responsible for the turnout of nearly 21 lakh additional women voters in the 2024 elections, indicating the paramount importance of sanitation in shaping socio-political preferences”.
Water and electricity: Some of the other factors that showed a positive impact on women voter turnout during elections include access to better drinking water sources and electricity.
However, the SBI report highlights that their impact was not observed to be statistically significant.
Home: Another big factor in women voter turnout is home ownership, especially under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. It has been found that 20 lakh additional women voters can be linked to the increase in home ownership.
It should be noted that 74% of the homes sanctioned under this scheme are owned by women, either singly or jointly. This shows its profound impact on empowering women across the country.
Meanwhile, the report has also examined various interstate differences in voter turnout.
With an intra-class correlation coefficient (rho) of 0.629, the study findings show that 62% of the variation in women voter turnout was due to differences between states, reports ANI.
Further, the SBI report highlights the need for a sustained focus on education, employment, and infrastructure to further empower women, thereby strengthening their participation in the democratic process.
