New Delhi: Change.org’s first nationwide survey #SheVotes has revealed that there is a strong wave in favour of more women candidates in politics. Both men and women responded that they would
vote for women candidates they felt were equally qualified.
The respondents to the survey felt that women were grossly underrepresented in the Parliament despite public opinion that women are “more likely to hear and connect with issues.”
The findings of the online survey conducted among 20,000 change.org users across the country, were launched at an event organised at Kamala Nehru College, New Delhi.where top women politicians across parties spoke about leadership opportunities and challenges women face in their political careers.
Speaking at the event, Sushmita Dev, President, Mahila Congress said, “Women’s role in politics as elected representatives and as voters has to be valued. Women are natural leaders. We are trying to implement 33% reservation for women in all Congress-ruled states to
create more opportunities.”
Shweta Shalini, Spokesperson, BJP said, “An equitable democracy is not just one in which women have equal rights to elect, it is the one in which they have equal opportunities to be elected. The tide is turning in favour of more women’s representation in politics and we cannot ignore it.”
Nida Hasan, Country Director, Change.org speaking to Ten News said,
“Change.org’s #SheVotes survey finds that women want to directly engage with politicians but are still uncomfortable with face to face meetings. They prefer digital petitions as a significant way of connecting with their elected
representatives.”
She further said, “The survey also shows that gender issues will play an important role in theOf the 20,000 respondents to change.org’s nationwide #SheVotes survey, 4000 were women and 16000 were men. Among a list of 40 issues, they chose the issues that, according to them, are most likely to likely to impact Elections 2019.”
