• DOI:10.1017/S1743923X06241011
• Corpus ID: 145192553

Are Quotas a Good Idea? The Indian Experience with Reserved Seats for Women

@article{Nanivadekar2006AreQA,
  title={Are Quotas a Good Idea? The Indian Experience with Reserved Seats for Women},
  author={Medha Nanivadekar},
  journal={Politics \& Gender},
  year={2006},
  volume={2},
  pages={119 - 128}
}

• Medha Nanivadekar
• Published 1 March 2006
• Economics
• Politics & Gender

The most important feature of a quota system is that it ensures representation of the target group in a much more definitive manner than does any other method. Quotas are a form of compensation for historical injustice suffered by identifiable groups and represent evidence of society's commitment to redress that injustice. Quotas offer greater legitimacy to a political system by ensuring greater representation and by integrating marginalized groups into the mainstream. Utilitarian justifications of quotas focus on the advantages of greater representation of all sections of society as a means of facilitating their contribution to the society. Quotas indicate that underrepresentation of marginal groups is not a statement of the groups' poor performance but of the system's poor performance at creating a level playing field.