The concept of Women Empowerment reached momentum in the second half of the 1990s. The Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) put forward by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 1995) measure some aspects of women empowerment and found that both are sufficient to measure women empowerment at the individual level. Women are the victims of social, political, religious, and economic subordination and deprivation in Indian society. Also, they are treated unequally and cannot participate in democratic activities equally with men. Women throughout the world have been struggling to break away the shackles of bondage, subjugation, oppression and all kinds of ill treatment both within and outside of their families. Without bringing them into the corridors of power where they can formulate policies and programs and implement them, the survival of women is very difficult. In our society, women's political participation as well as representation is very low. Women are also considered second-rate people throughout the world. The low representation of women is a consequence of many factors. Traditional cultural values, obligations to families and children to raise their children, lack of awareness and education, lack of political socialization etc. The constitutional, legal as well as administrative arrangements have led to many changes in women's lives in our society. Women's political empowerment implies the decentralization of power and authority in the deprived, oppressed and powerless people who have not been able to participate in the decision-making processes and implementation of policies and programs of both government organizations as well as familial and societal matters. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment also created significant steps towards women's political participation. Today, women receive 'easy tickets' for elections by booking. This challenge lets women come back from the public sphere by present male rule and by other factors. But the quality of her performance is essential to inspect their quantity representation. Other women as a "proxy or rubber stamp" should increase their ability to make decisions and to perform in other important areas. For women who first enter the deep sea called politics, there should be many challenges. It is essential to ensure and improve one's participation in all those obstacles that are needed, particularly in the early stages of representation and the development of the support system.

This volume brings together leading gender and politics scholars to assess how women’s political empowerment can best be conceptualized and measured on a global scale. It argues that women’s political empowerment is a fundamental process of transformation for benchmarking and understanding all political empowerment gains across the globe. Chapters improve our global understanding of women's political empowerment through cross-national comparisons, a synthesis of methodological approaches across varied levels of politics, and attention to the ways gender intersects with myriad factors in shaping women’s political empowerment. This book is an indispensable resource for scholars of politics and gender, as well as being relevant to a global scholarly and policy community.

From women's participation in national elections to female decision-making in community livelihood initiatives, this book highlights three main approaches to strengthening women's leadership and participation: Overcoming structural barriers, supporting women, and encouraging women to carry out leadership roles effectively for progressive purposes.

Over the past several years, the fields of Leadership Studies and of Women's Studies have grown tremendously. This book, which is a series of case studies of women who have headed governments across the globe, will discuss the conditions and situations under which women rose to power and give a brief biography of each woman . A special chapter on why no U.S. woman has risen to the top, and a review of the political campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Michele Bachmann and others will be included. This book will be of interest for courses in women and leadership, global politics and gender studies.

Women the world over are being prevented from engaging in politics. Women’s political leadership of any sort is a rarity and a career in politics rarer still. We have, however, begun to understand what it takes to create an enabling environment for women’s political participation. In this exciting and pioneering collection, writers from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are brought together for the first time to talk explicitly about women’s participation in the political scene across the global South. Answering such questions as how women can get political apprenticeship opportunities, how these opportunities translate into the pursuit of a political career, and how these pursuits then influence the kind of political platform women advocate once in power, Women in Politics is essential reading for anyone interested in what it means to engage politically.

The ability of a small elite of highly educated, upper-class Asian women to obtain the highest political positions in their country is unmatched elsewhere in the world and deserves study. But there is a marked lack of relevant research as well as of comprehensive and user-friendly texts. Aiming to fill the gap is this timely and important study of the various obstacles and opportunities for women's political participation and representation in Asia.

Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective, Third Edition provides a clear, detailed introduction to women’s political participation and representation across a wide range of countries and regions. Through broad statistical overviews and detailed case-study accounts, authors Pamela Paxton and Melanie M. Hughes document both historical trends and the contemporary state of women’s political strength. Readers see the cultural, structural, political, and international influences on women’s access to political power, and the difference women make once in political office. The text acknowledges differences among women through attention to intersectionality and women from marginalized groups.