Due to corruption, India cannot attain just governance and sustainable development. In different ways such as bribery, favouritism and stealing, corruption undermines public trust, slows down productivity and development. Consequently, a more recent perspective has emerged that women are less likely to move towards bad tendencies and can also contribute significantly in building a positive feature of honesty among governance structures.

Peculiarities of gender relations in the context of corruption are intended to be scrutinised in this article exemplifying the Indian administrative system. And it tries to answer questions like: are female managers free from corruption inclinations and capable of fighting for ethical leadership?

The State of Corruption in India

Corruption has been a major problem in India, evident from its score of thirty-seven on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index issued by Transparency International. Even though the governments have passed laws like the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1988 and established the Lokpal, the systemic corruption persists in various fields including the real estate, public procurement, and social welfare. While discouraging corruption requires punitive measures, every bit as much attention should be given to enforcing accountability and ethical stewardship of organizational institutions. This is where we shall find that the idea of improving women leadership in governance is relevant.

Why gender is important in combating corruption?

Studies carried out internationally point out a correlation between women's ascendance to positions of authority and decrease in corruption. Some theories that help explain this connection include:

• Moral Conditioning: The socialization process results in women being more aware of fairness and ethical duty, and therefore are less likely to get involved in corruption.
• Caution with Risks: The reputation of women as being more careful than men results in their being less willing to engage in corrupt activities that can lead to great harm.
• Heightened Scrutiny: Female managers are monitored more closely than males, which helps them adopt high levels of accountability.

Despite all these theories mounting a strong argument, it is important that one cannot overlook some contextual factors which include cultural values, strength of institutions, and resource endowment that have the potential of shifting the goals post.

Women in Indian Administration: Representation and Impact

India has made considerable progress in fostering gender equality in governance, particularly at the local level:

• Constitutional Provisions: The two constitutional amendments, 73rd and 74th, provide for one-third representation of women in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and urban local bodies to ensure women participate in local self-Governments.
• Civil Services: Women now form a part of the bureau in India, but they are not promoted to higher posts as compared to male candidates.

These initiatives create a chance for women to prove themselves that they are capable of being true and efficient leaders.


Case Studies: Roles of Women Leaders, Women in Business: Ethical Leadership in India

• Kiran Bedi's Reforms: Through her tenure in power, Kiran Bedi, the first-ever female member of Indian Police Service (IPS), put into practice a number of strategies of change that were designed to address corruption in India and introduce advanced solutions for traffic systems, as well as the transparency of Indian prisons. The professional career of the woman provides proof of the ability of women in the leadership of ethical reforms.
   
• Women Sarpancha: Several past researches including the one done by UNDP in 2012 revealed that the villages having women sarpancha enjoy upgraded governance particularly to the issues of resource share and welfare programs.
   
• Aruna Roy and the RTI Act: Aruna Roy, a former IAS officer and activist who fought for making the Right to Information Act an important part of transparency in India's architecture.
   
• Chhavi Rajawat: An MBA dropped a corporate career to become the sarpanch of Soda village in Rajasthan. During the course of her service, she brought about a sensitive change and transformation in the village with regard to sanitation, water resource management—rainwater harvesting and physical development. She set high standards in ethical governance, especially at the grassroots level that has often been characterized by high levels of transparency and inclusion.
   
• Sheila Dikshit: It may be recalled that Ms. Sheila Dikshit, the outgoing Chief Minister of Delhi, has been at the helm of the Delhi government for fifteen years during which she brought about a sea change in the infrastructure, transportation, and governance systems of the city. Though her term had been accused of corruption, her schemes for the welfare of women and girls through "Ladli" was evident of her leadership values and good governance.
   
• Mary Kom: Not a conventional administrator, Olympic boxer Mary Kom is also an activist in northeastern India, fighting for change, clean administration, and youth's rights.

Such cases are a clear indicator that women leaders of different eras have always sought to uphold integrity and accountability in public leadership while breaking set norms.

Evidence Linking Gender and Reduced Corruption:

As research from across the world and varying within the boundaries of India proves, the involvement of women in the governance system directly reduces the capacity of corruption. A study conducted and published by the World Bank in 2010 shows that corruption can be explained by the level of female participation in government because the nations that had more women in their governments have lower levels of corruption among the 150 governments that were analyzed in the study. Such surveys suggest that in Indian villages where women were involved in Panchayats, levels of resource misappropriation and corruption are lower than in the villages where men run the Panchayats. For similar reasons, other nations enjoying high gender balance in leadership, like Finland or Norway, are placed at the bottom of the corruption ratings.

Barriers to Women's Effectiveness in Combating Corruption:

Despite their capabilities, women encounter considerable obstacles in administrative positions:

• Patriarchal Structures: Gender stereotypes in society commonly result in low representation of women in leadership positions, and where they are placed, they are often undermined.
• Tokenism: I have seen many women appointed in positions of authority, only for her to be denied influence and decision-making power.
• Safety Concerns: Whenever women decide to stand up against corruption, they are likely to be threatened, harassed, or even killed, something that may prevent them from taking lasting actions.
• Limited Institutional Support: Of these challenges, a lack of appropriate measures to protect and support women aspiring to leadership positions shows only exacerbates them.

Closing these gaps is critical to unlock the utilization of women as agents in ethical governance.

Policy Suggestions:

To empower women to serve as effective guardians of integrity, the following actions are necessary:

1. Enhancing Representation: Raising gender quotas to cover higher tiers of administration, ensuring that women have considerably more power in policy making.
2. Skill Development: As for specific recommendations, organisations should offer separate training to women leaders to focus strictly on corruption and complex governance challenges.
3. Institutional Protections: Establish good measures to protect women in leadership positions from harassment and safeguard them.
4. Raising Awareness: It should conduct public information campaigns that present positive, accurate images of women leaders.
5. Incorporating Technology: So, if e-governance solutions are adopted and provided, possibilities to corrupt the process are reduced while the transparency of processes increases.

The Wider Implications of Gender-Inclusive Governance:

Promoting the involvement of women in governance can yield extensive advantages:

1. Better Service Provision: Female administrators tend to manage resources more equitably thus improving public facilities like health and schools.
2. Economic Development: The reduction of corruption leads to the creation of a good investment climate and development of the economy.
3. Strengthened Democratic Principles: Increasing the presence of women empowers a society and strengthens the democratic framework in a society.

By increasing the support to women leaders and being ambitious about the goal, India can fight corruption as well as other social goals.

Conclusion:
This makes it possible for social scientists to link increased women leadership profile with low corruption levels in the societies. However, for women to become great promoters of integrity, then there is a need to remove all forms of barriers supported by the system also to boost up the institution.

It is not just about making women minimally acceptable, but about empowering them to attempt remodelling the governance system with more sustainable, ethical and accountable standards. The underlying message in the concept presented in the paper is that by providing the women with an environment within which they could develop into principled leaders, India could pave its way to good governance and overall societal development.

References:

• Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2023
• UNDP Report on Women in Governance
• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation - "Women and Men in India"
• World Bank Study on Gender and Corruption
• Press Information Bureau on Women's Representation

Written By: Devendra Singh Kumpawat
Email: [email protected]