Purpose Women constitute half of the world's working-age population and forty per cent of the global workforce. However, this has not coincided well with their leadership positions in society, particularly in the public domain. They continue to be underrepresented and often become subject to discrimination and stereotypes when performing public roles. Following an intersectional perspective, this study seeks to understand the impacts of gender and class on female leadership, an understudied area, and the different strategies adopted by these leaders to overcome those challenges. Design/methodology/approach To gain deeper insights into the phenomena and understand the subjective experiences of women leaders, phenomenology was applied as a strategy of inquiry. Information was gathered from a total of 21 members based on snowball sampling. To understand the positionality, subjectivity, and the experiences of women leaders, in-depth interviews were conducted for 2 h with each DDC member. The questions were asked about the socio-political background of respondents, gender norms and expectations, economic constraints, and institutional and structural barriers. The interviews were noted on the transcripts and later translated into English by the researcher. This was followed by a phenomenological reflection on the data to grasp the essence of the experiences of respondents. After this, significant statements were located, and meaning units and core themes were developed to describe what the informants had experienced in these contexts. Findings The study highlights various structural and cultural challenges that influenced their roles and decision-making processes. The gender norms and expectations, the low socio-economic background, and the security concerns unleashed several practical difficulties, cultural stereotypes, and regressive discourses that impacted the daily experiences of women leaders. The analysis also showed that women representatives have resorted to multiple ways to negotiate their public role. In particular, the roles of senior party colleagues, women's clubs, soft politics, and community ties and networks have been instrumental in facilitating their role performance. Research limitations/implications The study focused on women from lower socioeconomic classes and did not address other categories of women, such as those with political experience from middle-class or upper-class backgrounds. Future research could provide a more comprehensive and comparative understanding of female leaders by considering these differences. Practical implications Given the prevalence of gendered norms and practices in local politics, orientation programs can be implemented to educate local leaders on developing an unbiased and welcoming attitude toward women. Additionally, to create a more comfortable and secure environment for these leaders, women security guards should be integrated into the system to ensure their safety. Strengthening local government through the establishment of a full three-tier panchayati raj system can be critical in promoting inclusive representation and participation. For this to happen, the local panchayati bodies should be duly empowered with financial and executive authority, and elections should be held regularly to ensure their continued operation. Originality/value The originality of this research lies in providing new empirical insights into the role and identity of women's leadership in the public domain. By advancing a critical analysis of various “vectors of oppressions”, gender, class, and conflict that influence female leadership, it contributes to the public leadership scholarship informed by an intersectional perspective. Moreover, it remains attuned to the complexity of leadership phenomena by emphasizing structural, cultural, and personal dimensions that shape women's leadership.
Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat (Tue,) studied this question.