Gender Representation in Maharashtra Police Force: Assessing the Influencing Factors in Women's Recruitment and Career Progression in Police Force

Women’s representation in police force has become an important issue in the context of governance, internal security and public trust in India. Despite repeated policy advisories recommending at least 33 per cent representation of women, progress at the national level remains limited. This paper examines gender representation in the Maharashtra police using secondary data and official policy documents. The analysis focuses on proportional representation, rank-wise distribution and observable institutional patterns. Government reports, recruitment rules and selected empirical studies form the basis of the review. The findings show that Maharashtra records a relatively high absolute number of women police personnel. However, women’s representation remains concentrated at the constabulary level. Participation in supervisory, specialized and leadership roles continues to be limited. The study highlights a clear gap between recruitment-focused policy measures and career progression mechanisms, which are largely governed by seniority-based service rules. It also notes that gaps in publicly available gender-disaggregated data limit detailed assessment across districts and senior ranks. The paper concludes that numerical inclusion alone does not ensure meaningful representation. It emphasises the need for rank-sensitive analysis and stronger institutional measures to support women’s career progression within the police force.