New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS): Even as parliament awaits a conclusion to the Women's Reservation bill, data shows that female MPs are slightly behind their male counterparts in terms of performance in the Lok Sabha.

According to the figures made available by parliament research think-tank PRS Legislative Research, women MPs on an average participated in 11 debates in the two years of the current Lok Sabha and men in 16. Overall, a house member participated in 15.6 debates.

The average number of questions asked by each woman MP was 84, as against 122 asked by each male MP, while the average was 119.

The private member bills presented by a woman on an average came out to be less than one, at 0.2, as against the average of 0.4.

Their attendance was, however, better than men. It was 79 percent for women, compared to 77 percent for men. The overall average was 77 percent.

In the just-concluded monsoon session, however, women performed at par with men. Average participation in debates was 2.9 for women.

On average, each woman MP asked 22 questions and had 82 percent attendance, compared to the average of 25 questions and 80 percent attendance by MPs, irrespective of the gender.