Policy Update
Sneha Sharma
Introduction
India represents a paradox that complicates the global narratives of gender bias in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). The acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) emerged in the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s and was mainly promoted by the National Science Foundation (NSF).The framework was created due to the necessity to find an appropriate solution to a significant problem – the lack of technical knowledge among students, which was a great threat to the security of the country, its economy, and the ability to compete globally.
While countries frequently frame women’s under representation in STEM as primarily a problem of educational access. India’s data tells another story. According to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22, women account for approximately 43 percent of the total enrollment in the science programs at undergraduate level. Yet this educational participation does not translate into the workforce. Yearly surveys from Periodic Labour Force survey (PLFS) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) consistently show that the women constitute around 18- 20 percent of the science and technical workforce in formal institutions and this representation further declines at senior levels.
This divergence is not incidental. It points out a set of structural barriers that operate at entry points STEM workplaces and R&D institutions. The dropout is not random, it is patterned along the lines of domestic responsibility, culture & society, geographic mobility and safety concerns, along with lack of mentorship and encouragement.
India’s policy response to this challenge has grown substantially over the past two decades. The Department of Science and Technology has anchored several targeted interventions including KIRAN scheme, Vigyan Jyoti programme, Women Scientists Scheme etc, each of them are designed for specific exclusions. Still, the question about reach, design, adequacy, measurability of outcomes of these programmes persist.
Gender Gap in Numbers
At the level of higher education, female participation in science has expanded considerably. As per AISHE 2020-21, women constitute 42.3% of enrolment across STEM programmes – spanning undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses. A 2018 World Bank report similarly notes that more than 40 % of STEM graduates are women, but this number varies across the streams.
Female representation is close to parity in life sciences (56%) and microbiology (67%), but falls sharply in engineering oriented disciplines. B.Tech programmes enrolled only 28.7 % women as per AISHE 2020-21., while mechanical engineering had less than 6.68 % female students at undergraduate level. Civil and electrical engineering also showed skewed data. This intra-STEM skew reflects the differential social valuation of “hard” v/s “soft” sciences, putting direct implication on sectors where women enter.
While enrollment holds near parity at undergraduate level in sciences, broadly women’s representation contracts at doctoral and faculty levels. A 2023 study by Muralidhar and Ananthanarayanan across 100 Indian universities found only 16.6% of overall STEM faculty were women. Most starkly, women account for just 9% of fellows across the three premier India Science academies. – Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences, India, pointing to a near complete exclusion of women from the highest tier of scientific recognition. Despite constituting 43 percent of STEM graduates, only an estimated 27 percent of women enter the formal STEM workforce, a gap of 16% points that represents a significant loss of educated talent.
Now speaking of the workforce disparity, the transition from higher education to early career in STEM shows a lot. In 2019, women constituted approximately 14% of STEM faculty in India. In terms of research leadership, a UNESCO report of 2022 found the female principal investigators in R&D projects numbered 13 % in 2000 – and this number has only reached 24 % by 2017, indicating sluggish improvement over two decades despite expanded education participation.
Fast forward to today’s time, and not much seems to have changed, making India’s peculiar “leaky pipeline”. According to recent statistics released by the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), India is ahead of the rest of the world with women forming a significant 43% of the pool of STEM graduates at the tertiary education stage.
However, this impressive flow fades away as one delves deeper into the research field, as recent findings reveal that only 18.6% of India’s workforce involved in Research & Development is composed of women. At the leadership level in academia, the numbers remain dismal, with women comprising less than 11% to 13% of the faculty at the IITs and merely 8% of the IISc faculty members till 2024-25.
In the technology sector, women enter in relatively strong numbers 40% at non managerial level and dropping sharply to 28.2% reaching the senior level, till C – suite only 20. 5% of women are left. In the science and engineering sector specifically, women constitute 28.4 percent at entry levels but only around 15 percent at senior manager and executive levels. A similar pattern is shown in the manufacturing and R&D sector as well, according to the Confederation of Indian Industries report of December 2025.
The private sector reflects similar dynamics. Data from the Key Global Workforce Insights report, 81% of Indian Women in STEM reported experiencing gender bias in performance evaluation, which eventually becomes a barrier in retention and upward mobility of women in this sector. Around 50% of the women sampled from India described the rigid work culture, protocol driven barrier, pay disparity that women in STEM earns 15-30% less than the male counterparts, with the gap emerging at the point of initial salary negotiation.
First, the drop-off between educational attainment and workforce entry is disproportionately steep, occurring even in sectors like technology where women enter in considerable numbers. Second, the gap compounds with seniority: women are most visible at the student level and most absent at leadership levels, with the sharpest attrition occurring not at entry but at the mid-career managerial transition, a finding with direct implications for policy design.
There is a lot of disaggregated data, which is unavailable regarding the dropout at mid career, biasness during interviews, male specific opportunities, pay scale and lot more, which becomes a reason why women drop STEM education and move towards more sustainable career options.There is a near absence of intersectional sex-disaggrated data in official surveys as well by gender, caste, creed, region and disability, which itself is failure of governance and evidence based policy making.
Structural Barriers : Why the gap persists?
The data presented in the previous section points out: if India produces STEM graduates at near parity in several disciplines then what prevents their sustained participation in the workforce? Diving down at this under three criterias : –
- Entry barriers: Society, Cost and Gendered Curriculum
STEM education in India is socially perceived as a masculine domain, this perception is gone down to behaviours of parents, peers, educators and employers. Narratives around femininity actively steer girls away from mathematics and tech related roles. Many girls from a young age start to see STEM as a “boys club”.
Social norms around early marriage, household responsibilities, lack of will to invest in girls’ education, become barriers in entry. The physical distance from coaching centers, colleges, and the amount of time that will be invested into the career path in STEM, does not appeal to many orthodox households in the country. Hence it no longer remains the matter of aspiration deficit but becomes a structural constraint.
There is horizontal segregation which is visible in higher education in India, whereby women are channeled to perceived “feminine appropriate” disciplines like lifesciences, education, teaching and humanities, rather than physics, chemistry and mathematics, or engineering; this is not just intrinsic, rather structural and social drawback.
- Experience or workplace barriers
STEM workplaces in India as in many parts of the world have been designed by and for men, their norms, rules, code reflects the idea that they are meant for only a specific gender. Women have described that from the access to existence, the whole network is biased towards women.
Hiring biases tied to women’s reproductive roles represent another documented barrier. The age at which women are expected to be most scientifically productive, the late 20s and 30s, coincides precisely with marriage and family formation age in India. There is a lot of age restriction in fellowships and grants which penalises women who take mid career break for caregiving especially in this sector, whereas these opportunities remain open to men all throughout.
- Retention barriers
The dual burden on women for professional and domestic responsibility, which falls on their educational and professional status. Marriage, childbirth, spouse relocation are few identified primary triggers that make women exit this system. As there is no way where you can take a break in this stream and still rejoin at the same position. There are no good institutional pathways which support the continuation after the break.
Workplace inflexibility such as rigid lab culture, fixed working hours, absence of childcare infrastructure, and lack of part time and remote opportunities make it structurally impossible for women to return to research.
Salary negotiation from the early career is significantly biased, which leaves no motivation of increment at further levels. Which often creates absence of women at senior levels, as the younger women lack aspirational anchors and informal sponsors and encouragement to work on the field. There is a visible glass ceiling effect which restricts women to continue to stay in STEM in India.
The persistence of the gap reflects low priority accorded to systematic monitoring and evaluation in India’ gender bias in STEM policy and framework.
Policy Landscape: Government schemes and Programmes
The policy architecture for women in STEM is not new. Nearly every five year plan since the 1970s has included provisions for women in education and their employment specially in STEM. In 2005, the Department of Science & Technology (DST) established a national task force for women in science supported by the Indian national science academy. Let us explore various policies formed for women in STEM.
- Vigyan Jyoti
It is DST’s flagship school level intervention to provide meritorious girls in high school with exposure to STEM resources, role models and career pathways, with particular focus on students from rural and semi urban backgrounds. It is implemented in partnership with Navodya Vidyalaya Samiti, the programme includes scientific camps, lectures, parent counselling, visit to laboratories and more.
As per DST’s Annual report 2021-22 approximately 3000 girls from 200 districts have been benefitted, along with 100 Vigyan Jyoti knowledge centers have been formed with almost 1820 tribal girls additionally assisted.
- Supernumerary Seats Scheme at IITs
IITs reserve seats for women beyond the sanctioned intake, with the goal of increasing female enrollment to at least 20% across IITs. Several IITs have met this target, with IIT Madras among the best performers, achieving 20–30 percent female enrolment across 2018–22 (Oberai et al., IWWAGE, 2024). IIT Bombay has announced the WINGS scholarship providing 100 percent tuition support for female undergraduate STEM students from 2026–27.
- CURIE (Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities)
It is also one of the famous DST initiatives that provides infrastructure support to women-only universities to attract, train and retain female students in science and technology. Launched in 2008–09, the programme contributed INR 40 crore to nine women’s universities, with an additional INR 4.20 crore directed toward AI facility upgrades under CURIE-AI in 2019
- WISE – KIRAN (Women in Science and Engineering – KIRAN)
DST initiative for bringing up women in training, career and research in STEM. It is one of the most comprehensive employment stage schemes covering a full spectrum of scientific career stages through fellowships at PhD and post doctoral levels and re entry support for women who have taken career breaks. As per DST’s 2021–22 report, financial support under the Women Scientist Scheme component reached approximately 110 women scientists from 24 states and union territories, with Maharashtra recording the highest participation. The age eligibility criterion of 27–57 years, the scheme does not explicitly address re-entry support for women beyond this range.
- GATI (Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions)
It is a pilot institutional framework adopted from the United Kingdom’s Athena SWAN Charter, designed to promote gender inclusion with scientific laboratories and higher education institutions through awareness raising, policy audits and action plans. It operates as an institutional level intervention rather than an individual level support scheme, positioning it as a structural approach. However, as a pilot programme, its current scale is limited, and its long-term institutionalisation within India’s scientific ecosystem remains uncertain.
- Women Scientist Scheme (WOS-A, WOS-B, WOS-C)
Another scheme under DST, provides research support to women scientists aged 27-57 who have taken career breaks and wish to re-enter the workforce. WOS-A supports research in basic and applied science; WOS-B funds science and technology interventions for societal benefit; and WOS-C provides internships in intellectual property rights for self-employment. As per DST’s 2021–22 Annual Report, research support under WOS-A reached approximately 370 women scientists, and 99 women scientists received IPR training under WOS-C.
There are a lot more such schemes announced in the last two decades focusing on removing the barriers for women in STEM, like the DST Mobility Scheme, BioCARe, and SERB – POWER. There are institutional reforms such as making hostel buildings in IIT campuses for females, women rights cells in institutes for protection and encouragement of enrollment, along with special guidance and career cells in institutes of higher education contribute significantly in increasing the number of women in the STEM workforce.
Way Forward
India’s policy structure for women in STEM is neither absent nor ineffective- it is just insufficient. The schemes reviewed have demonstrated genuine policy intent, meaningful impact, just the systematic scaling is necessary.
Policies are focusing on preoccupation with entry over retention, the majority of the schemes discussed focused on bringing women into the STEM education system, which has already done better than many developed countries. There has to be more focus on mid career transitions, and senior advancement of women in STEM. There is a significant need for more aggressive evaluation and monitoring of the policies formulated, as despite many mid entry policies, a very less sustained career paths are seen in STEM for women when joining after the mid career break.
There is no conclusive evidence of many policies formed for STEM. One very important weakness of the schemes is they completely miss the intersectional disparity among the women across the nation. Women from scheduled caste and tribes and economically weaker sections of the society face more disadvantages that generic schemes do not address. A policy framework that treats all women as a homogeneous category will systematically under-serve those most disadvantaged.
India stands at a critical juncture in its STEM workforce. The educational gains of the past two decades are real, but they remain unrealised as economic and growth potential as long as structural barriers continue to push women out of research, industry and leadership at a very early stage.
In this policy update, the schemes and programmes we reviewed gives the clear insight, that there is a need to shift from pipeline entry to mid career retention, outcome based monitoring across all women in STEM schemes, scaling GATI from pilot program to mandatory institutional program, removal of age restrictions on research fellowships, a universal re entry mechanism and require gender disaggregated reporting from both public institutions and private employers.
These are actionable corrections to the policy framework which are essential as India moves towards Vikshit Bharat 2047 vision, closing the gender gap in STEM is not merely a matter of equity but a prerequisite for technological and scientific ambition.
References
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). (2025, December). Women in STEM report 2025. https://www.ciitechnology.in/pdf/CII%20-%20WOMEN%20in%20STEM%20Report%202025.pdf
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). (n.d.). Let her shine: Empowering women and closing India’s gender gap in STEM. PLOS Medicine. https://www.iipsindia.ac.in/sites/default/files/Let%20her%20shine_%20Empowering%20women%20and%20closing%20India%E2%80%99s%20gender%20gap%20in%20STEM%20_%20PLOS%20Medicine.pdf
Oberai, N., et al. (2026, January). Women in STEM: Challenges and opportunities in India report. Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE). https://iwwage.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Women-in-STEM-Challenges-and-Opportunities-in-India-Report.pdf
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Times of India. (2024, April 15). STEM in India sees only 13.5% women faculty: Why is female representation so low in this field and IITs? https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/stem-in-india-sees-only-13-5-women-faculty-why-is-female-representation-so-low-in-this-field-and-iits/articleshow/109316947.cms
Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY India). (n.d.). Breaking the code: The rise of women in India’s STEM landscape. https://www.ey.com/en_in/insights/diversity-equity-inclusiveness/breaking-the-code-the-rise-of-women-in-india-s-stem-landscape
ClearIAS. (n.d.). Women in STEM. https://www.clearias.com/women-in-stem/
Vision IAS. (2026, March 9). Why India’s leaky pipeline in research is unlike the rest of the world. The Hindu Summary; Science and Technology. https://visionias.in/current-affairs/upsc-daily-news-summary/article/2026-03-09/the-hindu/science-and-technology/why-indias-leaky-pipeline-in-research-is-unlike-the-rest-of-the-world
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About the Contributor
Sneha Sharma is a recent graduate from University of Delhi with a strong interest in the development sector relating to education, gender and public policy. She is currently a Research and Editorial Intern at IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, where she contributes to policy update articles and research focused on strategic affairs and policy initiatives.
Reviewer
The article was reviewed by Shivani Chauhan and Aananya Atri
Acknowledgement
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the team at IMPRI India for their guidance and support.
Disclaimer
All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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