Women in STEM: Building Careers in a More Inclusive Industry

Why in the News?

On July 15, 2025, World Youth Skills Day is being observed globally to promote the importance of equipping youth with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. In this context, India’s paradoxical scenario regarding women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields has come under renewed attention.

Despite women making up 43% of India’s STEM graduates the highest among major economies their representation in the STEM workforce is just 27%. This reflects a significant gap between education and employment and underscores the need for industry participation in bridging the gender divide.

Background

• STEM Education Participation: India leads globally in the percentage of women STEM graduates (43%). However, this does not translate into employment parity.
• Labour Force Participation: As per PLFS 2023–24, the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) has increased to 41.7%, driven largely by rural women (47.6%) compared to urban women (25.4%).
• Global Comparison: UNESCO data (2021) shows only 31.5% of researchers worldwide are women, highlighting a global challenge in STEM inclusivity.
• Economic Rationale:
  • McKinsey estimates that adding 68 million women to the workforce could raise India’s GDP by $700 billion by 2025.
  • The World Bank notes a 1% GDP growth if female workforce participation reaches 50%.

Feature

Policy and Government Initiatives

• NEP 2020: Emphasises integration of education with skill development and life skills training.
• Budget Push:
  • Gender Budget share increased from 6.8% (2024–25) to 8.8% (2025–26); ₹4.49 lakh crore allocated for gender-specific schemes.
  • New National Skill Training Institutes, term loans for women entrepreneurs, and tech-driven skilling initiatives were introduced in the Union Budget 2025–26.
• Flagship Schemes:
  • Skill India, Digital India, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, and PM Vishwakarma Yojana aim to enhance inclusivity and empower women.

Industry Role and Innovative Practices

• Prevailing stereotypes, e.g., “mechanical means masculine” and “coding isn’t for girls hi, hinder women’s participation in technical fields.
• Workplace limitations: lack of mentorship, gendered roles, safety concerns, and career breaks due to familial responsibilities.
• Emerging industry interventions:
  • Structured mentoring.
  • Industry-academia skilling pipelines.
  • Initiatives like UN Women’s WeSTEM in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, supported by Micron Foundation.

Focus: skills, mindset shifts, family sensitisation, safety, showcasing women role models.

Challenge

• Persistent Gender Stereotypes: Deep-rooted societal norms still assign technical roles to male domains.

Workplace Exclusion:

• Lack of family and institutional support during life transitions (marriage, childbirth).
• Unsafe or non-inclusive workplaces, unequal pay.
• Urban-Rural Disparity: While rural FLFPR is rising, urban women face stagnation due to the formal sector’s rigidity.
• Policy-to-Practice Gap: While schemes exist, their implementation and industry adoption remain weak.
• Limited Industry Ownership: Many private firms still treat women’s hiring as tokenism, not as strategic workforce planning.

Industry as Enabler, not Just Recruiter

Way Forward

• Proactive Role: Move beyond recruitment to become partners in skilling, reskilling, and career mentorship.
• Life-Stage Inclusive Workplaces: Policies supporting maternity, caregiving, and career re-entry.
• Incentivising Gender-Inclusive Hiring: Through tax breaks, CSR-linked initiatives, or public recognition.

Bridging Classroom to Career

• Strengthen industry-academia collaborations with internships, apprenticeships, and tailored training.
• Create visible career pathways for women in STEM through career fairs, campaigns, and alumni networks.

Mindset Shift and Role Models

• Use the success stories of women in STEM to break myths.
• Engage families, teachers, and local leaders to shift perceptions early.

Safety, Equality, and Retention

• Mandatory internal complaint mechanisms, safe infrastructure, and zero-tolerance policies.
• Equal pay audits and transparent career progression systems.

Monitoring and Data Transparency

• Disaggregate employment and retention data by gender and sector to identify gaps.
• Build STEM gender dashboards for policy tracking.

Conclusion

World Youth Skills Day is not just a ceremonial observance; it is a call to action for India to unlock the potential of its women STEM graduates. The education-employment mismatch must be bridged by industry leadership, supported by enabling policies and societal change.India’s goal of becoming a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) will remain incomplete unless half the talent pool is fully mobilised. When women thrive in STEM, society, economy, and innovation thrive with them.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION

Question: Why does the high rate of women’s graduation in STEM not translate into proportional workforce participation in India? Examine the role of policy and industry in addressing this gap.

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION