More women must let off STEAM

India‘s STEM education landscape is uneven. Despite having the highest number of STEM graduates globally, women constitute 42.3% of undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil and PhD STEM students. This imbalance extends to faculty positions also. Research by scientists Shruti Muralidhar and Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan found that only 16.6% of STEM faculty in 100 Indian universities are women. Even in the top eight STEM institutes ranked by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), including IITs and IISc, in 2022, female faculty members were just 10%. Additionally, women are underrepresented, under-mentored and overlooked for awards, grants and other career-advancing opportunities.

In this challenging backdrop, IIT Delhi‘s STEM Mentorship Programme for 100 female students of classes 9 and 11 from government and private schools is an important intervention. Equal access and participation in STEM for women and girls is crucial not just to navigate a technology-driven world, achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, and enhance social well-being, but also for achieving SDG 4 (inclusive and equitable quality education) and 5 (gender equality) for 2030.

While the focus on STEM is welcome, it must not be restricted to it. For its prowess in ‘good old IT’ to be upgraded to becoming a 21st c. AI, digital humanities, LLM, ML and AV/VR-powered powerhouse, India needs people with technical, creative and innovative skills that humanities provide. Additionally, it is crucial for scientists and engineers to understand the broader social, economic and cultural contexts that underlie innovation and technological progress. Only by embracing a multidisciplinary approach can India harness its potential and lead in the global techcreative landscape.