In the 19th century, Charles Darwin wrote in The Descent of Man of how “man has ultimately become superior to woman”. Darwin’s views — that women are less capable than men for many roles which require strength, intelligence, leadership — have been critiqued over the years as deeply problematic. In the 21st century, recent research indicates that in the Metaverse too — that cutting-edge landscape of the Internet-of-the-Future — women remain out of most leadership roles.
Even as the entire landscape of evolution has changed from the physical to the virtual, the constancy of gender bias has remained. While this problem is all-pervasive, cutting across industries, in some sectors the implications of gender bias manifest more seriously.
Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) have had to endure particularly unimaginable odds in the pursuit of knowledge which is more readily accessible to men. Gendered worldviews have meant that certain disciplines that require “rationality” such as science and medicine have been out of reach for most women.
The All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2018-19 by the Ministry of Education revealed that women comprise almost 43 per cent of the total STEM enrollments in the country. However, only three per cent of women enroll for a PhD in science and six per cent opt for a PhD in Engineering and Technology. Furthermore, their share in STEM jobs in India is just 14 per cent. This is in line with NASSCOM findings earlier this year which showed that there is just a 36% female workforce in the Indian tech ecosystem i.e. 1.8 million women.
Several initiatives have been launched to change this status quo. In recent years, a matrix of forward-thinking policies and interventions aimed at empowering more women to realize their aspirations in STEM has been implemented.
For example, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has been implementing the ‘Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)’ Scheme since 2014 . The aim is to provide professional opportunities to women scientists and technologists and ensure gender parity in the Science & Technology sector by onboarding greater numbers of women for Research and Development through a variety of programmes.
For instance, the ‘Women Scientist Scheme’ offers opportunities for professional progress to unemployed women scientists and technologists — this is particularly beneficial for those who have had to take a career break. The KIRAN scheme offers a range of fellowships (from Rs 25000 to 55000 per month) to women from 27 to 57 years for continuing higher education in Science and Technology.
There is also the Vigyan Jyoti programme. Launched in December 2019, it seeks to sharpen young girls’ interest in science and move toward careers in the discipline. It especially aims to address the under-representation of women in certain areas of STEM.
For cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit, the DST partnered with the non-profit Anita Borg Institute, USA, in 2014 with the express intention of scouting for talent when it comes to women entrepreneurs in technology through a contest, Women Entrepreneur’s Quest (WEQ). The has been running successfully since then and has been supporting the business growth of young female visionaries.
In addition to this, to bolster women entrepreneurship as a sector, BIRAC has partnered with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) that is on a mission to nurture start-ups by mentoring, networking, educating, incubating, and funding. Their common objective is to strengthen the bio-tech entrepreneurial start-up ecosystem including healthcare and medical technology. With an intent to increase the participation of women scientists in biotechnology research, BIRAC launched a Biotechnology Career Advancement and Re-orientation Programme (BioCARe) in 2011. This initiative aims to build capacities for women scientists after a career break to help them undertake independent R&D projects.
To complement these efforts, we also need a whole-of-society approach to ensure true equity in these domains and beyond. Communities, Organizations, government offices and corporate houses must be encouraged to sensitize all members and employees and reassess their own biases if any. Modalities must be in place to ensure appropriate maternity as well as paternity leave policies across the board. Beyond all this, of course, there needs to be a fundamental shift in mindset. For this, male allyship is critical.
As those in positions of relative power, men can engineer behavioural change in this respect. Efforts must be made specially to engage with men at the workplace and explain systemic gender biases which they may be unconsciously propagating. Every company, system and organization will benefit from a gender roadmap that can also feed into the narrative of how a more productive workspace can be a function of how inclusive it is in terms of gender. We have the political will, and we have the policies; all we need is a concerted effort to ensure such policies are implemented to their fullest potential.
The author is Senior Advisor, DBT and MD BIRAC.
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