Women in STEM

Many policymakers have observed the predominance of males in fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics since the beginning. Therefore, scholars have explored the probable reasons for low female participation and gender disparity in this field.

Aspirants can get all essential details on women in STEM fields to prepare for competitive examinations.

Candidates preparing for the upcoming civil services exam must read about Women in Science Research & Development at the linked article. This shall be helpful for the UPSC Mains examination.

Percentage of Indian Women in STEM

India has 43% of females participating in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Luckily, it is a considerably higher percentage than some first world countries such as the US and Canada. However, the employment rate of Indian women in Stem fields is only 14%.

Reason for Low Participation of Women in STEM

The reasons for lower participation of women than men in STEM are as follows:

• The stereotypical standardisation of gender roles and skills.
• Patriarchal dominance on opportunities and suppression on the same for women.
• Traps of domesticity, social pressures of marriage, childbirth, elderly-care and household responsibilities.
• Lack of physical safety at the workplace and during the commute, and chances of harassment.
• Lack of role models and inspiration.

Benefits of Women in STEM Fields

Greater participation and its initiative can bring a significant change in society. The benefits of more women in STEM in India are as follows:

• Greater female participation in STEM will double up the talent, innovation, workforce and strength of these fields.
• It ensures women empowerment as well as work time flexibility and gender-neutral pay.
• It gives rise to social role models and enhances the socio-economic scenario in India.

Also, read about I-STEM Portal, a national initiative sponsored and funded by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India.

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Government Involvement to Increase Female Participation in STEM

Below are some essential Government schemes for more involvement of women in STEM for UPSC and other examinations:

CURIE

Its full form is Consolidation of University Research through Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities. This scheme supports women Universities to develop research infrastructure and build state-of-the-art research laboratories.

Vigyan Jyoti Scheme

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) started it, aiming to equalise the participation of interested girls’ high schools in STEM. Additionally, it supports female students from villages to plan their way of a career in S&T fields.

KIRAN Scheme

It began in 2014 to 2015 made academic and administrative advancement possible for women scientists. One of its programs, ‘Women Scientist Scheme,’ brought unemployed female scientists and technicians career opportunities. Additionally, it explicitly helped those who had to take a career break for some reason.

GATI Scheme

Its complete form is Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions. It provides a comprehensive framework to evaluate gender equality in the fields of STEM.

Recently India held a conference on India- Israel Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The primary objective of this conference was to look into the matter of women participation in STEM.

These were all essential information about women in STEM and its current news. Candidates aspiring for competitive examinations may find this helpful to amplify their preparations.

Aspirants can visit the linked article and get details about the upcoming government exams that comprise current affairs and general awareness as an important topic in the syllabus.

Furthermore, candidates can get the latest exam updates, preparation tips and study material for upcoming civil services exam at BYJU’S.

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