Class XII board exam data for 2024 show science is no longer a boys' club
State-level results underscore the national picture. In Tamil Nadu, girls achieved a formidable 96.35 per cent science pass rate in 2024; in Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha, girls outperformed boys. This reshaping of ambition and possibility has been facilitated by growing parental encouragement and good-faith policy interventions such as the Vigyan Jyoti scholarship schemes for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the CBSE's Udaan initiative, that helps underprivileged girls prepare for engineering and medical entrance exams through mentoring and financial aid. What happens when more girls enter higher education in STEM? According to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2021-22, women now make up 52.1 per cent of all students in science disciplines across undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, and PhD levels. At the undergraduate level, they constitute a little over 51 per cent of the total enrolment. In medicine, women are at par with men; in engineering and technology — fields where they have traditionally been a sliver — their representation has risen considerably. These numbers point to a future workforce that is likely to be more diverse, representative, and arguably, more innovative.
The promise of these numbers, however, will continue to come up against the shadow of unequal realities unless it is met with deeper investment in infrastructure, mentorship networks, employment opportunities and safe spaces to learn and to linger in. Girls from rural areas and low-income households still face immense barriers that cap their ambitions: Lack of resources; unavailability of laboratories and equipment; a private study space, or simply, the right to stay in school. If this moment is to make room for long-term change, it must ensure that STEM dreams that have gotten off the block are not stalled midway.
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