Women, STEM careers and a more receptive industry

The Hindu

14-07-2025

Every year on July 15, as we observe World Youth Skills Day, we are reminded that skills development is fundamental to reducing unemployment and promoting decent work. India faces a critical paradox: 43% of India's STEM graduates are women, the highest proportion among major economies globally. Yet, women represent only 27% of the STEM workforce, limiting women's access to career opportunities offered by the STEM sector.
According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24, India's overall female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) has risen to 41.7%, a meaningful jump after years of stagnation. However, the increase is sharper for rural women (47.6%) than in urban areas (25.4%), reflecting barriers in formal employment, workplace safety, and societal expectations. In STEM, the paradox is more pronounced. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2021), only 31.5% of researchers worldwide are women. This education-employment gap reflects systemic barriers that industry is uniquely positioned to address. The economic stakes are clear. According to estimates by the McKinsey Global Institute, enabling 68 million more women to participate in India's workforce could boost India's GDP by up to $700 billion by 2025. Similarly, the World Bank suggests that achieving a 50% female workforce participation rate could elevate GDP growth by 1%.
Government vision and STEM skilling
The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 paved the way for higher retention and opportunities in the fields of STEM. The nodal Ministry of Education (MoE) has integrated education with skills development and life skills training. The Government's renewed focus on revitalising Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and expanding vocational skilling is bringing high-quality technical education and training closer to villages and small towns, ensuring broader access for youth across rural India.
This progress aligns with the Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat (or developed India), where women's economic mobility forms the cornerstone of inclusive development. The share of the gender budget in the total national Budget has increased from 6.8% in 2024-25 to 8.8% in 2025-26 with ₹4.49 lakh crore in allocation toward gender-specific programmes.
Further, the Union Budget 2025-26 introduced term loans for women entrepreneurs, new National Skill Training Institutes, and investments in technology-driven skilling. India's policy framework, from Skill India to Digital India, and from 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' to PM Vishwakarma Yojana, has the right intent. However, government policy alone cannot bridge the education-employment gap. Industry must transform from passive recruiter to active enabler of women's career transitions.
Industry as the missing link
Industry plays a critical role in bridging the gap between skilling and employment, especially for women. Persistent social norms, such as the belief that 'mechanical means masculine' or that 'coding isn't for girls', continue to create invisible barriers for skilled women entering technical fields. These stereotypes are well-documented in multiple studies, including those by the World Bank and UNESCO, which highlight how gendered perceptions limit women's participation in STEM and technical trades. Evidence also shows that women do not leave STEM fields due to a lack of ability, but instead because workplaces are often unwelcoming, families lack awareness of career opportunities, and roles remain deeply gendered. Addressing these perceptions, alongside ensuring workplace safety, equitable pay, and support for career transitions related to marriage, childbirth, and caregiving, is key to unlocking the full potential of the workforce.
India's private sector is increasingly stepping up, with many companies championing structured mentoring programmes, industry-linked training initiatives and partnerships with educational institutions to create direct pathways from classrooms to careers. One such initiative is the UN Women's WeSTEM programme, being implemented in collaboration with the Governments of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and supported by the Micron Foundation. This programme provides access to skills and bridges the talent gap. By engaging families and community leaders, conducting workplace safety sessions, and introducing women role models in classrooms, the programme recognises that skill-building requires a shift in mindsets to be effective.
A blueprint for industry leadership
Industry partnerships with educational institutions, mentorship networks linking professionals with students, and workplace policies that accommodate life transitions and ensure safety, can bridge the education-employment gap. The question is not whether India can afford to invest in women's STEM careers. It is whether industry can afford not to. By equipping women and girls with the skills and training needed to succeed in STEM fields, we can create a more inclusive and robust society. When a woman earns, her voice and impact echoes across dinner tables, shop floors, policy rooms and entire industries. And in that voice lies the blueprint of a future ready India.
Kanta Singh is the Country Representative, a.i. at UN Women India and is a part of Team UN in India. Antara Lahiri is the Director, Micron Foundation, Asia and Europe. Micron Technology and the Micron Foundation focus on expanding access to STEM education and pathways to high-tech careers of the future.