Express view on quota for women at IIT: Proof that inclusion works
The increasing representation of women in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) marks a pivotal moment in the journey toward greater inclusivity and gender equity in India’s premier institutions of higher education. It is also welcome affirmation of the larger and irreversible shift in society that top-down institutional reforms can help make deeper and wider. Data obtained by this newspaper under the Right to Information Act has revealed that six years since the implementation of a supernumerary quota of 20 per cent for women in undergraduate engineering programmes, in which extra seats were created instead of reserving them within the existing pool, IITs are witnessing a significant surge in female students. At IIT-Kanpur, the number of women rose from 908 in 2017 to 2,124 in 2024; IIT-Roorkee saw a 76.36 per cent jump between 2019-20 and 2024. IITs in Chennai, Mumbai, Guwahati and Kharagpur, too, saw commensurate jumps in enrolment.
The upsurge reflects a positive correlation between individual ambition and availability of opportunities that is a result of good-faith affirmative action. Initiated in 2018, the quota in IITs goes beyond numbers in reshaping an academic space that has historically been male-dominated. There have been infrastructure upgrades in the form of more hostels, washrooms and recreational facilities for women. Some campuses have a special open-door policy for female aspirants and their parents to learn about campus life. These are all welcome departures from a masculine imagination of the classroom where women were expected to man up or ship out, where safeguards against everyday sexism were few and far between. The change challenges the old narrative that STEM is a field for men, and signals a future where women’s voices, ideas, and innovations will be indispensable in shaping the country’s intellectual and technological future. Given that of the total enrolled students in engineering and technology — according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2021-22 — women still comprise only 11.3 lakh, while 27.6 lakh are men in the undergraduate programmes, it is crucial to bridge the gap.
But as with medicine, where for every 100 men there were 100 women enrolled in medical colleges in India in 2020-21, the increased presence of women in IITs can only be counted as a job well begun. It underscores the need for greater systemic support to ensure that the progress of women does not stall, that the passage from classroom to workplace remains unhindered. The focus must now shift to ensuring that the IITs continue to create an environment where women can thrive free from biases, and are equipped with all the support and resources they need to succeed. The India Human Development Survey, by the University of Maryland and the National Council of Applied Economic Research, that has tracked changes in the lives of Indian households between 2004 and 2024, shows that despite ongoing transformations in their lives, one area where women continue to be let down is in terms of economic opportunities. With more women poised to enter the workforce, it is time to ensure that gender-neutral policies, mentorship, and a culture of inclusivity allow them to realise their potential more fully.