India’s 'Viksit Bharat' Vision Can Only Be Realised With More Women In STEM

As India marches toward its 2047 target of becoming a developed nation, the Viksit Bharat initiative has rightly positioned innovation at the heart of this transformation. From artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing to climate technologies and deep science research, India is steadily laying the groundwork to become a global innovation powerhouse.

But there’s a critical challenge that could slow this progress: women remain significantly underrepresented in STEM careers. Without bringing more women into these fields, the country risks leaving a large part of its talent pool untapped.

India produces one of the highest proportions of women STEM graduates globally. According to the AISHE Survey data by the government, women constitute approximately 43 per cent of total enrolments in STEM disciplines at the higher education level. Our classrooms tell a story of parity and promise. But the workplace reveals a different reality entirely.

The Leaky Pipeline: From Education to Exclusion

The gap between educational attainment and workforce participation is significant. A recent report by the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) contended that India's most underutilised strategic asset is its vast and growing pool of qualified women in STEM.

While women account for 43 per cent of STEM enrolments, only around 14 per cent transition into actual STEM careers. In critical Research and Development establishments, women represent merely 16.6 per cent of the personnel. This phenomenon, termed the "leaky pipeline", represents a colossal waste of human capital and a direct impediment to national innovation.

The economic cost of this exclusion is significant. Recent studies suggest that increasing women's participation in the labour force could add substantially to GDP, with women's entrepreneurship alone having the potential to create 150-170 million jobs by 2030. 

Why does India's STEM pipeline leak so profusely? 

The answer lies not in individual capability or ambition, but in systemic barriers that operate at multiple levels. 

Hiring biases, persistent pay gaps, unsafe transportation options, and insufficient networking opportunities all play their part. However, deeper structural issues compound these workplace challenges. The disproportionate burden of childcare responsibilities reinforced by existing societal norms forces many women to pause or exit their careers precisely when they should be advancing.

The barriers are not uniform across all women. A woman from a metro city and a woman from a marginalised caste in a small-town college face different frictions, even with identical degrees and career journeys. Access to mentorship, internships, conferences, and research patronage often diverges long before the first job interview. 

Schemes like the Government’s WISE-KIRAN and our programs like EmpowerHer, Equitably Yours (men’s leadership cohort), Returnship, Apprenticeship, Training or workshop on inclusivity, help bridge these gaps. However, it is important to recognise the "leaky pipeline" as not a women's problem but an innovation problem, an economic problem, and a national competitiveness problem.

Representation inspires aspiration; aspiration inspires participation

To build a Viksit Bharat, we need women not merely as participants but as designers, builders, leaders, and funders of the technologies that will define India's future. This requires transforming our perception of women-led enterprises. 

Women-owned technology businesses continue to receive less than their fair share of capital investment, despite demonstrating efficiency in capital generation. Access to venture capital, research grants, and procurement opportunities must expand.  Building a developed India requires women at scale across laboratories, production lines, boardrooms, and AI ethics committees.

Increasing women's participation in STEM is not simply a question of fairness or social justice. It is about bringing forth the full innovation potential of India, a foundation upon which a developed nation must exist. The infrastructure is being built. The policies are being framed. Now, we must ensure that every woman with a STEM degree sees not just a job, but a future where her contributions will shape the nation's destiny.

Authored by Shreya Krishnan, Managing Director, AnitaB.org India. Views expressed by the author are their own.