Women scientists doubled since 2014, females constitute 18.6 pc STEM workforce: Minister

New Delhi, Nov 29 Women scientists have doubled since 2014, and females constitute 18.6 per cent in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Singh credited the government schemes under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the increase in the number of women scientists in the country.

“Prior to 2014, women beneficiaries across key Department of Science and Technology programmes were limited, but between May 2014 and October 2025, the number has grown exponentially across schemes such as INSPIRE, WISE-KIRAN, and Vigyan Jyoti, reflecting the government’s strong push toward women-led development and inclusive scientific growth,” the Minister said.

Under the Inspire Manak scheme, before the year 2014, women’s participation was nil but rose to 1,76,743 between 2014 and 2025.

The Inspire scholarship for higher education scheme before the year 2014 had 23,530 women participants, but from 2014 to 2025, the number more than doubled to 50,642.

Similarly, the women’s participation in the Inspire Fellowship more than doubled to 5,035 between 2014 and 2025 from 2,106 before 2014.

The Inspire Faculty before the year 2014 had 175 women participants; it rose to 439 between the years 2014 and 2025.

WISE (the Women Scientist Scheme) before the year 2014 had 2,713, but from 2014 to 2025 it rose to 4,419.

Citing data from DST’s Research and Development Statistics 2025, Singh pointed out that “women today constitute about 18.6 per cent of the workforce employed in STEM-related fields in the government and private sector combined”.

“The share that is steadily growing as more women move into research, innovation, and high-technology roles,” he added.

The MoS further highlighted that women’s participation in extramural R&D projects -- a critical indicator of their role as principal investigators and research leaders -- has almost doubled over the last two decades, rising to 25 per cent in 2019-20 from 13 per cent in 2000-2001.

“This progress is directly linked to the sustained efforts made by the government in the Science and Technology sector to enable women to enter, sustain, and excel in research careers,” Singh said.

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