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As of this writing, we have not found a central Indian repository that calculates and maintains base representation rates for specific subfields of Indian women teachers in Indian STEM academia. We found the NIRF report to be a way to collect publicly reported data on the representation of female faculty. However, the ambiguity, incompleteness, and lack of inclusion of specific STEM fields in the research prevent these data from being used to gain a global perspective on representative change trends.
Based on our data, the differences we observed within subfields may essentially reflect the areas in which women in science are socially accepted (Figure 1). For example, biology has the highest proportion of female faculty of any subfield, and biology is traditionally considered a “soft science.”7. Engineering, chemistry, computer science and physics show the base ratio of female teachers hovering around 0.1 – the lowest of all subfields. Even in prestigious institutions with high NIRF rankings, such as IISc and several IITs (Figure 2), the proportion of female faculty remains unacceptably low. In addition, the proportion of female teachers has declined sharply across career stages (Figure 3), demonstrating a clear attrition—also known as a “leaky pipeline.”Similar to what other reports show8Female teachers face multiple and insurmountable barriers to career advancement, leading them to exit STEM academia and pursue other careers and careers.
We divided data collection and analysis into two phases – the first phase from June 2020 to August 2021 (Figure 4) and the second phase from August 2021 to March 2023 (Figure 5). We calculated the proportion of meetings that fell below the baseline rate and events where women were represented at zero. Comparing Phase 1 and Phase 2 (Figure 6), we find that the proportion of conferences with below-base representation of female speakers decreased in all subfields except Earth Sciences and Chemistry, where we found the opposite trend. Similarly, we observed a decrease in the proportion of conferences with zero female speakers in all subfields except Earth Sciences and Chemistry.
Looking at similar data from other sources, we found that the UNESCO Institute for Statistics9 Cited The proportion of female scientific researchers in India in 2015 was 13.9%. Most recently, Swarup and Dey (2020)10 An analysis of the proportion of female teachers in the top 20 STEM colleges in India (ranked by NIRF) found that the average proportion was 11.24%. Comparing these numbers to our calculated median of 16.6%, we find that the representation of female faculty has not changed significantly, at least over the past decade.
When we started BWI in June 2020, the world was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting increase in virtual conferences and online meetings has made it easier to collect data on the activities, panels and discussions taking place in the Indian STEM academic community. In particular, X/Twitter is a useful tool not only for gathering information and summarizing events, but also for interacting with allies and obtaining reports from allies about events announced on social media platforms other than X/Twitter.Recently, with the changes in X/Twitter goals and rules11 As a social media platform, maintaining an analyzable stream of events becomes increasingly difficult as events gradually transition from all-virtual to hybrid or all-in-person.
Private messages or “direct messages” (DMs) received from BWI X/Twitter fans display a wide range of emotions. Most women and allies are grateful that public-facing handles can unite against and call out systemic inequities and provide base rate data for every subfield. Most female scientists at the professional level are often afraid to call out systemic inequality loudly and publicly. Especially in Indian STEM academia, this outspoken attitude costs women in terms of career advancement steps such as funding, collaboration, goodwill, and promotions. Over the past few years, BWI has served as an anonymous repository for these women and their allies, reporting on Indian STEM events where there are few or zero female speakers. In comparison, the few replies and DMs we received from men were at best dismissive of us and our efforts, and at worst combative, even in public-facing replies and conversations The same is true in China.
An important lesson we learned from our two years of running BWI is that data collection and dissemination are necessary to drive change. It’s hard to solve a problem as huge as discrimination without first scoping it with available information. In 2021, there are no public sources showing the proportion of female teachers in STEM academia in India. We built this database and narrowed it down to female faculty who are actively conducting scientific research at STEM institutions. While it is impossible to profile every STEM institution in the country, we included in our final list a variety of institutions such as public and private universities, professional biology and engineering colleges, and interdisciplinary institutions such as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Through an analysis of 98 such institutions, we estimated the proportion of female faculty working in STEM academia in India.
When we used these base rates to promote events on Not only did this spark conversations around the topic, but it also helped women and allies notice and express concerns about underrepresentation in their own work environments.
One of our main ongoing goals is to think about how similar data collection and analysis can be extended to other axes of bias, such as other genders, castes, classes and religions. While we have not been able to make significant progress in this area, we hope to better engage in the future and assist individuals/groups working in this area.Future work will focus on collating data from the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)12 Therefore, a similar set of analyzes could be extended to examine base rates and attrition rates of female doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows.Overall, the transition from postdoc to faculty position (e.g., assistant professor) has proven to be a major drain for women in science13.This is because, often, this occurs at a time when women face family and social pressure to leave the workforce and start a family.14.A recent study shows that tenured senior female faculty are more likely to leave academia due to toxic work environments15.
The Gender Progress in Transforming Institutions (GATI), launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in February 2020, is a pilot program to record qualitative and quantitative gender data at the institution level16.For example, herenumber 17 It is a GATI report submitted by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi) in January 2023. Unfortunately, because the program is in its infancy and there is no external pressure to document and improve, we have yet to see the long-term impact of data collection and improvements. Finally implemented at the policy level.
In summary, we observed and quantified the data collection and dissemination necessary to drive change towards gender equity in Indian STEM academia. Given the difficulties in obtaining gender data, we strongly believe that universities and research institutions should conduct regular gender audits and make data easily publicly available. Annual audit data should be tracked to track trends and set goals. We hope that this effort will eventually be self-driven and self-sustaining, without the need for external motivation from top-down mandates from ministries or governments.
As we (and others) have recommended in the past18 (summarized below), increasing the representation of women and minorities in Indian science requires clearly designated resources and, more importantly, a willingness and strong commitment to equity on the part of Indian scientific institutions and university/institutional leadership.
Support for graduate and advanced degree holders
1. Abolish age discrimination—Most early career grants/positions require candidates below 35/40. This restriction unnecessarily penalizes any career path that does not follow preset traditional patterns that were originally designed to advance men’s careers at the expense of women’s.
2. Build a stable network of mentorship and support within each organization—Women early in their careers benefit from mentorship and, more importantly, sponsorship from established scholars in the field.
Support for early- and mid-career scientists
1. Authorizes each agency to establish an “Office of Equity and Inclusion”– These will serve as hubs connecting all women in the organization and form a stable network of mentorship and support
2. Provide support to families—Provide adequate parental leave for both men and women. Consider maternity status in funding decisions and provide extensions if necessary.
3. Establish a tenure clock extension policy for women who need it due to childbearing—This will ensure a level playing field for female scientists to achieve important career milestones such as tenure and promotion
4. Ensure there are at least 30% female scientists in all groups—especially those related to career drives, recruiting, budget proposals, and promotion to tenure. The active participation of women in such groups will provide much needed support and understanding in decision-making.
5. Setting up a day care center on campus– Taking care of children is not just the mother’s responsibility. Providing child care on academic campuses can alleviate major stressors for new parents, especially female scientists who are new mothers.
6. Pay Attention to the Schedules of Young Parents (Male and Female)– Do not exclude young parents or faculty members with family responsibilities by holding formal meetings outside of working hours.
Support for senior scientists
1. Promote and encourage long-term mentor-mentee relationships— Early-career female scientists should receive support, mentorship, and sponsorship to guide them toward continued success in their careers. Longstanding negative social biases must be mitigated through strong institutional policies.
2. Prioritize the inclusion of the voices of experienced women scientists in decision-making at the academy, departmental, and government levels—Hearing women’s voices will bring much-needed diversity of thought and promote creative solutions to difficult problems
3. Facilitate career development activities such as sabbaticals—A sabbatical can help foster new directions and collaborations. Female academics are often reluctant to take time off due to social pressure to stay home and care for their families.
4. Establish and conduct regular gender sensitivity workshops for staff and faculty at all levels– Effectively challenging and changing generations of ingrained sexism is difficult. Therefore, all staff and faculty should receive regular training and seminars to develop and maintain appropriate behaviors and attitudes.
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