A look at how more women are making a mark in Science
The Hindu
Spotlight on women | Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. A look at what India has achieved with regard to women in science.
On the specific subject of girls and their presence (or lack of it) in the Sciences, I am compelled to believe that we must look at it from the macro, societal, economic and individual perspectives.
At Independence, the literacy rate in India was just 13%. While we have travelled a long way from there, we still have some way to go as far as education for girls is concerned. Over the first 50 years, India grappled with access to education by setting up schools. Today we have over 1.5 million schools of which 75% are government-run and 40,000 colleges and universities. The gross enrolment ratio now is around 26% and India is striving to get to 50% in this decade.
The completion of girls’ schooling (till classes 8, 10, or 12) in post-independent India has been a big enabler in accelerated girls’ education through the 1980s and 1990s. Social awareness and availability of government schools played a great role in this transformation.
