{"id":7510,"date":"2022-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/22-08-2022\/women-scientists-in-india\/"},"modified":"2022-08-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T00:00:00","slug":"women-scientists-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-08-2022\/women-scientists-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Women Scientists in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Recently, <\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>Dr N Kalaiselvi<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"> was appointed as the <\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>first woman director general<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"> of India\u2019s largest research and development organisation Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Data on Women in R&#038;D\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"C:UsersWELCOMEDesktopCSIR-1.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/kFEh_YB4shNnnXYuODfWCO1VNy09JdxewQ87MN9Nm5BkYaVYIqUziU1InhjN6aLuWqA12vozjpaT2Nhj-GXqjteGcTA6YFvohj9MmVqFQohj2OrJLh-RR_Zy3VlOZZA5i-jMr18iSyh2b-GRHhVHJWJuDYBVcH1qP1y_pBpbBCD4CHyBwQq3TkNo\" style=\"height:287.0; width:337.0\" \/><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Increasing Trend<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The participation of women in science research has been generally increasing over the past two decades in the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">28% of participants in extramural R&#038;D projects in 2018-19 were women, up from 13% in 2000-01 due to various initiatives taken by successive governments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Four fold growth<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The number of women principal investigators in R&#038;D had risen more than four times from 232 in 2000-01 to 941 in 2016-17.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The percentage of women among researchers went from 13.9% in 2015 to 18.7% in 2018.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Sector wise assessment<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">There were fewer women researchers in engineering and technology (14.5%) compared with the natural sciences and agriculture (22.5% each), and health sciences (24.5%).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The percentage of women researchers in the social sciences and humanities is, however, much higher at 36.4%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Women\u2019s participation is the highest in biotechnology (40%) and medicine (35%).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Participation in Bachelor\u2019s and Master\u2019s levels\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Results of the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019 showed a 53% and 55% participation of women in science education at the Bachelor\u2019s and Master\u2019s levels respectively, numbers that are comparable with many developed countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">But at doctoral level, women graduates (44%) lagged behind men (56%).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Familial issues<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Women tend to drop out when they get married or have children.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">These reasons are attributed to dropout from higher studies, career break, overage for scientific jobs and prolonged absence from place of work or even resignation from the job.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Drop at the post-doctoral level\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">We have observed that participation (of women) is healthy till the postgraduate level. But there is a drop at the post-doctoral level, where most of the research takes place.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Participation in IIT\u2019s<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The rate of women\u2019s participation is particularly low across the five IITs in Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, and Roorkee ranging from 9% to 14%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Initiatives taken by the Government and Other organisations<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) project<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It is based on the UK\u2019s Athena Swan Charter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">In the first phase of GATI, 30 educational and research institutes have been selected by DST, with a focus on women\u2019s participation in leadership roles, faculty, and the numbers of women students and researchers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">SERB-POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">SERB \u2013 POWER provides structured support in research to ensure equal access and weighted opportunities for Indian women scientists engaged in R&#038;D activities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The R&#038;D support to women scientists is provided through two components, namely: SERB POWER Fellowships &#038; SERB POWER Research Grants.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)\u201d Scheme of DST<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It had been instituted to encourage women scientists through various programmes in the field of Science and Technology (S&#038;T).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Consolidation of University Research through Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE) Programme<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Only women Universities are being supported for development of research infrastructure and creation of state-of-the-art research laboratories to enhance women\u2019s participation in the S &#038; T domain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Indo-US Fellowship for Women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics &#038; Medicine)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It encourages Indian women scientists and technologists to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in the USA for a duration of 3-6 months.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Vigyan Jyoti Scheme<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It encourages girl students of Class 9 to 12 to pursue education and career in S&#038;T particularly in the areas where women are underrepresented.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Women Excellence Award<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It recognizes women Academy Awardees to expand their research horizon to higher levels.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Biotechnology Career Advancement and Re-orientation Programme (BioCARe)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">To encourage women scientists in Biotechnology research.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">National Award for woman scientist<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">To recognize the contribution of women scientists in the field of Earth System Sciences, Ministry of Earth Sciences has initiated a special award called \u201cNational Award for woman scientist\u201d and is being conferred to one-woman scientist each year on the Foundation day.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Women Entrepreneur\u2019s Quest (WEQ) Programme<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It was initiated by DST in partnership with Anita Borg Institute, USA for scouting and supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Technology.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Foundation (WEE)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It is India\u2019s first of its kind initiative by IIT Delhi supported and sponsored by DST to strengthen women eco &#8211; system.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Women Start-up Program (WSP) of DST<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">In partnership with Goldman Sachs aims to support ambitious and innovative women entrepreneurs by enabling them to transform their idea into a business venture.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Way forward<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Government programmes and natural progression\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The increase in women\u2019s participation, especially in research, is due to a combination of government programmes and natural progression.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">It aims to raise women\u2019s participation in S&#038;T to 30% by 2030.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Creche facilities\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">In numerous CSIR labs, women\u2019s participation has increased because there are creche facilities now in the residential colonies where the women scientists live.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Attitudes towards girls\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Parental attitudes towards girls pursuing science has also seen a shift, and girls are now encouraged more.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Increasing use of AI in the sciences<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">We anticipate that in the next 5-6 years, there will be an exponential growth in women\u2019s participation in S&#038;T with women using more sophisticated tools that allow remote working, such as something simple like access to online libraries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Age relaxation<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) provides an upper age relaxation of five years to women researchers to pursue doctoral and postdoctoral research for award of Fellowships.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"margin-left:11px\">\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; width:598px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top; width:598px\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">It is known for its cutting edge R&#038;D knowledge base in diverse S&#038;T areas,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">It is a contemporary R&#038;D organisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">It has a dynamic network of\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>37 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">, 3\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Innovation Complexes,<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">\u00a0and five units with a pan-India presence.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Coverage\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">It covers a\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>wide spectrum of science and technology<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">\u00a0\u2013 from oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">It provides s<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>ignificant technological intervention\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">in many areas concerning societal efforts, which include\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, farm and non-farm sectors.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>CSIR &#8211; AROMA Mission<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">To\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>develop and disseminate<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">\u00a0the aroma-related science and technology to reach the end users \/ clients of CSIR: Farmers, industry and society.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">To\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>bring additional area<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">\u00a0under captive cultivation of aromatic cash crops, particularly targeting rain-fed and degraded land across the country.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">To provide\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>technical and infra-structural support<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">\u00a0for distillation and value additions to farmers and growers all over the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">To achieve\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>value-addition to essential oils<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\">\u00a0and aroma ingredients for their integration into global trade and economy.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><strong>Source: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/number-of-women-scientists-up-csir-head-aims-at-further-push-8103848\/\" style=\"text-decoration-line:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><span style=\"font-family:\"Book Antiqua\",serif\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, Dr N Kalaiselvi was appointed as the first woman director general of India\u2019s largest research and development organisation Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).\u00a0 Data on Women in R&#038;D\u00a0 Increasing Trend The participation of women in science research has been generally increasing over the past two decades in the country. 28% [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[26,33],"class_list":["post-7510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-3","tag-science-technology"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/7662056Screenshot_20220822-210619_Chrome.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}