Women in stem role

How organizations can accelerate participation of women in STEM roles

Photographic portrait of Aashish Kasad
Aashish Kasad

EY India National Leader - Chemicals and Agriculture sector; India Region Diversity & Inclusiveness Business Sponsor

5 minute read 10 Mar 2023

Strategic intake, work culture and mentorship programs can improve gender balance and help women take advantage of high-growth sectors.  

In brief

  • High participation in STEM education is not reflected in more women taking up jobs in related sectors.
  • Mentorship and sponsorship initiatives can lead to more women in leadership roles in STEM sectors.
  • Some manufacturing companies are making workplace and policy changes to create a more enabling environment for women to join and thrive in operations and reduce / eliminate the bias. 

Many organizations have now taken up diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as a priority action item that is monitored and measured regularly. However, despite the concerted vigor, the gap is still very wide and a holistic approach starting at the grassroots would be required to attain true gender parity in STEM fields.

From an economic lens, for women to have more equity, it is imperative that they have a larger presence in growth areas, many of which are STEM sectors. In India, according to IBEF, the IT industry accounted for 7.4% of India’s GDP in FY22, and this is expected to increase to 10% by 2025. Another STEM related growth sector is pharmaceuticals, where the Indian market is expected to grow from US$42 billion in 2021 to US$130 billion by 2030. Life sciences and healthcare are expected to face a shortage of talent over the next few years. 

Start-ups, considered one of the engines of India’s growing economy, are mostly present in 56 sectors. Of these, 13% are in IT services, 9% in healthcare and life sciences, 7% in education, and 5% each in professional and commercial services, agriculture and food and beverages, states the recent EY India@100 report.

However, to be able to tap into the opportunities that STEM related growth sectors offer, India Inc. as well as the government must address the issue of converting women STEM graduates into STEM talent. At present, there is a wide gap between women graduates and job seekers. 

The most recent All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) shows that of the about 9.5 million students who enrolled for STEM courses in 2021, 43.2% were women. But the high participation in STEM education is not getting translated into more women taking up jobs in related sectors. According to the World Bank, women make up nearly 43% of the total STEM graduates, but just 14% of scientists, engineers and technologists in research development institutions and universities.

Consulting, ITeS, IT, BFSI and Media, Internet and Advertising are the top sectors in India that employ women in STEM with the representation ranging between 45% in Consulting and 30% in Media, Internet and Advertising. 

The narrow pipeline of women working in STEM shrinks, however, when it comes to women in leadership roles across sectors. In a survey of 1,004 women tech professionals, only 7% said they held executive-level positions and 13% were at director level (Skillsoft 2022 Women in Tech Report – India Region), while 17% mentioned holding mid-level manager positions. 

Setting the foundation

At the policy level, the government has launched some gender advancement initiatives especially aimed at STEM fields. These include Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) and Knowledge Involvement Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) programs. The Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), 2020 includes incorporating a grading system based on merit and performance, allowing 30% quota for women in decision-making positions and offering gender neutral rules and recommendations to make the daily workday easier.

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Aashish Kasad

    Many enterprises are also taking several strategic actions to increase the participation of women in STEM. Some of these are:

     

    Building technology talent pipelines: Many multi-national technology companies in India have built apprenticeship training and certification programs in towns and villages specifically targeted to train and certify women in technology. These centers, which usually work in the PPP model, have become a rich source feeding into their talent pipelines. 

     

    EY STEM App, a part of the Global Women in Technology (WIT) sponsored EY STEM Program, aims at bridging the gender gap in STEM education and to build a talent pool for futuristic careers. While the program is deployed in 14 countries, in India, the gamified mobile app helps girls in the 13-18 years age group. It reaches more than 30,000 girl students in over 200 schools across 21 states and Union Territories. 

     

    In addition to creating talent, targeted hiring policies can lead to more intake of women employees. These include ensuring the job descriptions are worded gender-agnostically, removing unconscious bias in interview processes through a mix of male and female interviewers, and a deep analysis of remuneration structure that could highlight any pay disparities, which can be addressed. 

     

    Enabling gender-neutral manufacturing operations: Several companies are conducting detailed research to understand and eliminate the typical bottlenecks impeding the progress of women in manufacturing. For example, an ongoing research initiative launched in 2021 by the India operations of a leading global manufacturing company, has identified the typical drawbacks in workplace conditions for women in manufacturing.  Many manufacturing companies in India are making significant changes to the workplace environment and policies to enable women to join and thrive working in operations and reduce / eliminate the bias. These include focused gender hiring drives, gender-agnostic machine configurations and workplace conditions, proper sanitary facilities and childcare facilities. 

     

    Tapping into the second-career opportunity: A 2016 global research stated that more than 96 million women worldwide between the age 30 and 54 were in a career break.  This demographic represents a pipeline for women in mid and senior level management positions. COVID-19 worsened the level of participation of women in the workforce. Specific back-to-work programs have been successful in many companies as they provide a crucial link between jobs and talent while bringing women back into the workforce.

     

    Creating a path to leadership: Adopting a formal mentorship, sponsorship and allyship plan can carve out a path that leads and supports high performers attain leadership positions. More women in senior positions has a ripple effect in terms of innovation, gender-sensitive decision-making and building an overall supportive working environment. Equally important is the fact that they can be role models who inspire other women employees, students as well as job aspirants.

     

    Establishing communication frameworks: Among the major fault lines in STEM sectors are systemic gender imbalance and workplace bias and harassment. Creating guidelines such as codes of conduct for online and physical spaces provide a formal framework of communication. Online and physical support groups create spaces where specific issues can be resolved. 

    To fully realize their potential to innovate, corporate India must accelerate initiatives such as targeted hiring, mentorship and sponsorship plans, scholarships and back-to-work initiatives that enable increased participation of women in STEM roles.

    Aashish Kasad

    EY India National Leader - Chemicals and Agriculture sector; India Region Diversity & Inclusiveness Business Sponsor

    Summary

    As organizations and the government take measures to expand the participation of women in STEM related higher education, research and companies, the two main challenges are to create a pipeline of women in STEM roles while also improving participation in leadership roles. While some progressive companies are making concerted efforts to increase the representation of women in STEM, a lot more needs to be done in a focused, deliberate, and widespread basis, to achieve true gender parity across the board.

    About this article

    Photographic portrait of Aashish Kasad
    Aashish Kasad
    EY India National Leader - Chemicals and Agriculture sector; India Region Diversity & Inclusiveness Business Sponsor
    Go-to strategic advisor on Indian tax and regulatory matters. Passionate about reading, travel and music.
    Related topics
    Gender equality
    Diversity and inclusiveness

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