Even though lakhs of students aspire to crack the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main and Advanced every year to secure a seat in one of the 23 IITs, the number of girls who appear for JEE Main and qualify for JEE Advanced is significantly less than that of the boys. As per the National Testing Agency (NTA) which conducts JEE Main, out of the 22.5 lakh candidates who registered for JEE Main 2023, around 30% were girls. Moreover, out of the 11,13,325 candidates who appeared for both the sessions, the number of girls taking the exam was 338963, as opposed to the boys who accounted for 774359. On the whole, out of the 43 candidates who scored 100 percentile in JEE Main 2023 (both sessions), only one candidate, Ridhi K Maheshwari (AIR 23) from Karnataka, was the all-India topper among girls. A Lekhashree, also from Karnataka, secured second rank in the same category with 99.99 percentile.
The previous years too indicate a similar pattern. In JEE Main 2022, among the 24 candidates who secured 100 percentile, there were only two girls Palli Jalajakshi from Andhra Pradesh and Sneha Pareek from Assam, while in 2021, Delhi’s Kavya Chopra and Maharashtra’s Bakshi Gargi were among the13 students who scored 100 percentile.
As aspirants get busy registering for JEE Advanced 2023, Bishnupada Mandal, organising chairman, JEE Advanced 2023, IIT Guwahati, says the statistics should not come as a surprise. He explains, out of the total 2.5 lakh candidates who are eligible for JEE Advanced 2023, around 1,90,000 candidates are males, while 60,000 candidates approximately are females. “There are altogether 16,500 seats in the 23 IITs, out of which 20% (3,300) are supernumerary seats for girls qualifying JEE Advanced. “Past experience shows, none of these seats lie vacant with girls showing as much interest in pursuing Computer Science, as Engineering Physics, Biotechnology, Maths and Computing, or even Data Science,” Mandal says.
It is a misconception, he adds, that girls do not have access to quality coaching, and hence do not match up to the boys, as there are ample opportunities for online coaching which eliminates the need to attend physical classes. “However, if their numbers are less in Main or Advanced, it is simply because they are willing to explore opportunities in other STEM subjects and not necessarily drawn towards engineering per se. A large percentage of girls are inclined towards the medical profession, and going by the recent NEET UG 2023 registrations, out of the nearly 21 lakh candidates who registered, 12 lakh candidates approximately are girls which puts them in a majority over the boys,” Mandal explains.
While the supernumerary seats are just one step towards increasing gender diversity in the IITs, the institutes, for their part, are making efforts to make their campuses more inclusive. “At IIT Delhi, for instance, the Office of Academic Outreach and New Initiatives (ADONI) launched a STEM mentorship programme for high school girls to encourage them to choose science as their career,” says Angelie Multani, dean, Diversity and Inclusion, IIT Delhi where there is also a new Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), led by a woman dean to address the barriers faced by women and persons from marginalised backgrounds in their education and professional journey. The ODI conducts post-JEE counselling for female students and their parents to integrate girls within the IIT ecosystem. These, and other initiatives, may help create a conducive environment for girls to crack the JEE and make engineering their calling.