Gender balance stagnates at IITs six years after supernumerary seats introduced

Even after several years of targeted measures to increase female participation, women continue to make up only about one-fifth of students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

According to data from the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC), which coordinates the JEE Advanced exam, the proportion of women across IITs has remained between 19% and 21% since 2020.

While policies such as supernumerary seats for women have prevented a drop in representation, they have not led to significant growth.

JIC reports from 2020 to 2025 show only marginal changes in female enrollment. In 2020, women accounted for 19.90% of the 16,061 seats filled, rising slightly to 20.15% of the 18,188 seats allotted in 2025.

Although the absolute number of women admitted has increased in line with overall seat expansion, the proportion of female students has stayed nearly flat over the years.

Year-wise female representation across IITs shows minor variations: 19.72% in 2021 out of 16,296 students, 20.06% in 2022 out of 16,635 students, 19.7% in 2023 out of 17,385 students, and 19.75% in 2024 out of 17,695 students.

At individual campuses, the trends differ slightly. Older IITs have shown limited progress. IIT Bombay recorded 20.04% women in 2020, 19.80% in 2021, 19.9% in 2022, 19.5% in 2023, 20.3% in 2024, and 19.57% in 2025.

IIT Delhi stayed close to 20% during the same period, with 20.5% in 2020 and 20.63% in 2025. IIT Madras has performed better, with representation rising from 20.72% in 2020 to 21.09% in 2025.

IIT Kharagpur has consistently remained below the national average, with female students comprising 17.87% in 2020 and 19.19% in 2025. Among newer campuses, IIT Tirupati reported 21.57% women in 2025, while IIT Goa and IIT Jammu recorded 20% each.

Larger, older campuses like IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur continue to lag in gender balance despite the overall policy.

Supernumerary seats for women were first introduced in 2018 to address low female enrollment, which was in single digits at several IITs.

The policy aimed to reach 20% representation by 2020, a target that has been technically met but not exceeded significantly.

The data indicates that while IITs have stabilized female representation, challenges persist in increasing participation beyond 20%, especially at older and larger campuses.

Newer institutes and IIT Madras suggest that targeted measures can improve gender balance, but broad-scale progress across all IITs remains limited.