Bridging the gender gap, boosting the GDP

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education in India, are now planning to partake in bringing down the ‘gender gap’ in the country by introducing a ‘Balancing Act.’

Five out of the sixteen institutes are aiming to provide scholarships and fee waivers to all female students. IIT at Mandi has already taken the lead by implementing scholarship for all its female students, while also allowing them to avail fee waivers. At IIT Mandi, there are 30 female students of the 500, currently pursuing B. Tech.

Women’s Inclusiveness

The move is strongly inspired by the desire to close the ‘gender gap’.  It was reported that in the year 2016, only 860 of the 10,500 seats were filled by women, inspite of 2,200 women qualifying for the exam.

The lack of women representation in institutions and the workforce has been a trend that follows through in India. Developing countries normally reveal gender disparities but even with India’s steady growth and development, the country is still bound to certain conventions. IIT faculties comment on the common Indian mindset to invest heavily on a sons’ education.

The low level of women participation in the Indian workforce is a result of many factors.  According to research, the unlikelihood of women to participate in the workforce is not only influenced by social norms but also by economic stability. As economic stability begins to surface at home, women become more inclined to work on ‘status production.’

Status production is a term used to define the work a woman does at home, in support of the well being and upkeep of the family members.

Analysis

India’s economy is growing, home to 101 billionaires. However, it is characterized by unbalanced development; the World Bank report states that India has the largest number of people living below the international poverty line.

With a large democracy, a population of over 1.3 billion and a GDP of 7.9%, India has immense potential. According to World Bank reports, the country is the world’s third largest in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). India has significant human potential, 50% of the population is below the age of 25 years.

IMF’s Managing Director, Christine Lagarde has mentioned in 2015 that if India were to close its ‘gender gap’, it would boost India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 27%. India aims to reach a growth rate of 10% by 2020. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) analysis; an NGO that works closely with the government on policy issues asserts that it is possible to hit such targets if India creates 500 million jobs, annually.

Assessment

Research suggests that it is predominantly ‘bias’ that pushes women out of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). If organizations and institutions are really keen on closing the gender gap, then the approach to the problem would also feature as a ‘priority’.

Our assessment is that there is an indefinite exclusion of women in most diverse spheres of private and public life due to cultural and societal factors, which lead to structural disadvantage in the roles and positions of women aiding on to the ‘glass ceiling’. Gender-sensitive policies being introduced at universities and institutions, like IITs to incentivize women participation, will enable the country to see a more ‘inclusive population’ driving India’s growth and development. By increasing female participation in the workforce, not only will India be able to reduce the overall ‘gender inequality’ but it will also increase the country’s level of ‘per capita income’ which is a more accurate measure of a country’s development.