Over and above, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• Female enrollment in higher education increased by 42% over the past decade, reaching 2.24 crore in 2023-24.
• Women now constitute 49.7% of all students in Indian universities and colleges, with a Gender Parity Index (GPI) of 1.08.
• Female enrollment among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rose by 51.4% and 75.7% respectively.
• While women make up 44% of STEM students, their enrollment is skewed towards general sciences (54.6%) rather than engineering and technology (31.1%).
• The Female Labor Force Participation Rate remains low, with men dominating the regular salaried workforce and earning more.

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Detailed Insights:

• The data comes from the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2023-24.
• The GPI of 1.08 indicates that 108 young women enter higher education for every 100 men.
• Despite high enrollment, concerns exist regarding the lack of employment opportunities post-graduation.
• The concentration of women in traditional sciences may isolate them from future economic drivers like Artificial Intelligence and software engineering.
• Educational institutions show patriarchal trends, with only 82 female teachers for every 100 male teachers and limited female leadership.
• The influx of students has coincided with an increase in private and low-tier colleges facing faculty shortages and poor infrastructure.
• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025 report highlights that 26.5% of men are in the regular salaried workforce compared to 18.2% of women.
• Average monthly earnings for men are ₹24,217, while for women they are ₹18,353.
• The "self-employed" category for women (64.2%) often includes unpaid household or farm labor, obscuring their actual economic engagement.

Key Concepts Involved:

• All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE): An annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Education to collect detailed information on higher education in India.
• Gender Parity Index (GPI): A socio-economic index measuring the relative access to education of males and females.
• Female Labor Force Participation Rate (FLFPR): The percentage of women in the working-age population who are employed or actively seeking employment.
• STEM: An acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, representing fields of study and professions.