Science

International Day of Women and Girls in Science: India's Journey

India's women in science moved from exclusion to a near-equal share of classrooms: women were 44% of STEM students in 2023-24, up from 38.4% in 2014-15. But th…

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FIRST DOCTORS

Two women qualify in medicine

Anandibai Joshi earned an MD in Philadelphia on 11 March 1886. Kadambini Ganguly qualified in Calcutta the same year and practised for decades.

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BOTANY

Janaki Ammal's plant genetics

A cytogeneticist who bred sugarcane at Coimbatore, co-wrote a chromosome atlas and later helped reorganise the Botanical Survey of India.

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BIOCHEMISTRY

Kamala Sohonie's Cambridge PhD

She had to argue her way into IISc, where C.V. Raman was reluctant to admit a woman, then earned a Cambridge PhD in 1939.

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CHEMISTRY

Asima Chatterjee's DSc

First Indian woman DSc from an Indian university; her plant compounds led to anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs.

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METEOROLOGY

Anna Mani joins IMD

She led the design of weather instruments in India, measured ozone and solar radiation, and retired as a Deputy Director General.

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ENGINEERING

Rajeshwari Chatterjee joins IISc

An electrical engineer who built microwave and antenna research at IISc, often called Karnataka's first woman engineer.

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RECOGNITION

First woman Bhatnagar winner

Asima Chatterjee won it for chemical sciences in 1961 and in 1975 became the first woman to lead the Indian Science Congress.

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SPACE

Kalpana Chawla flies

Kalpana Chawla, from Karnal, flew with NASA in 1997. She died in the Columbia disaster in 2003 and remains a role model.

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RE-ENTRY

KIRAN helps women return

DST's umbrella for women in science, built around fellowships that bring trained women back after career breaks.

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UN DAY

The first 11 February

The UN set the day in December 2015 to promote equal access to science for women and girls. It was first marked in 2016.

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FIRSTS

Women lead Chandrayaan-2

M. Vanitha was project director and Ritu Karidhal mission director. The same year Gagandeep Kang became a Royal Society Fellow.

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MOON

Chandrayaan-3 lands

Reports quoting ISRO officials said about 54 women worked directly on the mission and more than 100 overall. It was a team result.

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GRANTS

CSIR-ASPIRE launched

A 2023 call for research grants led by women scientists. It drew over 3,000 proposals; about 300 got three-year grants.

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THE GAP

44% of students, 18.6% of R&D

Women were 44% of STEM students in 2023-24 but 18.6% of STEM R&D professionals. The figures measure different groups.

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THE CHALLENGE

From degree to leadership

More women PhDs and principal investigators, re-entry that lasts, women leading labs, and public data on hiring and pay.

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