Women’s share in research rises to 29%, but lags behind in the private sector

According to the ‘Research and Development Statistics at a Glance 2025-26’ report, the share of women in the country’s total research workforce has risen from 18.6% in 2020-21 to approximately 29% in 2023-24.

Women Researchers in India: Women’s participation in the field of research and development in India has grown rapidly over the last few years, though the picture varies across different sectors. According to the Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) ‘Research and Development Statistics at a Glance 2025-26’ report, women’s share in the total research workforce increased from 18.6% in 2020-21 to around 29% in 2023-24. However, female researcher participation in the private industry’s R&D sector stands at just 17.8%, the lowest among major sectors.

The role of women researchers in the country

According to the report, there were over 5 lakh full-time equivalent researchers in India as of April 1, 2024. This included approximately 1.5 lakh women researchers. Consequently, women’s share in the total research workforce has reached 29%. This increase in the share of women researchers has occurred over the past few years; women’s participation in the research workforce was 18.6% in 2020-21 and rose to 29% by 2023-24, marking an increase of nearly 10 percentage points during this period.

Women researchers by sector

Looking at participation across different sectors, women lead in the higher education sector with a 36% share. This is followed by state agricultural universities and state-level R&D laboratories, where women’s share stands at 28%. Women researchers account for 21.9% of the workforce in central government R&D labs and 21.2% in public sector industries. This figure is lowest in the private industry, at 17.8%. Thus, despite an overall increase in women’s participation in the research workforce, their presence in private sector R&D still lags behind other major sectors.

Women Leading Research Projects

Women’s participation is not limited to merely being part of research teams; report data indicates a rise in their leadership roles within research projects. The share of women heading ‘extramural research’ projects—funded by the central government—stood at 13% in 2000–01 and rose to 28% by 2023–24. In the last two years, approximately 30% of project leaders have been women. This reflects the evolving role of women in the research sector, where they are now taking on the responsibility of leading projects.

Government Allocates ₹3,356 Crore for Research

The report also presents data on research funding in the country. In 2023–24, ₹3,356 crore in funding was allocated to 6,094 projects under government-supported extramural research. Academic institutions received nearly three-quarters of this amount. The Department of Science and Technology contributed more than half of this total funding. Meanwhile, the shares of the government and the private sector in the country’s total R&D expenditure are quite close; for every ₹100 spent on R&D, the government contributes approximately ₹48, while the private industry contributes about ₹45.