The Renaissance of Women’s Participation in Indian Higher Education (2015–2025)

This study examines how female enrollment in Indian higher education changed structurally between 2015 and 2025, a time when steady expansion gave way to an exponential "renaissance." While gender inequality and historical patriarchal traditions historically impeded growth, new data shows a paradigm shift: female enrollment hit a record high of 2.07 crore in 2021–2022, a 32% rise from 2014–15. By 2024, the number of women attending universities had increased by 26% annually, much above the 3.6% increase in male enrollment. The Gender Parity Index (GPI), which has been continuously above 1.01 since 2017–18, indicates that the gender gap is closing. This study also examines the increase of intersectional mobility, as Scheduled Tribe (ST) female enrollment has increased by 80%. The study finds a continuing "leaky pipeline," with women making up only 27% of the STEM workforce and holding fewer than 7% of senior academic leadership positions, despite India producing the greatest number of female STEM graduates in the world (42.7%). After analyzing policy accelerators like NEP 2020, digital learning models, and targeted programs like Vigyan Jyoti, the article comes to the conclusion that, although the fight for "access" to classrooms is mostly being won, converting academic achievement into economic agency will be the next hurdle. In order to unlock India's full socioeconomic potential, the report suggests institutional reforms such as "returnship" mandates and industry-aligned apprenticeships to close the gap between high educational attainment (97.1%) and lower female labor force participation.