Science Career For Indian Women: An Examination of Indian Women’s Access to and Retention in Scientific Careers

Gender disparity at all levels and its adverse impact on women has become a fact of life. This is partly due to the biological role and responsibilities of women as mothers, but mostly due to the traditional mindsets, which visualise women as being child bearers and home-makers, and men as breadwinners. Yet in many invisible, unrewarded ways women contribute significantly to the economic well-being of the family, and take on the double or triple burden of home making, work outside home and fighting male chauvinism. Among the various professional spheres, women seem to miss out more in science and technology, particularly physical sciences, agriculture and engineering fields. Those who do study science, often end up in what are considered as less challenging teaching jobs.