Women overrepresented in higher education; only 11.18% female VCs in Indian Universities

Women's representation in high-level leadership is critically low, yet they make up a substantial percentage of the education workforce. As per information, women are Vice-Chancellors (VCs) in just 11.18 per cent of Indian universities.

"Out of 1,073 universities within the purview of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), only 120 have female VCs," AIU Secretary General Dr Pankaj Mittal informed The New Indian Express. Of these, 16 are in universities where the position of VC is kept for female candidates alone. India has approximately 1,200 universities, with nearly 90 per cent of them being members of the AIU.

Women are fast filling mid-level leadership roles like Heads of Departments or Controllers of Examinations, but the apex one continues to elude them.

The report by The New Indian Express states that some leading institutions with women VCs include Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr Ambedkar University Delhi, Kashmir University, Allahabad University, Chaudhary Charan Singh University (earlier Meerut University), and Dr Hari Singh University (Sagar University).

Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of female VCs among states at 19 in its 84 universities. Tamil Nadu places second with 11 VCs in 56 universities, and Maharashtra is third with 10 women in 79 universities.

Dr Mittal stressed the importance of gender-sensitive leadership, having informed The New Indian Express that women VCs often come with a resolute sense of purpose, championing projects that foster gender equality, mental wellness, student welfare, inclusive decision-making, and social responsibility.

"Just by being present, they make an incredibly strong statement: leadership doesn't have to be hard-edged to be strong," she added.

But unobserved barriers and structural prejudices still affect women's trajectories in higher education as students, instructors, or next-generation leaders.

"To shatter these barriers, institutions need to go beyond tokenistic actions and focus on making meaningful, people-oriented reforms," she clarified.

Dr Mittal raised these issues in her concept paper, Promoting Women-Led Development for Viksit Bharat, which she read out during the second national conference of women vice-chancellors recently held in Jharkhand.