From medical breakthroughs, to space exploration, to the creation of the smartphone, the world has seen rapid technological advances in the past few decades. With the creation of these new technologies came industries and jobs for those working towards the advancement of society. Yet, across the world there continues to be a disparity between men and women who study and are employed in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
STEM has played a major role in shaping society and given the normalisation and proliferation of AI, it will continue to do so and have an effect on our future economies. Currently, 57% of girls want to go into a STEM career, however, compared to 85% of boys, only 39% of girls graduate from high school with a disciplinary in a STEM subject. The divide between the different genders is due to a multitude of barriers including an overall lack of resources, lack of female role models and social and cultural expectations.
FINANCIAL BARRIERS
According to ‘Mint’, 59% of girls highlight financial difficulties as the most prominent reason why they don’t pursue a path in STEM. Oftentimes scholarships needed to help pay tuition costs aren’t awarded. This is usually because there is a lack of knowledge around the scholarship, the requirements for the scholarship are restrictive or difficult to achieve, or because the scholarship itself doesn’t target economically disadvantaged girls. Furthermore, scholarships often fail to cover ancillary costs. Even if tuition costs are taken care of, there are other resources that are needed to pursue a degree in STEM such as money for transportation and tutors, and access to a lab which is harder for those in remote areas, especially young girls.
LACK OF ROLE MODELS
Another barrier to girls pursuing an education in STEM is a lack of female role models in the field since STEM fields are typically male dominated. A survey titled “Unlocking Potential: Financial Aid as a Catalyst for Girl’s STEM Success” found that only 13% of the schools they surveyed had female science teachers. From a young age children create connections between certain professions and who is in that profession based on real life experiences and media, it mentally creates a barrier between what they can and can’t do. For example, the majority of nurses both in real life and the media are women, therefore it is viewed societally as a job for women. Having a lack of female role models in STEM prevents younger girls from being able to aspire to join the STEM field as they don’t have someone to look up to. This is an issue that needs to be rectified to bridge the gap between boys and girls studying STEM.
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL BARRIERS
Even when girls go on to study and graduate with a STEM degree, a majority of them don’t pursue a career in STEM. Despite all the challenges faced by young girls in pursuing a career in STEM, India is currently one of the world’s leading countries in terms of women graduating from STEM programs, with 43% of graduates being women. However only 14% of employees in STEM industries are women. The gap between the women who graduate and the women who pursue a career in STEM is often due to social and cultural expectations. Women have less opportunities due to gender bias and societal norms that sometimes restrict interactions between men and women. As men make up a majority of STEM fields, it can be difficult for young women to network, find mentors and build those relationships to further advance in their career. Furthermore, many women leave the workforce in order to get married or start families. While many do so with the intention of returning, it is much harder as STEM is always evolving and there is an expectation to constantly ‘upskill’.
WHAT RESTLESS DEVELOPMENT IS DOING
In 2025, it was reported that 78.2% of women in the work force in India are in vulnerable employment, meaning that they lack formal work arrangements, security or social protections. This makes it more likely for them to fall into poverty or harder for them to break the cycle of poverty.
Restless Development looks at education as a means of social justice to end poverty and empower youth and women. Education is a long term commitment that provides people with the ability to advance socially and economically. Through the initiative ‘L’Oreal, My Education My Rights’ Restless Development encourages young girls into STEM Pathways.The initiative aims to bridge the gap in girls graduating and pursuing STEM fields, while also aiming to the retention and re-enrollment of girls in school. They do this by introducing Social Emotional Learning, Entrepreneurship Learning and helping girls build the skills needed to pursue careers in STEM such as digital literacy and coding while also holding sessions about life skills, gender issues and careers. In addition, they place emphasis on Youth leadership and providing a platform for the voices of the youth, encouraging them to build communication and leadership skills.
Restless Development provides facilitators of the initiative with continuous mentoring and refresher training to ensure that skills in SCRATCH, Coding and Hackathon skills are up to date, so that they are then able to effectively mentor students. In classrooms, the initiative combines STEM and digital literacy with life skills and social and emotional learning as a holistic approach to overcoming the barriers in access to education. This approach provides girls with the confidence to communicate assertively and identify their strengths, weaknesses, skills, abilities and goals in life. Part of the ‘My Education My Rights’ initiative encourages young girls into STEM by creating student-led STEM clubs which builds necessary skills like problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork and leadership while increasing student engagement and interest in STEM fields. The organisation also helps young girls by inviting local, national and international female role models to help motivate, inspire and bring career awareness to young girls in Odisha, along with providing exposure to industries, educational institutions and work environments to provide the girls with hands-on experiences which will help them prepare for their future careers. Restless development knows that support from the community is important in encouraging girls to pursue an education, as a result part of the ‘My Education, My Rights’ initiative includes celebrating and placing emphasis on observation days that celebrate and empower women and girls, such as National Girl Child day, International Girl Child day, International Womens day and World Day Against Child Labour. Doing so, spreads awareness around communities about the importance of each day and lets the girls know that they are supported.
Girls and women face a myriad of challenges when pursuing education, specifically STEM pathways, including a lack of resources, limited role models and social and cultural expectations. Despite these challenges, there are organisations such as Restless Development that are working to help break down barriers to STEM pathways. In doing so they are helping girls gain the confidence, skills and opportunities needed to succeed in life and shape the future.
Citations
85% of boys in India want a STEM career compared to 57% of girls: Survey. (2021, 30 June). The Times of India.
Bhagat, A., & Vijayaraghavan, R. (2019). Gender Disparity in Stem: Evidence from India. Teacher India, 13(3), 36-40.
https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=teacher_india
Jeelani, Gulam. (2025, 25 April). Too poor for Science? 59% of girls abandon STEM dreams due to financial constraints, reveals new study. Mint.
Kasad, A. (2026, January 21 ). Breaking the code: The rise of women in India’s STEM landscape. EY.
Sahay, S. (2022, February 2). STEMing Gender Divide in India. British Council.
https://opportunities-insight.britishcouncil.org/analysis/stemming-gender-divide-india
Singh, Lisa. (2025, March 5). The lost potential in STEM: Why women are still left behind. The Interpreter.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/lost-potential-stem-why-women-are-still-left-behind
World Bank. (n.d.). India. World Bank Gender Data Portal.
