Gender gap in higher education and the challenges ahead: An analytical study of Indian states

Higher education has been portrayed as a great equalizer and a powerful tool of upward social mobility for reducing socio-economic disparities and accomplishing an inclusive society. It is expected that strengthening of the higher education system would increase access to education for women and enable them to pursue careers of their choice and contribute their full potential to the nation. As a matter of fact, education has the latent force in it which can demolish mental, social and economic barriers faced by women and usher in women empowerment in all realms of life. Hence, what is of utmost importance is to expand opportunities of higher education to all women who deserve and desire it. But unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges confronting India's higher education system is gender disparity. Large scale disparities still exist in respect of enrolment rates, access to education etc. India needs to bridge the gender gap in the educational sector, particularly in higher education, on an urgent basis in order to promote gender equity and also to usher in women empowerment. This paper makes an attempt to review the nature and extent of gender disparity in India's higher education system and to assess the performance of the different states and union territories with regard to enrolment rates and gender parity scores. The paper also ranks the top fifteen among the states and union territories according to their percentage of women enrolment, Gross Enrolment Ratio and Gender Parity Index scores and seeks to find out whether the states with high enrolment rates also have high degrees of gender parity. The study reveals that the statistics of enrolment rates and GER do not necessarily reveal the true picture with regard to gender disparities and often gender biases are deeply rooted within the educational systems of the states and union territories which are manifested through low GPI scores.