Abstract:
Globally, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based entrepreneurial ventures are
primarily considered to be a male dominated sector. With the increasing literacy rate among girls, rise in
female oriented STEM-based startups is expected but is not the observed trend, either in India or
internationally. The sixth economic census released by the ministry of statistics and program implementation,
Government of India, shows that women constitute 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs of which 34.3% work
in agricultural sectors while 65.7% work in non-agricultural sectors. Non-agricultural based entrepreneurial
activities are dominated by manufacturing and retail based ventures with statistics on women-owned or
women-led STEM based ventures unaccounted for. While studies indicate the rapid emergence of women
undergraduates in engineering and technology in India (15.8% in the UK as compared to India where over
30% of the engineering students are women, Statistics from Women’s Engineering Society), the pipeline is
leaky with women opting to drop out after college or midway, during careers. In contrast, statistics for
women in science is lacking with few women-owned scientific spin-offs. In this perspective we aim to
underscore the disparity concerning the “leaky pipeline” for women in STEM. We also compare and contrast
global versus indigenous efforts to promote the presence of women in STEM-based entrepreneurial ventures
as well as provide recommendations to accelerate these efforts.
