India, Aug. 30 -- The question facing India is no longer simply how to get more women into STEM, but which parts they enter, where they study and, eventually, where they work and lead. Science and engineering, both within STEM, are very different worlds in disaggregated data.

India has already achieved something many countries still struggle with: women make up a remarkably large share of its science and technology students. In science itself, women are at or above parity at several levels of higher education.

The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2023-24 recorded nearly 10.2 million students in STEM courses across undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil and PhD levels. Around 4.4 million, or 44%, were women. That reflects Ind...