Recruitment prospects
K Sankaranarayasamy, Director, NIT Puducherry says, “As with most employers in the IT industry, the sector offers campus placements, high salary packages and social approval, which is mostly preferred by female students. In contrast, other main streams have lower initial recruitment prospects and pay structure. At NIT Puducherry, CS remains the most sought-after specialization among girls, followed by electronics and communication.
Anupama B Pandit, Administrative Officer and Admission In-charge, GSSSIETW, Mysore says that 90% of candidates in engineering colleges choose CS as their first option. “The remaining 10% opt for other streams,” she says.
change in mindset
Students’ thought process is driven by perceptions created through cinema, marketing and general trends, says V Ramgopal Rao, professor and former director, IIT Delhi. “It is believed that CS provides the most convenient desk job option to girls, which is not true. Today there are various sub-sections in all the major branches which offer a plethora of options for both male and female students. For example For this, a female student can excel in sustainability in civil engineering or explore fluid mechanics under mechanical engineering,” he says.
Pandit says girls will perform better in core streams like mechanical, electronics and electrical. “While the IT sector is now the largest recruiter among all streams, a push towards enabling manufacturing and electronics sectors is bound to change this. The real situation in the IT sector is different, it has a demanding work culture, which, due to social demands, affects the prospects of long-term employment. Thus, choosing a core branch may be a better approach for girls,” she says.
disclosure figures
With most of the students taking UG degree in CS, admission in top institutes is quite competitive. Perhaps this is the reason why only a few girls get admission in IITs and NITs.
An IIT Bombay spokesperson says, “In 2011, 2020 and 2019, the most popular streams in terms of number of girls were Mechanical (57, 41 and 30 respectively), Electrical (37, 38 and 27 respectively) and Civil (37 respectively). , 38 and 27). 36, 33 and 24 respectively).
IIT Gandhinagar (IITGN) has a more balanced proportion of girl students in all subjects at the UG level. Dilip Srinivasa Sundaram, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, IITGN, says, “The most popular streams in terms of number of girls in 2021 are Mechanical (10) and Chemical (9). In 2020, the most popular streams were Chemical (9) and Mechanical (9).
KV Krishna, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, IIT Guwahati, says, “The top three most popular streams at the UG level in terms of number of girls in the last three years are Electronics & Electrical/ Electronics & Communication, Biosciences & Bioengineering and Biotechnology & Bioengineering. Civil.”
students speak
The introduction of Google piqued my interest in computers when I was in sixth grade. The 5 W (What, When, Why, Where and Who) and 1 H (How) of operating this search engine inspired me to explore the option of becoming a CS Engineer. No engineering stream for girls is difficult, it is just about the passion to excel in their chosen field.
– Sneha Pareek, the only girl among the 14 toppers of JEE Main, 2022