Empowerment of Women Doctorates in Engineering

Abstract

Traditionally, women in India have shied away from engineering and related fields. However recent trends suggest that more and more females are participating in the growing technology sector in India. Although this new interest open doors for new opportunities for females as well as Indian economy, research on women PhD's in engineering in India still remains scarce whereas on the contrary underrepresentation of women in the sciences and engineering has been examined in greater depth in many other countries. Since the period of doctoral education crucially clashes with women's age of marriage and family in India, special provisions such as part-time PhD's, more flexibility in terms of time period for completion, government scholarships and funding etc may be useful in increasing their participation. Bringing in all these opportunities for women can help to develop skills that allow them to make decisions and influence community change.

This paper brings out the problems faced by the women in engineering and research fields to pursue their PhD's and presents various motivational schemes for empowerment of women doctorates who are pursuing PhD's in India.