NEW DELHI: The highest echelons still remain inaccessible to women in education, a field predominantly dominated by the female workforce, with only 11.18% occupying the Vice-Chancellor (VC) positions in universities across the country, data shows.
Out of 1,073 universities under the ambit of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), just 120 have women VCs, Secretary General of AIU, Pankaj Mittal, told this newspaper. “Of this figure, 16 hold the top job in universities where the post is exclusively reserved for female appointees,” she said. India has a total of 1,200-odd universities with 90% of them affiliated to the association.
Women are increasingly occupying mid-level leadership roles like the Heads of Departments or Controller of Examinations. “However, gender parity at the top remains elusive. The positive aspect is that the present situation is much better compared to the trend in our country three years ago when only 7% of universities had women VCs,” Mittal elaborated.
JNU, Dr Ambedkar University Delhi, Kashmir University, Allahabad University and Chaudhary Charan Singh University (formerly Meerut University), Dr Hari Singh University (Sagar University) are among the prominent ones with women VCs presently. UP & TN have max women heads.
With 19 women Vice Chancellors in its 84 universities, Uttar Pradesh ranks No. 1 in terms of having women in a top leadership role. Tamil Nadu with 11 VCs in its 56 universities and Maharashtra with 10 women out of 79 universities take the second and third positions.
The North east states have shown the best and wost represntation simultaneously, with Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim having zero female VCs, while Meghalaya is closest to ensuring gender parity with women VCs in 4 of its 9 universities.
Emphasising the need for more women at the apex role, the Secretary General said, “Women VCs often lead with a strong sense of purpose, championing initiatives that support gender equity, student well-being, inclusive policies, and social responsibility. They are more likely to prioritise mental health, community outreach, and inclusive decision-making areas that are sometimes overlooked in traditional models of leadership.”
Their presence at the top sends a powerful message: that leadership can be both strong and compassionate, she added.
For women in Higher Educational Institutions, whether students, faculty, or aspiring leaders, the path is still shaped by invisible barriers, unspoken biases, and structural limitations, she felt. “To change this, institutions must go beyond symbolic gestures and commit to real, people centric reforms.”
Mittal highlighted many of these aspects in her concept paper — Promoting women-led development for Viksit Bharat — during the second conference of women VCs held at Jharkhand on Friday.