Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
4. Improving the participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is crucial for achieving gender equality and fostering innovation. Analyse. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint , Insights on India
Why the question:
Historically, academies have been male bastions with the significant exclusion of women scientists, irrespective of their contributions and work.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about how to improve participation of women in STEM courses and be made more inclusive and sensitive for women empowerment.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving a statistic about the representation of women in higher academic sciences.
Body:
In the first part, mention how historically gender norms and patriarchal attitudes continue to affect women in academic sciences.
Next, write about the measures that are needed make higher science inclusive and sensitive – promoting awareness, giving choice, continuous academic support, re-inclusion after a break, policy support etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
