Women continue to account for less than 30% of the student population at several Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), even as their enrolment has increased over the past few years, according to official student statistics published on the IIT Council's website.
An examination of the available institute-wise figures shows that female students constitute approximately 23% to 26% of the total enrolment at IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati and IIT Hyderabad, based on their respective reporting periods.
The figures indicate that although more women are studying at these institutions than in earlier years, male students continue to account for nearly three-fourths of the overall student population.
The data covers total student enrolment, rather than admissions through JEE Advanced alone, and therefore offers a broader picture of gender representation across the institutions.
According to the IIT Council's student statistics portal -
IIT Madras reported 2,944 female students out of a total enrolment of 12,385 in January 2025, representing approximately 23.8%.
IIT Kanpur recorded 2,115 female students among 9,169 students in August 2025, putting women's share at 23.1%.
At IIT Roorkee, women accounted for 2,782 of the 11,108 students reported in August 2025, a share of approximately 25%.
IIT Guwahati reported 2,089 female students out of 8,533 in August 2024, while IIT Hyderabad recorded 1,253 women among 4,797 students in January 2024. Their respective shares stood at approximately 24.5% and 26.1%.
These figures are drawn from different reporting periods and should not be treated as a simultaneous ranking of IITs.
A comparison of available official records suggests gradual improvement at several institutes.
At IIT Madras, the number of female students increased from 2,274 in January 2021 to 2,944 in January 2025. Their share of total enrolment rose from approximately 22.6% to 23.8% during this period.
IIT Kanpur reported 1,866 female students in August 2022, accounting for about 20.8% of its student population. By August 2025, the figure had increased to 2,115, with the female share reaching approximately 23.1%.
At IIT Roorkee, female enrolment rose from 1,763 in August 2021 to 2,782 in August 2025. Women's share increased from around 22.4% to 25% over the same period.
IIT Guwahati also recorded an increase, from 1,542 female students in August 2021 to 2,089 in August 2024.
While these comparisons indicate progress, the pace of improvement varies between institutes.
The gender imbalance is also reflected in nationwide figures.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Education in August 2026, the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023–24 recorded 35,534 female students among 1,49,839 students enrolled across IITs.
This places the female share at approximately 23.7%, with male students accounting for the overwhelming majority of enrolment.
The national figure is consistent with the broad pattern visible in the selected institute-level statistics, although the two datasets cover different reporting periods.
The government has introduced measures to improve women's participation in undergraduate programmes at IITs, including the creation of supernumerary seats.
According to the Ministry of Education's Annual Report 2024–25, the initiative was designed to increase female enrolment in BTech programmes to 20% by 2020–21.
The report states that female enrolment in IIT BTech programmes stood at 19.75% in 2024.
However, this figure relates specifically to BTech enrolment and should not be directly compared with the overall student population, which also includes postgraduate and research programmes.
The available statistics do not establish how much of the improvement in total female enrolment can be attributed to undergraduate admissions, postgraduate courses or doctoral programmes.
