-Prof Nandana Sengupta, Prof Ravinder Kaur
STEMtheGap is a multi-disciplinary research effort situated at IIT Delhi where we study the experience of women across the STEM pipeline - starting from female entry into elite engineering, their experiences and retention in STEM, all the way to leadership opportunities.
When Priya walked into her first lecture at IIT Delhi, she felt a spark of pride. A few years ago, women like her—first-generation learners, hesitant yet determined—might not have had this chance. Thanks to the Supernumerary Seat Scheme, the doors of IITs are opening wider for women, but is this enough to ensure lasting change?
But what exactly is the Supernumerary Seat Scheme, and how does it work? While the policy has been lauded as a landmark effort to boost female representation, it has also sparked questions and misconceptions. Among some male students of the community, there is a perception that the scheme puts them at a disadvantage, creating friction around the idea of affirmative action. To better understand its impact, it’s essential to first break down what SSS is—and just as importantly, what it isn’t.
Supernumerary Seat Scheme
To meet the objective of achieving at least 20% female enrolment by 2020, each branch, across all IITs, and across all caste categories, IITs created additional or ‘supernumerary’ seats for female students (when required). The calculation of seats was done as a one-time effort based on the 2017 enrolment numbers. For instance, at IIT Bombay 100% of the female-only seats in the branch of electrical engineering were created as a result of SSS in contrast to zero additional seats being created for department of biotechnology in IIT Madras. This approach towards greater representation is an alternative to the fixed quota system followed by other affirmative action initiatives.
While the algorithm ensures fairness in seat allocation, the broader narrative around affirmative action policies can sometimes shape perceptions in unintended ways. The popular narrative around SSS, has led some female students to being viewed as ‘seat- stealers’ by their male peers. This is inaccurate. The algorithm has been carefully designed with the objective of ensuring that no male candidate allocated a seat in a program can be displaced by a female candidate of lower rank. Unlike other affirmative action initiatives SSS functions by initially allocating female candidates into the female-only seats and thereafter filling the gender-neutral seats from the pool of all remaining candidates across genders. As a result, almost all gender-neutral seats are currently occupied by male candidates since higher-ranked females are already allocated a female-only seat in their preferred department. And since the number of gender-neutral seats is equivalent to the number of seats occupied by male students prior to SSS, there is no loss of seats available to male candidates. On the other hand, female candidates now have additional seats within each branch-institute pair and further, only if there are more than 20% higher ranking female candidates, then these high-ranking female candidates can also compete with male candidates for the gender-neutral seats.
“We are not taking their seat. These seats weren’t there before. . So for women, they’re giving an extra portion and that was what it was really. I believe that this is really helpful for all women, because giving that extra push helps us since most people don’t have that push from family. I’m the first person in my family to go to an IIT. My father studied in a private college, in a good college. So I got into a government college and like, my father also told me, he could not even have dreamt of IIT because it was such a difficult thing. So that push (supernumerary) really gave me (motivation). So, I’m the first person in my family to get to an IIT. Really proud of myself”
-Excerpt from interview of a female student from an underprivileged background
Impact across IITs and branches
The scheme has been broadly successful in raising enrolment of female students to 20% across most IITs by 2022 (with the one exception being IIT Kharagpur). It’s important to pause and appreciate the historical nature of this shift. Since the inception of the older IITs over 6 decades back, female enrolment has been less than 10%, underscoring the limitations of organic growth in gender representation and the need for directed programs. The success of this measure further points towards the benefits of directed programs with specific goals versus an eclectic range of strategies.
SSS has been particularly helpful in increasing seats for female students in the 1st generation IITs like IIT Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Guwahati, and specifically into branches like mechanical, civil, and CS engineering. On the other hand, fewer additional female seats have been added as supernumerary in the newer IITs, and in branches like biotech and chemical engineering where the baseline gender representation was higher. This heterogeneity in the scheme’s implementation ends up being masked in reporting and communication around SSS.
Just the Beginning
While SSS provides more women a foot in the door, wider institutional changes are needed to ensure they succeed and thrive in these environments.
STEMtheGap and others are researching the experience and performance of the girls who have been beneficiaries of this scheme particularly how they cope with being allotted more coveted branches and IITs.
The changing gender mix in historically masculine environments will impact the classroom, the institute and the workforce at large. Emerging research from the impact of other affirmative action programs indicates that more diverse classrooms and workplaces create more healthy environments and even more long-term success in desired outcomes.
The Supernumerary Seat Scheme represents more than just a statistical milestone—it is a step toward reimagining the IITs as spaces where diversity thrives. However, achieving gender parity in enrollment is only part of the journey. True equity will require sustained efforts to create inclusive environments where every student, regardless of gender, feels empowered to succeed and contribute.
The long-term impact of this policy extends far beyond classrooms and lecture halls. As more women enter historically male-dominated fields, they will shape industries, mentor the next generation, and challenge societal norms about who belongs in STEM
“As a comparative to what was there earlier, when there was no supernumerary, I feel it’s done wonders at making me feel somewhat at home. When I see other girls in this department, I have that sense of relatability that there’s someone like me who’s here. Just seeing them, right, even if you don’t talk to them, even if you don’t socialise with them, just seeing that they’re there is something that’s very helpful in its own way, right?
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