Significant Increase in Female Enrollment at IITs Over Six Years

The number of female students in India's IITs has surged by 52% from 2019 to 2025, with their share of total seats rising from 17.76% to 20.15%. This article delves into the statistics, initiatives like supernumerary seats aimed at boosting female enrollment, and highlights from various IITs. Discover how these changes reflect a growing trend in women's participation in engineering education at prestigious institutions.

By Ambika Singh Sep 16, 2026, 11:16 IST

Growth of Female Students in IITs

In recent years, the number of female students pursuing engineering at India's prestigious IITs has seen a notable rise. A comparison of admission statistics from 23 IITs reveals that in 2019, 2,416 female students secured seats, which increased to 3,664 by 2025. This marks an impressive growth of approximately 52% over six years.
However, the increase in the proportion of female students relative to total seats has been relatively modest. In 2019, their share was 17.76%, which rose to 20.15% in 2025.
How Much Has Women's Share Increased?
In 2019, a total of 13,604 seats were allocated across 23 IITs, with 2,416 seats awarded to female candidates, resulting in a female share of 17.76%. By 2025, the total number of allocated seats increased to 18,188, with female students occupying 3,664 seats, raising their share to 20.15%.
Thus, over six years, the female share increased by 2.39 percentage points, while the total number of allocated seats grew by nearly 34%. This indicates that the rise in female admissions outpaced the overall increase in seats during this period.

Initiatives to Boost Female Admissions

To enhance female participation in IITs, the introduction of supernumerary seats was initiated. This strategy aimed to increase the number of female students without reducing the general seats available for gender-neutral candidates.
The plan set targets for female enrollment at 14% in 2018-19, 17% in 2019, and 20% in 2020-21. In 2018-19, 835 supernumerary seats were created, followed by an addition of 1,122 seats in 2019-20, aimed at improving female representation in IITs.

Female Representation in 2025 Admissions

In the 2025 admission statistics, several IITs reported female student representation exceeding 19%. IIT Tirupati recorded the highest at 21.57%, followed closely by IIT Madras at 21.09%. IIT Delhi and IIT Indore both had female shares of 20.63%, while IIT Roorkee, IIT Dharwad, and IIT Kanpur had shares of 20.50%, 20.47%, and 20.41%, respectively.

Increase in Female Admissions in Established IITs

Notable increases in female student representation have also been observed in some of the older IITs compared to 2019. At IIT Bombay, the female share rose from 17.78% in 2019 to 19.57% in 2025. Similarly, IIT Kharagpur saw an increase from 16.82% to 19.19%, and IIT Hyderabad from 18.61% to 20.13%.

Current Female Admission Statistics

According to the 2025 data, female students constituted 20.15% of the total allocated seats in IITs. In simpler terms, this means that approximately one in every five students admitted to IITs is a woman. Although the percentage increase is limited to a few points, the actual number of female students has surged by around 52% from 2019 to 2025, reflecting a positive trend in female enrollment at IITs.