In IIM Mumbai first batch, 47.1% female students, more than double from past years

According to the institute, apart from several initiatives taken to encourage gender diversity on the campus, changed eligibility criteria for admissions — allowing non-engineers to apply — has been a significant contributor to this jump in ratio of female students.

Till last year when the institute was recognised as NITIE, only engineers were allowed to pursue MBA at the institute. This year (after its status changed to IIM Mumbai), the institute has seen nearly 30 per cent non-engineers take admission. Out of the 518 students admitted this year, 152 are non-engineers. And among the non-engineers, almost 74 per cent or 112 are female while only 40 are male. Even as students from engineering background continue to dominate admissions, with 29.3 per cent of non-engineers taking admission this year, the institute believes this may be the beginning of a new trend.

Prof Rauf Iqbal, Dean of Student Affairs at IIM Mumbai, said, “This year the institute has received participation of students, both men and women, from across multiple disciplines and this has been instrumental in opening opportunities to students, particularly women from diverse fields to apply.”

As NITIE, the institute offered three courses: all postgraduate diplomas and all requiring students to have engineering degrees. These were Postgraduate Diplomas in Industrial Engineering, Industrial Management and Sustainability Management.

After gaining the status of IIM in August last year, the institute from this academic year is offering MBA degrees instead and admission is not restricted to only engineers. These courses are — MBA (General), MBA in Sustainability and Management, and MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management. The admissions are through the Common Admission Test (CAT), which determines admission to all IIMs and other reputed B-Schools in the country.

According to data shared by the institute, with 177 women out of a total 315 students, MBA (General) has the biggest share of female students on the campus. While MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management has 55 female students out of a total of 173 admissions; MBA in Sustainability Management has 13 women out of a total of 31 students.

According to IIM Mumbai, it was a result of their series of strategic initiatives under its “Diversity Attraction Strategy” aimed at encouraging more women to apply. These include targeted outreach programmes, scholarship opportunities patronised by industry, and mentorship schemes to support female applicants.

As the number of girls on the campus has increased, the institute has prepared adequate space to accommodate them comfortably. Institute Director Prof Manoj Tiwari said, “While a new hostel is in the making, currently there is one hostel for girls apart from two floors in a boys hostel dedicated to girls. Earlier, PhD Scholars and defence professionals would stay in the building which is now entirely made available to girls.”

As the institute is now catering to students from all disciplines with an increased number of girls, for the first time, it conducted a two-week long orientation. “This included participation not only from professors at IIM Mumbai but also faculty members of other IIMs and foreign scholars. The idea was to have a good confidence-building exercise along with helping the new students coming from various backgrounds to be ready for the course as well as prepare for the summer internships programmes and other opportunities they will be getting in a few months span,” said Prof Tiwari.

Prof Iqbal said, “For decades, gender disparity has been a persistent issue in higher education, particularly in the fields of business and management. The recent admissions at IIM Mumbai, therefore, represent a pivotal moment, reflecting broader societal changes and the concerted efforts of the institute to foster an inclusive environment.”

According to an Indian Express report (March 2024), which threw light on increasing gender diversity at IIMs, especially those from the earlier generation; IIM Kozhikode was the only IIM having a 50:50 ratio of male and female students in the year 2022. In the same year, IIM Indore had 33 per cent female students whereas IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta had less than 30 per cent female students.