Even though more and more Indian women are going abroad to pursue their education, hurdles remain.
In a survey report by MSM Unify, women respondents said that finances are the biggest problem in their plans to study abroad. This includes a lack of information about scholarships, grants, access to various monetary benefits, etc. The lengthy visa process and wait time (17 per cent) were the second biggest challenge, as per the survey.
Monica Kapadia Mehta, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Leap Scholar, agrees, but adds family commitment could be another major deterring factor.
"Two challenges deter women from pursuing higher education abroad: family commitments and lack of familial support for financing their education," Mehta said.
However, with several companies now offering finance without collateral for higher education abroad, the latter is becoming less of a barrier, she added.
Despite these challenges, nearly half of all study abroad applicants from India are female, according to study abroad platform Leap Scholar. Women comprised 50 per cent of all applicants to Canada, 45 per cent to the UK, and 35 per cent to the USA in 2023.
"There is a growing number of women pursuing education and career opportunities abroad," says Leap Scholar’s Mehta. However, European destinations like Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland are also appealing for women seeking careers in fashion, art restoration, culinary arts, etc.
The trend extends beyond major cities. There's a growing interest from students in smaller towns, driven by the development of affordable international degree programs. This empowers women from all over India to pursue their educational and professional dreams on the global stage.
Safety and post-study career prospects are key considerations for these women. Leap Scholar's Mehta says career trajectory, financial independence, and immigration procedures are major factors in their decision-making. Ankur Nyati of Study Abroad highlights living expenses, work opportunities, and post-graduation options as well.
In one of the surveys conducted by leverage.biz, the outlier consideration while choosing a destination for female students was “safety”, and the next most important, is post-study wages.
In addition to this, living expenses, part-time work opportunities, post-graduation work, and stay-back options are some of the other factors that women consider before moving abroad, says Study Abroad's Nyati.
Gender pay gap
While the gender pay gap persists, the US offers the lowest gap in the IT sector, according to Akshay Chaturvedi of Leverage.biz. However, pay gaps remain a challenge, with US women earning 16% less and Canadian immigrant women earning 20.9% less than their male counterparts.
“The country also has one of the highest salaries for IT professionals, and while yes, a slight gender pay gap does exist, it is the lowest for this segment, and there is more to do,” he says.
Today's women are also more likely to gain work experience before applying abroad, strengthening their applications and career prospects, says Mehta. “Women are also ensuring that they get relevant work experience for 1-5 years before they apply for a degree overseas to ensure they get into the desired university of their choice and improve their chances of a strong career trajectory,” she adds.
This year, there's a rising demand for AI/ML programs, particularly in the US, attracting a growing number of female students, says Chaturvedi from Leverage.
