It was women in the past underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but today the tide has turned and how! Empowered by increasing workforce participation, upskilling initiatives, mentorship programs, and inclusive workplace policies, women have claimed their rightful place in AI, science, and other cutting-edge fields. India is a growing hub for STEM talent and offers unprecedented opportunities for innovators.
This article celebrates Indian women who fearlessly break barriers and inspire the next generation. Her work is a powerful reminder that women in STEM are shaping the future with access and opportunity.
1. Dr. Rajula Srivastava
Dr. Rajula Srivastava, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, won the 2025 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers in Mathematics Prize, a prize given to outstanding female mathematicians with doctoral degrees. It includes a cash award of $50,000. She shared her desire to donate a portion of her prize money to Indian organizations working towards children’s education.
Dr. Srivastava worked as a Hirzebruch research lecturer at the Mathematical Institute in Bonn and at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (MPIM). Her research lies at the intersection of harmonic analysis and number theory and contains notable results on the estimation of grid points near smooth surfaces, a topic that has implications for the Diophantine approximation in higher dimensions, that is, the approximation of points with real coordinates by rational points.
2. Dr. Divya Karnad
Dr. Divya Karnad is a marine conservationist and associate professor at Ashoka University, India. She was honored as 2025 WINGS Woman of Discovery for her interdisciplinary work to promote sustainable fisheries, protect marine biodiversity and community-oriented conservation. Her work is based on combining science, policy and indigenous knowledge to address the human dimension of ocean governance. With an extensive list of publications, Dr. Karnad is an established expert contributing to public discourses on marine sustainability in India. As co-founder of InSeason, the nation’s first sustainable seafood initiative that connects small-scale fisheries with sensible markets, she is helping reduce bycatch and increase consumer awareness of environmentally responsible seafood choices.
3. Amrita Krishnamoorthy
Amrita Krishnamoorthy has been honored in the UK with the Unlock Her Future Prize 2025, awarded to innovators driving social change to address South Asia’s most pressing challenges. Your organization Stepping Stones Centerpromotes the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to support children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Their evidence-based intervention approach is based on the belief that with the right educational support, every child is capable of exceeding their potential. Using ABA as a scientific foundation, the center promotes the development of communication skills, academic skills and life skills, as well as the reduction of challenging behaviors by modifying environmental factors. The team of behavior analysts and trained practitioners design systematic, tailored programs focused on constructive transformation for children and their families.
4. Jhillika Trisal
Jhillika Trisal, also a recipient of the Unlock Her Future Prize 2025, has redesigned learning with her startup Cognitii; a mobile, AI-powered ecosystem that helps schools identify learning needs early and personalize support for children with developmental and learning disabilities, while reducing the workload for educators. Their platform supports data-driven decision-making and scalable inclusive education by unifying personal learning and assessments and providing real-time insights into progress. Developed with neurodivergent engineers, educators, and clinical experts, Cognitii offers AI-powered IEPs, game-based learning, and facility-wide inclusion tracking. The initiative provides Indian schools with the much-needed infrastructure to screen, effectively support and meaningfully engage neurodivergent learners across education systems.
5. Rashi Jain and Yogesh Wadadekar
Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers Rashi Jain and Yogesh Wadadekar of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research identified Alaknanda, a galaxy closely related to the Milky Way but apparently formed when the universe was 1.5 billion years old. Alaknanda, a disk with two well-defined spiral arms and a bright central bulge, challenges long-held theories that such structured spirals took billions of years to form. The two astronomers observed JWST images of the galaxy through 21 different filters to determine Alaknanda’s distance, stellar mass and star formation rate. This discovery is forcing astrophysicists to rethink their thinking Schedules for the formation of galaxies.
6. Lakshmi Kalyani Chinthala
Chinthala, a researcher at Golden Gate University, developed Smart DaaS, an AI-driven diagnostic solution based on the HIVSense Econ wearable platform. It is a breakthrough health technology innovation that brings together Deep learning and edge AI biosensing to detect HIV biomarkers such as viral RNA and p24 antigen and thus accelerate early diagnosis and care, especially in resource-poor regions. The system delivers test results in 30 minutes with 94.6% accuracy and combines medical diagnostics with economic modeling. Smart DaaS uses predictive analytics to identify high-risk cases, optimize treatment and resources while minimizing costs. To date, simulations have shown significant advances in early detection and treatment adherence. Chinthala’s innovation provides a scalable public health tool that has the potential to transform HIV diagnosis worldwide.
7. Hardika Shah
As Founder and CEO of Kinara Capital, a fintech company accelerating financial inclusion for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in India, Hardika Shah closes the credit gap of MSMEs by providing fast, collateral-free loans enabled by digital infrastructure. Through AI/ML-powered loan decisions and the multilingual myKinara app, entrepreneurs can complete eligibility checks and loan processing in just 24 hours. Kinara Capital is an example of gender inclusion with its majority female management team and an organizational culture based on equity. Shah’s initiatives such as HerVikas and focus on CSR programs are making huge strides in supporting and empowering women micro-entrepreneurs in India and making economic empowerment more accessible to marginalized communities.
8.. Come sad, Badappap.
Dr. Ruchi Gupta received the 2025 Women in Tech Academic Award and was a finalist for Cancer Research Horizon’s 2025 Entrepreneurial Group Leader Award. Dr. Gupta is an Associate Professor of Analytical Science at the University of Birmingham and has conducted groundbreaking research into the development of novel biosensors for use in clinical diagnostics (particularly cancer detection), food safety and environmental monitoring. Dr. Gupta and her team received a £350,000 grant for their project to develop a hydrogel-based lollipop that can detect oral cancer more quickly using saliva. This innovation could be a much less invasive alternative to existing biopsies that require anesthesia and sutures. It has the potential to help doctors diagnose oral cancer earlier, thereby increasing treatment success.
9. Dr. Purnima Devi Burman
Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, a wildlife biologist from Assam, has been named one of TIME Magazine’s Women of the Year 2025. Dr. Barman has reinvented the landscape of conservation efforts by leveraging grassroots activism and empowering communities to take a stand. As founder of the Hargila Army, she led an all-women’s movement of over 20,000 rural women who fought to protect the endangered Greater Adjunct Stork (Hargila). Your team ensures that nesting sites are safe, fallen chicks are rescued and… Wetland ecosystems are restored. Their efforts helped the stork population in Assam recover – leading to the reclassification of Hargila from “endangered” to “near endangered”. Her work lies at the intersection of science, social justice, and cultural mobilization to protect and preserve Indigenous peoples.
Diploma
We are witnessing a significant moment in history when women are making outstanding contributions around the world. At the same time, we must recognize that young girls continue to face numerous barriers to accessing STEM education, and solutions must reflect these realities. To address these intersectional challenges, we must continue to develop inclusive, context-specific and localized strategies based on dismantling gender stereotypes and outdated belief systems that should hold women back. Integrating scientific curiosity into the core of education systems, promoting equal participation and opportunities for women and girls would ensure a more sustainable economy and sustainable progress.
This is by no means an exhaustive or representative list. Suggestions to add to this list are welcome in the comments section.
Simran Dhingra is a recent graduate of the Geneva Graduate Institute. Her research interests lie at the intersections of gender, peace and migration. Her work examines how digital infrastructures reproduce power hierarchies, shape vulnerabilities, and influence policy responses at multilateral and institutional levels.
