New study reiterates subject bias in higher education; arts perceived as useless, only science is 'appropriate for boys'

In her recently published study on the link between gender and subject choice, JNU scholar Meenakshi Gautam reports some popular prejudices about social sciences: 'vague', 'less scoring', 'waste of time', 'lower standard', 'learnt through rote', say both parents and students. Predictably enough, humanities are described as 'girlish' and 'preferable for girls' who have 'closed minds', are 'good at mugging up' and were 'casual' and 'easy going'.

Science, on the other hand, meant success, glory and hard work, said Gautam's respondents. And totally appropriate for boys, they reasoned, given their 'open', bright minds, capacity for hard work, seriousness, and need for early employability.

While recalling her high school classes, Vani, one of the respondents for the study (all postgraduate students at JNU) says: 'In our arts stream, there were very few boys...They think that 'if I take this subject, then I will look girlish-girlish'."

Coming as it does in the admission season, the study, 'Gender, Subject and Higher Education in India', is an eye-opener for anyone who thought that the gender divide between subjects is fading from higher education. The male-female cliches kick in by Class IX when students have to pick a stream and continue well into graduation and beyond. Even if girls are pushed into sciences, it is biology they are encouraged to take.

As Gautam finds, even now these choices are dictated and guided by fathers in most upper middle class Indian families - which probably explains the perpetuation of entrenched sexist notions. The norm for middle class boys - and what is 'natural' for them - is science even if they are 'not good students', says the study; arts is simply not an option. Girls, however, have a choice. Commerce straddles a middle ground in the spectrum.

There was a time when all social sciences were consigned to the zenana. Over the years, some disciplines like economics, literature, history and political science have lost some of their 'girlish'-ness, and have become moreacceptable family choices for boys. But subjects like psychology, sociology and elementary education have yet to lose their 'feminine' tag.

In Delhi University for instance, only women's colleges offer undergraduate course in elementary education (B.El.Ed), only four co-ed colleges offer psychology, and two, sociology. Even among co-ed colleges that offer these subjects, girls outnumber boys by a huge margin.

Gender bender: A group of male graduates rejoice during a convocation ceremony at IIT-Delhi. The male-female cliches kick in by Class IX and continue into college.

In St Xavier's, Mumbai, for instance, in a class of students opting for psychology as a major there are 24 girls and no boys. There is one boy and 49 girls in a group of students who have psychology as a partial major. In Bengaluru University, boys shun sociology, unless they are from rural backgrounds. In colleges across West Bengal, humanities is still dominated by women. And in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh where science, engineering and technology are seen as prestigious subjects (and a ticket to the US), a boy opting for humanities is almost a laughable situation.

"In parts of south India, humanities is actually dying out because gendered notions of subjects position it as female," says Geetha Nambissan, who has researched extensively on the sociology of education.

Seven years ago, Delhi musician Bhanu Sharma recalls wanting to take up an undergraduate course in psychology after school and running into a wall. "I loved studying psychology as a subject in school. We were nine boys in a humanities class of 50. I wanted to become a counsellor. But I found that except Zakir Husain, no college offered the subject so I opted for English literature. Even now, after a postgraduate degree in literature, I wonder if I should study psychology," he says.

In Tamil Nadu, subjects like home science, nutrition, psychology and sociology are considered only "good for girls". A professor of PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, which offers most of these courses, says even among the young these myths remain strong. "For instance, take nutrition science. In a hospital, you are still most likely to meet a female nutrionist or dietician because it is considered a low-paying profession."

Boys are still tied strongly into the breadwinning role by families and communities, and this means that subjects that don't offer clear and lucrative career trajectories are not for them. "Traditionally, social sciences were seen as subjects for elite women who didn't have to deal with pressures of the breadwinning. Psychology was branded as a subject for girls on the path to self-realization or keen on improving parenting skills. These myths still abound," says Kanika Ahuja, who teaches psychology at Lady Sriram College in Delhi.

These prejudices exist despite the fact that a lot of these 'feminine' subjects now promise rewarding and interesting careers. Psychology, for instance, comes with quite a few employment options as does education. Veteran educationist Anita Rampal, says the Sixth Pay Commission has made teaching a lucrative profession, but it is still seen as a woman's turf. "I know that quite a few boys are keen to get a B.El.Ed degree and at least three Delhi colleges have sought approval to start courses. So it is time for change in our institutions and society but we can't seem to get rid of this baggage," she says.

Additional reporting by Jhimli Pandey in Kolkata, Adarsh Jain in Chennai, Sunita Rao in Bengaluru