Govt Focus On Gender Equality, But Few Women Secys on Raisina Hill

Except for Rachna Shah, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre and Ansuli Arya, a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre — who hold the posts of secretaries in the department of Personnel and Training and the department of Official Language under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), respectively — no woman has found a place in the top job in ministries and departments that are housed in the North and South Blocks on Raisina Hill.

The third woman on "the Hill" is the Secretary to the President — Deepti Umashankar, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. Senior IAS officers pointed out: "At the intake stage itself, there were fewer women in our days than we find now. As time progresses, we will have more women secretaries." 

Besides them, all other secretary-level posts in the "important" ministries — Finance, External Affairs and Defence, all of which are housed in the North and South blocks — are held by men. In fact, even Arya — whose department is part of the MHA — reports to Govind Mohan, the 1989-batch Sikkim cadre IAS officer who helms MHA.

Similarly, all six departments under the Ministry of Finance — Economic Affairs, Expenditure, Public Enterprises, Revenue, Investment and Public Asset Management, and Financial Services — are being led by men from batches between 1987 and 1994.

All five secretaries in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), including the Foreign Secretary, are men, as are all four secretaries in the Ministry of Defence. 

Beyond The 'Hill'

Outside Raisina Hill, though, the situation changes slightly. Among ministries and departments housed on either side of Kartavya Path — including Nirman Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan and Shastri Bhawan — there are 13 women holding the top posts.  

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals is headed by Nivedita S Verma, a 1991-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Vandita Kaul, a 1989-batch Indian Postal Service (IPoS) officer, is the Secretary of the Department of Posts.

Jharkhand cadre IAS officer of 1992-batch Nidhi Khare holds the top job in the Department of Consumer Affairs, while the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is headed by Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Alka Upadhyaya, a 1990-batch IAS of the MP cadre, is secretary to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. 

The Department of Health and Family Welfare is helmed by 1993-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre, Punya Salila Srivastava, while Debashree Mukherjee, a 1991-batch IAS officer of the UT cadre, heads the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is headed by 1991-batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer Vandana Gurnani. 

Anju Rathi Rana of the Indian Legal Service (ILS) heads the Department of Legal Affairs under the Ministry of Law and Justice, while N Kalaiselvi, a scientist, is the Secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 

Neelam Shami Rao, a 1992-batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, heads the Ministry of Textiles, while 1991-batch Karnataka cadre IAS V Vidyavathi helms the Ministry of Tourism. The Department of Youth Affairs is headed by Meeta R Lochan, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre. 

Officials said they expected the gender composition of top layers of the central government to change "soon and drastically in favour of women". In the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2024, a total of 1,009 candidates were recommended for appointment across various services, including the IAS. Among them, 725 were men and 284 were women. Notably, women have consistently excelled in the UPSC exam, occupying top ranks in recent years.