Preeti Aghalyam, director-in-charge of the new IIT in Zanzibar, has said that women are still a minority at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and despite constant efforts to improve the gender ratio on campuses, it’s still a long way to go.

“It is a fact that women have been a minority at IITs. Things have improved a bit in the past few years but the problem still exists and it is at all levels – both at students and faculty. We are about 12% women faculty at IIT Madras. The problem is not about gender inclusivity on campuses but about the whole perception around technology institutions,” PTI has quoted Aghalyam as saying.

When asked about whether her appointment was a conscious call by IIT Madras to send out a message about gender inclusivity, Aghalayam said, “Every time we visited Zanzibar as part of the IIT Madras contingent, we noticed that the representation of women on their side is quite significant. So, it was important that we do this mindfully and our effort will also be to have gender balance in the new campus. There are no rigid norms around it right now but in the coming years, we will definitely work towards achieving it.”

Aghalayam completed her BTech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1995 and her PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2000.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed last week for the setting up of the campus of IIT-Madras in Tanzania’s Zanzibar.