Why Newer IIMs Are Seeing A Surge In Female Participation Across MBA Programmes | Education and Career News
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Newer IIMs are seeing increase in women enrollment. One of the key factors driving higher female admissions is the relaxation of cut-off requirements for selection.
Admission to IIMs is done through the CAT exam. (AI Image)
Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are witnessing a significant transformation in gender representation, with several institutes reporting record levels of women’s enrolment in their MBA programmes. Earlier, women’s representation across IIMs has ranged between 30% and 35%, but recent admission cycles show a clear upward shift, particularly in newer institutes which have recorded over 50% female enrolment.
Recently, IIM Kozhikode admitted 499 students in its flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) of which 329 or nearly 66% are women. Across its three full-time MBA programmes, women constitute about 63% of total intake, with the PGP-LSM showing particularly high representation at 82%. The institute has also highlighted sustained progress over the years, noting that it first crossed the 50% women mark in its flagship programme in 2013 and has continued to build on that trend.
IIM Indore’s MBA 2026-28 batch saw women make up 54.4% of the total candidates admitted. 265 women among 487 total students were admitted.
IIM Visakhapatnam too has also moved closer to gender parity, with women accounting for nearly 48% of its 341 students in the latest batch, reflecting a steady rise in female participation over recent years.
What Happened In Previous Years
IIM Sambalpur reported as high as 76% women in its MBA batch, while IIM Rohtak reached 73% women in its 2024–26 cohort and 78% in the 2023-24 cohort. Institutes such as IIM Kashipur and IIM Mumbai comprised around 42% and nearly 47% of their respective batches in the same period.
However, women representation in older IIMs, including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta ranged between 25% and 40%. Over the period from 2021 to 2025, female participation has steadily improved across most institutes, with IIM Bangalore increasing from 28% to 37%, IIM Calcutta from 24% to 34%, and IIM Indore from 35% to 42%.
Change In Admission Policies Key Reason
One of the key factors driving higher female admissions is the relaxation of cut-off requirements for selection. Institutes such as IIM Sambalpur provide around 5% relaxation in composite cut-off scores for female candidates. While IIM Bangalore awards additional marks to female and non-engineering applicants during the shortlisting stage, and IIM Indore incorporates a 10-point advantage in its composite score to strengthen both academic and gender diversity in its student intake.
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