Women have secured the top 3 ranks in the Civil Service Examinations (CSE). This is the 5th time in the last decade that a woman has emerged the topper.
Shruti Sharma of Delhi secured the first rank, while Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla emerged 2nd and 3rd respectively in the CSE 2021 Merit list announced recently.
According to news reports, at just 25.8%, there are 177 women among the 685 candidates emerging successful for the various services. Among the top 25 ranks, there are 10 women, added the reports.
The candidates have been recommended for appointment to various central services, according to the UPSC.
As seen in several fields, the services are another domain where there are fewer women than men.
According to news reports, in the 70 years between 1951 and 2020, there have been just 1500-odd women officers among 11,500-odd officers in total. Some of the reasons discussed are long years of preparation and the different stages of examination.
These also mean reluctance among families to send the women to cities or places where there are coaching centres to prepare. Moreover, the uncertainty surrounding the results also mars their marriage prospects, making it unsuitable in their view.
