MAINSTREAMING GENDER IN SCIENTIFIC TEMPER: A FEMINIST SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF INDIA’S NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020

Abstract

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions the development of scientific temper as a foundational objective of India's education system, emphasizing critical thinking, inquiry-based learning, innovation, and multidisciplinary knowledge. While the policy acknowledges gender inclusion through initiatives such as the Gender Inclusion Fund and increased participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), it offers limited engagement with the gendered nature of scientific knowledge, institutional practices, and epistemic inequalities. This paper critically examines the relationship between scientific temper and gender through a feminist sociological perspective, arguing that scientific temper cannot be understood merely as a cognitive or pedagogical skill but must also encompass critical awareness of power, privilege, and structural inequalities. Drawing upon feminist standpoint theory, intersectionality, sociology of scientific knowledge, and critical feminist scholarship, the study analyses how gender norms, patriarchal institutional cultures, caste hierarchies, and socio-economic disparities continue to shape access to scientific education and knowledge production in India despite progressive policy reforms. Through a qualitative policy analysis of NEP 2020 supported by contemporary literature on gender and science, the paper identifies significant gaps between policy intent and institutional implementation. It argues that mainstreaming gender within scientific temper requires moving beyond numerical representation of women in STEM towards transforming curricula, pedagogy, research cultures, teacher education, and institutional governance. The paper proposes a framework for gender-responsive scientific temper grounded in inclusivity, critical reflexivity, epistemic justice, and democratic participation. By reconceptualising scientific temper as a socially embedded and gender-sensitive practice rather than a value-neutral ideal, this study contributes to contemporary debates on education, feminist sociology, and science policy while offering recommendations for strengthening gender-equitable educational reforms under NEP 2020.