New Delhi, Nov. 2: A basket of promises intended to retain women scientists in research announced by a government department earlier this year has remained fruitless with none of the proposals implemented yet.

A scientist who was part of a government task force for women in science has said a key proposal on flexible working hours was turned down by the cabinet and others have not been followed up by scientific institutions.

The department of science and technology (DST) had announced in March this year that it would provide flexible working hours for women scientists with children up to three years of age and release funds to set up creches in its institutions.

The department had also said earlier this year that it would give loans to such women to buy computers and work from home.

“The pace (toward implementation) has been disappointing,” said Vineeta Bal, a scientist at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, and a member of the task force. “The cabinet turned down the proposal for flexible hours. It’s not clear why it was turned down,” Bal said at a special symposium on women in science at the 74th annual meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences.

A source in the DST said the government had approved two years of child-care leave for mothers instead of flexible working hours. “Women scientists would benefit from this. Flexible timings could have meant logistical problems. The two-year child-care leave could be seen as a substitute to the proposal for flexible hours.”

But some women scientists believe flexible hours would allow them to continue their research without career breaks. “Research laboratories recruiting women of child-bearing age could begin to worry about who’s going to do their work during their two-year break,” said Bal.

The DST has written to its institutions about establishing modern creches, and about 10 institutions have responded with demands for funds, a department source said. “We’ll release the funds and the (creche) facilities should be ready early next year.”

The DST has already begun implementation of a proposal to provide grants worth Rs 10 lakh each year for five years to young women scientists who are associates of the Indian National Science Academy, the official said.

The initiatives are part of steps to prevent women from leaving successful research careers. Surveys have indicated that while 37 per cent of PhD scholars in India are women, the proportion of women scientists in research institutions is below 20 per cent.

“It’s clear that a number of highly qualified women are dropping out of sciences,” said Rohini Godbole, a physicist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who was convener of the symposium.

Godbole said the Indian Academy of Sciences had just initiated a research effort to determine the specific factors that influence women to quit promising science careers. “We have a database of 1,500 women — all with PhD degrees — from research labs, schools and colleges, and some who’re sitting at home,” he said.