The results for the IIT-JEE Advanced 2026 examination have revealed a significant milestone: 10,107 female candidates have successfully qualified, marking the first time in six years that the number has exceeded 10,000. This achievement was highlighted in the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) report, released by IIT Roorkee, the organizing institute for this year's examination.
Qualification Rates See Notable Increase
Out of 43,112 women who registered for JEE Advanced 2026, 40,562 appeared for both Paper 1 and Paper 2. The qualification rate among registered female candidates stood at 23.4 percent, a notable increase from 21.7 percent in 2025. Furthermore, among women who appeared in both papers, the qualification rate reached 24.9 percent, the highest recorded in the six-year period from 2021 to 2026 covered by the JIC report.
This year's count of 10,107 female qualifiers represents an increase of 703 candidates from the 9,404 who qualified in 2025, underscoring a positive trend in women's participation and success in the highly competitive entrance examination.
Improved IIT Seat Share for Women
Beyond qualification, women candidates also saw an improvement in their share of admissions to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Data indicates that 3,814 women secured IIT seats in 2026, accounting for 20.22 percent of the total seats allotted. This demonstrates a growing presence of women in undergraduate engineering programs at the IITs.
Addressing the Gender Gap
Despite these encouraging figures, the JIC report also highlighted that women still constitute 17.76 percent of all JEE Advanced 2026 qualifiers. This indicates that while progress is being made, a substantial gender gap in the examination pipeline persists. Efforts continue to be crucial in fostering greater female representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly at the advanced education level.