KATHMANDU, July 12: Women's participation in civil service has been increasing annually, reaching 29.2 percent by mid-March 2025, according to the National Archives of Nepal (NAN). This marks the highest representation recorded so far, while 17 years ago, the participation of women was significantly lower.
According to the NAN, in mid-July 2008, women made up only 12 percent of the civil service workforce. By mid-March 2025, women accounted for 29.2 percent of employees registered across the three tiers of government in the civil service database.
NAN spokesperson, Sudan Shrestha, said women's participation in civil service has been increasing every year. “At present, the share of women in civil service has reached 29.2 percent. Eight years ago, it was just 12 percent,” he stated.
He added that the current 29.2 percent women participation is the highest ever recorded. The total number of civil servants currently stands at 85,529. Of them, 41,563 are employed at the federal level, 32,808 at the local level, and 11,138 at the provincial level.
According to the NA, the highest number of female employees is in the administrative service, while the lowest is in the federal parliamentary service. Women constitute 42.19 percent in the administrative service but only 0.62 percent in the parliamentary service. Similarly, female representation is 0.70 percent in the economic planning and statistics service, 15.86 percent in engineering, 2.93 percent in agriculture, and 11.45 percent in the judiciary.
Likewise, the foreign service has a relatively lower presence of women, with just 0.71 percent. In the audit service, women account for 1.19 percent, in forestry 4.83 percent, miscellaneous services 5.43 percent, education 2.05 percent, and health 12.03 percent.
Currently, seven women are serving in the highest position of the civil service—Secretary. They include Radhika Aryal (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology), Laxmi Kumari Basnet (Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens), Sarita Duwadi (Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation), and Pramila Devi Bajracharya (Ministry of Water Supply). Similarly, Bindu Shrestha serves as Deputy Auditor General at the Office of Auditor General, Chandrakala Paudel as Chief Secretary of Koshi Province, and Nirmala Adhikari Bhattarai as Acting Secretary at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
However, the presence of women in constitutional positions remains low, at only 9.1 percent of the total, according to the NAN. As of mid-March 2025, the majority of registered civil servants are employed at the federal level. The distribution is 48.3 percent at the federal level, 14.3 percent at the provincial level, and 37.4 percent at the local level. Of the total employees, 70.8 percent are men and 29.2 percent are women.
In the fiscal year 2024/25, a total of 1,066 employees entered the federal civil service through the inclusive category, while 1,340 joined through open competition.