Government action needed to get more young women on engineering and tech pathways
A new blueprint from the Gender Pathways collective calls on Government to take sustained action so more girls and young women can access engineering and technology education pathways.
Girls and young women remain significantly underrepresented on education pathways into engineering and technology. In England, by age 18, only 26% of those on engineering and technology education pathways are women and girls.
Newly published recommendations set out how Government can help raise this proportion to at least 40% by 2040. This blueprint for action was written by EngineeringUK on behalf of the Gender Pathways collective.
40 by 40: Gender equity in engineering and technology education calls for long-term, sustainable interventions to improve gender equity in education and skills. The blueprint asks the Department for Education to:
- Ensure that teaching and pedagogy support girls on STEM pathways.
- Work with other relevant departments to ensure gender-equitable delivery of engineering and technology careers guidance, enrichment and work experience.
- Work with other departments, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to foster a culture of gender equity in schools and colleges.
Improving women’s participation is vital to help meet future workforce needs. An estimated 240,000 people are needed to join the engineering and technology workforce each year up to 2030. Women currently make up just 17% of the engineering and technology workforce. Increasing the number of women entering the sector would help build a larger, more diverse workforce and improve equity in the labour market. EngineeringUK estimates that if 50% of engineering and technology workforce entrants were women, they would collectively earn around £1 billion more every year, compared with going into other roles.
The first step is making sure more girls and young women can access and progress through pathways into engineering and technology.
The blueprint highlights the barriers that limit young women’s access to, interest in and enjoyment of the subjects that can lead them into these careers. It also makes evidence-based recommendations for change, with a focus on education, skills and cross-Government action.
Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, said:
“Action needs to be taken to remove the barriers that limit girls and young women from joining pathways into engineering and technology. Women are by far the most underrepresented group in the engineering and technology workforce. And they are grossly underrepresented in the educational pathways that lead into those roles. We have identified clear actions to improve that inequity. It is time to stop talking and start delivering that policy change.”
Dr Laura Norton, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Director, commented:
“In publishing the 40 by 40 blueprint for action, the Gender Pathways collective makes evidenced recommendations for Government, particularly the Department for Education. However, cross-departmental work is essential to achieving the change needed to address this gender disparity.
“As a collective, we have written to the Minister for Women and Equalities and the Secretaries of State in four Government departments including the Department for Education. We’re asking for sustained and targeted action that will ensure that girls and young women have greater opportunities to be part of the future engineering and technology workforce.”
The Gender Pathways collective is a partnership of around 60 organisations committed to significantly increasing the number of girls and young women in education pathways to engineering and technology by age 18.
The collective has written to the Minister for Women and Equalities and Secretaries of State across Government. It is calling for sustained and targeted action to ensure girls and young women have greater opportunities to be part of the future engineering and technology workforce.
Read the blueprint for action here.
