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Recommendations to improve gender equity across engineering and technology 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.
The Gender Pathways collective is a partnership of around 60 organisations, including the UKESF, committed to significantly increasing the number of girls and young women in education pathways to engineering and technology by age 18.
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. Recommendations published today set out how government can help raise this proportion to at least 40% by 2040. This blueprint for action was written by Engineering UK on behalf of the Gender Pathways collective.
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.
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, says:
“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.
Sophie Batin, Head of Education at the UK Electronics Skills Foundation, said:
“UKESF have long understood the importance women in engineering and several of our programmes, such as our ‘Girls into Electronics’ events, are designed to address some of the barriers young women face. We welcome this blueprint and the clear actions given, recognising the positive impact these could have across our industry and beyond.”
