EngineeringUK has called for urgent action to increase the number of girls and young women entering engineering and technology education pathways. The call comes after new figures showed that females account for just 26% of those on such pathways in England by age 18.
The engineering sector body is part of the Gender Pathways collective, which has published the 40 by 40: Gender equity in engineering and technology education blueprint calling on the government to increase the proportion of female students on engineering and technology pathways to at least 40% by 2040.
Women currently make up just 17% of the engineering and technology workforce, while girls and young women remain significantly underrepresented across both academic and vocational routes into the sector.
The 40 by 40 blueprint calls for long-term government intervention to remove barriers that limit young women’s access to, interest in and enjoyment of subjects that can lead to engineering and technology careers. Among its recommendations, the collective is calling on the Department for Education to ensure teaching and pedagogy better support girls on STEM pathways, while working with other departments to improve the gender balance of careers guidance, enrichment and work experience. It also wants the government to foster a culture of gender equity in schools and colleges.
Tackling the engineering skills gap
The call comes as the UK faces a significant engineering and technology skills shortage. An estimated 240,000 people need to join the engineering and technology workforce each year through to 2030, according to the blueprint. The collective argues that improving women’s participation will therefore be critical to meeting future workforce needs and improving productivity across engineering, technology and the wider economy.
There is also a significant potential earnings benefit. If women accounted for 50% of engineering and technology workforce entrants, they would collectively earn around £1bn more each year than if they entered other roles.
Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, said the sector needed to move from discussing the gender imbalance to implementing measures to address it.
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 Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK
Calls for cross-government action
The Gender Pathways collective says tackling the disparity will require action beyond the Department for Education. Dr Laura Norton, director of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), said the blueprint provides evidence-based recommendations for government, but that several departments would need to work together to deliver meaningful change.
“As a collective, we have today written to the Minister for Women and Equalities and the Secretaries of State in four government departments including the Department for Education,” she said.
“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 collective says its recommendations are intended to create a sustained improvement in the number of girls entering engineering and technology education pathways, with the ultimate aim of reaching the 40% female participation target by 2040.
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