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Women in STEM: Empowerment in employment

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors are largely occupied by men. The number of women in these industries is particularly low — findings from 2017 reported that only 23 per cent of STEM employees are women. This is undoubtedly low, however is 105,470 higher than rates in 2016.

Attitudes appear to be changing towards women in the STEM workforce. This year has seen some of the biggest names and influential figures in the industry being women, such as Kate Bouman, the woman who engineered the first image of a black hole. In this article, we track how more women have entered STEM than any other field in the past four decades...

Research by LinkedIn stated that of all career fields, STEM had more female employees over the last 40 years than any other sector. Philanthropist and former general manager at Microsoft, Melinda Gates, said: “Innovation happens when we approach urgent challenges from every different point of view. Bringing women and underrepresented minorities into the field guarantees that we see the full range of solutions to the real problems that people face in the world”.

Health and fitness app Fitbit came under scrutiny in 2018 when they released their period tracker which had a 10-day cycle. If more women were involved in the creation, they would’ve realised this was 3 days too long. In the States, the tech industry is one of the highest paying fields — yet women are still paid less than their male counterparts.

Breaking Through Bias

Biases are unfortunately a part of the way people think. Especially when we’ve been raised with the idea that men are better suited for certain jobs than women. Charles Darwin described women as intellectual inferiors and universities rejected women up until the 20th century.

Senior vice president for the American Association of University Women, Laura Segal, argued: “Teachers and parents provide explicit and implicit messages starting in early childhood that boys and men are ‘better’ at math, and the gaps in the professions reinforce the opportunities, culture and lack of role models that perpetuate male dominance”.

Schools and universities have increased initiatives to promote women in STEM since 2012. Previously, female students reported avoiding STEM courses because of a lack of female role models to identify with. If girls were taught about female role models like Marie Curie, for example, who discovered the effects of radiation, perhaps they’d be more inclined to pursue a career in the field.

To tackle this issue, more content around women in STEM has been introduced by exam boards. Rosalind Franklin, a woman central to the understanding of DNA, has been taught across the nation. This has been linked to this year’s A-level results, which saw female students studying STEM courses (50.3%) outnumber male students (49.7%). 

Funding

There’s been an increase in funding to fix the STEM gender disparity. Philanthropists have donated $25 million to boost girls’ interest by changing the narrative that they’re masculine careers. It’s expected to inspire other girls to follow other successful women. 

Sadly, it’s been a common theme for women to leave STEM careers due to it being heavily dominated by men, such as the engineering industry. They noted that they had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously and to earn respect.

125 female ambassadors were incorporated by Lyda Hill Philanthropists, representing the different STEM career paths. Part of the donation will be used to fund grants for women to study STEM courses.

Apprenticeships

Research by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers found that a shortage of STEM workers in the UK is costing around £1.5 billion annually. Apprenticeships have an equal gender balance, yet only nine per cent of STEM apprentices are women.

To overcome this disappointing figure, the UK government is helping women learn more about the opportunities apprenticeships offer to encourage them to pursue STEM. Lookers, who offer a range of motability cars, launched a female apprenticeship scheme back in 2018. The aim is to double the amount of their female apprenticeships and provide a positive environment to encourage and attract women to STEM.

Although it’s disappointing to hear about a gender disparity in today’s age, it’s encouraging to hear about how efforts are being made by many to make room for women in STEM.

Sources

https://www.stemwomen.co.uk/blog/2019/09/women-in-stem-percentages-of-women-in-stem-statistics

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/how-melinda-gates-used-computer-science-to-help-solve-this-tech-issue.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/10/women-stem-gaining-recognition-feature/

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2017/03/07/breaking-the-stem-ceiling-for-girls/

https://www.stemwomen.co.uk/blog/2019/08/why-are-female-students-now-outnumbering-males-in-a-level-science

https://www.nbcnews.com/know-your-value/feature/5-ways-close-gender-gap-women-stem-ncna1070101

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47891902

https://www.forbes.com/sites/biancabarratt/2018/11/17/the-need-for-more-women-in-stem-roles-goes-beyond-simple-diversity/#388f2b8b45cb

STEM – Is it too late to plug the gender gap?

It may seem like a fairly complex task to sell supply chain and logistics to women – what can we do to encourage more to consider our industry for their career path?

In order to want to fill a job, you must be able to envisage yourself in it first. For a woman, looking at a male dominated industry, it is virtually impossible for them to do so. Therefore, to encourage more women, companies need to have more women — starting at the top. 

For centuries a stereotype has existed around the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) industries. This is perhaps the main reason why the number of women in the industry is still at such a low level. Tragically, despite the stereotype now being incredibly out dated, its presence still lingers. 

Manual labour, long working hours and rows of assembly lines — this is the impression that sticks on most people from outside the industry. So much so, a survey carried out by Women in Manufacturing (WiM) found that almost three quarters of women would not consider a career in manufacturing as a viable option.

In 2018, the FTSE 100 was able to report an increase in female held directorships. Despite the number of female executive directorships remaining the same between 2017 and 2018, directorships rose from 294 to 305, a rise of 1.3%. Out of these 100 companies, those in the construction and building sector only featured twice. 

The UK has the lowest percentage of female engineer professionals in Europe, with countries such as Cyprus having nearly three times as many women in similar roles. 

This article will focus on women’s relationship with the STEM and manufacturing industries. 

Untapped Industry

The first point worth considering when assessing why more women are moving into the industry is how much on an untapped one it is. A 2016 survey found how manufacturing had the largest pool of untapped talent, simply because there were very few women in the roles previously. Not only is there an abundance of female staff available, they are also highly qualified, most possessing not only a bachelor’s but a supplementary master’s degree.

Unfortunately, 51 per cent of women who are employed within this area have commented on how they have been treated worse, simply due to their gender. This moves away from stereotypes however and into a dangerous position of discrimination. Women being in these roles has proved to be beneficial not only in plugging the gender gap, but also for the company’s profitability themselves. Research suggest that every 10 per cent increase in gender diversity relates to a 3.5 percent increase in gross profit.

Managing director of Hilti, Marci Bonham proposes, ‘that supporting women as they take their first management steps within the industry will have a positive impact overall.’  

The Shine Theory

The workplace can be a hard place for anyone starting new, but for a woman starting off in a new role surrounded by mainly men — well the aforementioned stats speak for themselves. This is where Shine Theory comes into play and it carries significant relevance to women trying to crack the heavily dominated male industries.

The shine theory focuses on how much women can succeed if they were to befriend other females in the work place, as opposed to battling against them. Effectively, this American concept emphasises how surrounding yourself with positive and successful women will create a positive atmosphere within. 

Development from an early age

A Guardian study from 2018 found that women constitute only 14.4% of all people working in STEM in the UK, despite the fact they make-up almost half of the work force. The best way of encouraging this, is to establish more prominent idol like figures within these subject areas. 

Take for example Brian Cox, it is easier for young boys interested in getting into physics to relate to him. Alternatively, Donna Strickland as physicist from Canada, became only the third woman ever to win the Nobel Prize award for her science. Her name, along with others who achieved spectacular heights needs to be promoted throughout kids of a young age.

This is not to detract from the unimaginable advancements which have been made. In 1918 women over earned the right to vote, while women being accredited for such contributions to science as Donna Strickland, is certainly a recent development.

The rise of Apprenticeships 

The statistics for the sectors women are choosing to carry out apprenticeships in doesn’t bode well in supporting this plug of the gender gap. This highlights that the traditional degree route isn’t for everyone and apprenticeships are gaining popularity once again. With this in mind, we assess two companies who are pushing to increase their number of female apprenticeships:

Lookers

One of Centrica’s Top 100 employers, the national motor retailer Lookers, retailers of Commercial Ford vehicles, launched its female apprentice network last year. The scheme is based around setting up regular meetings between female apprentices, providing them with the opportunity to share their new-found knowledge and experiences.

British Gas

The energy provider has placed emphasis on getting women to apply for their apprenticeship scheme by offering examples of applicants with examples of some of their highest achieving female members of staff. They similarly draw upon the fact, that by putting more women into male dominated apprenticeships, the gender pay gap is likely to be bridged.  

Sources:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37360233

https://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/blog/girls-in-apprenticeships-3694