Women in Engineering and Science

There’s no denying the fact that the engineering industry in the UK is predominantly male workers – this has been the case since the engineering industry boomed. Although, is this the same throughout other European countries, what does the male to female divide look like?

More than 50 years ago in 1960, women only made up 1% of the engineering workforce. Although, now we’re in 2019, the disparity between males and females is getting better and women are bridging the gap.

The Guardian states that women make up just 12.3% of all engineers in the UK, and only 1 in 5 of jobs are held by women in the wider engineering sector as a whole. Although, when looking at girls’ performance at a young age, they outperform boys in engineering fields of study: “In all Stem A-levels, except chemistry, more girls get A*-C grades than boys, and this pattern continues at degree level,” says Donnelly.

With that said, women should be dominating the industry both percentage-wise and salary-wise, so why is the glass ceiling still apparent? Despite lower female percentages, women have worked in the engineering industry for over 100 years, says the Women in Engineering Society (WES).

When looking at women in STEM (specifically engineering and science) females make up 40.8% of workers in the UK alone, but we still need to push for greater equality in the industry.

So, how do other European countries compare in terms of how many of the engineering and scientific workforce are women? Research by RS Components reveals the number in this graphic here.

The results reveal the countries that have the most females working in both engineering and science:

Engineering careers offer many opportunities, especially with the likes of HS2 fast approaching there is a demand for more workers. With that said, the UK government has called on women of all ages to consider a career in engineering, making it very clear that the transport industry must diversify to meet the growing skills and demands.

As RS Components‘ research reveals, 57% of engineers and scientists are female in Lithuania meaning they take the top spot in Europe – a STEM-related industry that is dominated by women is a step in the right direction when it comes to gender diversification. Not only is engineering a growing industry, the demands will continue to increase as technology progresses. Closely following Lithuania is Norway with 54.7% of engineering and science employees being female. In third spot, Latvia, with 52.3% of scientists and engineers being female.

However, when we look across the pond to the US, the gender gap in STEM (particularly science and engineering) begins in education. Fewer women are earning degrees in STEM, expect in life sciences. Only 35.5% of women in the US earned a Bachelor’s degree in STEM fields between the years 2015 and 2016, meaning males dominated the field.

The industry has come a long way when comparing the last 100 years, however, work still needs to be done to bridge the gender gap.

Take a look at RS Components’ data on women in engineering and science in Europe here.