Despite years of industry hand-wringing, dozens of targeted initiatives, pressure from government and dire warnings from all and sundry on the consequences of failing to deal with it – UK industry’s shameful gender divide shows little, if any, sign of narrowing.
Indeed, according to the Institution of Engineering’s (IET) latest skills report, the percentage of women in technical and engineering roles currently stands at around 9 per cent, making the UK’s industrial workforce one of the least diverse in Europe. The Engineer’s 2015 salary survey – which was published earlier this summer – painted an ever more concerning picture, with women making up just 5.5 per cent of our respondents.
Whenever we write about this issue we’re met with a predictable response from a small but vocal minority: stop banging the politically correct drum, if women don’t want to be engineers then don’t make them.
But as we’ve long argued, addressing the gender divide is about far more than some fluffy notion of corporate responsibility. Major engineering organisations across the board recognise that not only is diversity at the heart of the most successful and innovative organisations, but with a skills shortage looming in many key sectors, it’s economic folly to ignore the skills of half of the population. What’s more, with proportions of female engineers much higher in other parts of the world, and school age girls regularly outperforming boys in scientific subjects, there’s zero evidence that women are somehow less cut-out for engineering.
In our latest extended report on the issue we take a look at some of the reasons for this gender imbalance, and offer some suggestions on how industry might work more effectively to encourage more women into the profession. Unsurprisingly, a major priority in the long term is shifting the apparently widely held perception amongst school-age girls that engineering is a male profession.
One particularly interesting point is raised by Naomi Climer, the first female president of the IET who suggests that in its efforts to attract more women by identifying “female-friendly” areas of engineering, industry may have been slightly guilty of perpetuating an unhelpful gender-tinted view of industry. There’s been a huge – well-intentioned – effort to attract more women into industry by focussing on the opportunities in what might be termed non-traditional areas of engineering. But whilst it’s important that industry communicates the full and varied range of opportunities available in engineering, is there really any reason beyond social conditioning why female engineers should be better to suited to particular fields?
There are areas of hope. As previously reported, the civil sector scores highly in the diversity stakes, a fact that we were reminded of this week by the news that Bechtel – the delivery partner for London’s monumental Crossrail project has been given a Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) award in recognition of its efforts to promote diversity. Nearly 40 per cent of the company’s Crossrail engineers are female.
In its ongoing efforts to remove the obstacles to success, and ensure that everyone, regardless of gender, enjoys the same opportunites, industry would do well to look carefully at how the civil sector has so effectively bucked the trend.
Forgive me for thinking that diversity in engineering is the sector’s main, most pressing, and interesting story.
Why, not even a week goes by, sometimes not a day, without at least one story to this effect.
If engineers wanted to be social engineers they would have picked the arts and politics
I am a female chemical engineer who has worked for 30 years in the chemical manufacturing sector. It’s incredibly dispiriting to see virtually no progress in the portion of women at all levels in this field. Engineering is a well-recognized gateway to significant leadership roles in organizations. Aside from failing to make use of almost half of the talent available in the workforce, women not taking up engineering careers is a major impediment to them being represented in many influential positions in industry and the wider society. The country is poorer and less competitive as a result.
I think the problem lies in schools and in the media. The portrayal to school children of what are suitable roles for male and female puts most girls off engineering and industry, regardless of their talents.
^ Are you a man by any chance?
Not a week goes by, sometimes not a day, when I don’t experience some form of sexism at work, (suggestive comments, nude calenders of women, or just being singled out, in some way, for being female). Still, we do our best.
The problem definitely lies in schools and media. I had (amongst others) a maths teacher, and an Ofsted inspector both discourage me from studying engineering at University. At the same time there are initiatives encouraging girls to study. Its a very mixed message.
I agree with Jonathan Douglas, that this needs to be tackled in schools, by creating awareness that engineering really is a valid career choice for women.
I will offer the example of my 16 year old daughter who is currently trying to decide on her A levels to take, and beyond that her potential career. The school careers service, has been pretty poor, not really wanting to make any specific suggestions, and just trying to get her to keep her options open. As she is universally good at all her subjects, her subject teachers all say she should study their subject.
I had a hour long conversation about her following her father and grandfather into an engineering career. I explained what it was about my role that I love, what I dislike, what I think it would be like for a female in our industry. I also explained how her other talents such as excellent Art, English and language skills are likely to be seen as a significant advantage in what she can bring to a diverse engineering team. She completely engaged with this, is now taking physics and maths at A level, and seriously considering a degree in Aero systems.
There are not so many women in (mechanical) engineering because they are too sensible. Men do it for two main reasons a) traditionally a male role particularly in heavy industry when a bit of muscle and no adversity to getting filthy were virtual pre requisites. b) Men treat Engineering as a vocation not a profession. If it were a profession we would get the same recognition as doctors, solicitors and the like. And that includes status and salary.
Generally speaking engineers are involved in manufacturing something that then has to be sold. We are continually told that we must reduce costs to remain competitive, so salaries are curtailed.
In the civil engineering sector contracts are often for Billions of pounds (usually paid for by a government) meaning that the civil engineers delivering the projects can be paid a decent salary. No wonder women prefer Civil engineering.
I do speak from experience having served a traditional mechanical engineering apprenticeship followed by a degree and a further 5 years’ experience before considered being a fully-fledged engineer. That training period equates to the length of time and qualifications of a doctor or lawyer, but not thebrecognition.
My wife happens to be an ‘engineer’ a civil engineer. She does not possess a degree but has her position currently due to her experience. (M40 motorway, the 2012 olympic games , Crossrail etc) She as a civil engineer (similar age) is being paid twice the salary I am on after spending 40 years at the forefront of the automotive industry and currently in the aerospace industry; where incidentally there appear to be more female graduates than I encountered in the automotive sector.
Maybe it’s because it’s a ‘cleaner’ environment in aerospace and the higher monetary value of the engineering projects which are also ‘cleaner’ and possibly more precise than other forms of mechanical engineering. This may suit a female more, certainly I believe that there are more female engineers in office based roles than operating machinery or getting dirty making things.
( Although I did notice an increase in the number of female (graduate) engineers firstly at Ford then at Jaguar Landrover and Aston martin in recent times compared to when I started in the early 1980’s.
Certainly the women ‘co workers’ (graduates) I work with are just as competent as their male counterparts and are treated, salary wise, just the same ( poorly compared to a doctor or lawyer !) But yes there are less female engineers compared with males , is the ratio the same in other professions? No , why?
Why will people not just accept that things are the way they are because the different sexes have more aptitude to different things?
Blaming the media and educators is wrong, I have never experienced any portrayal whatsoever of engineers in either!
No one of any sex should ever be dissuaded from engineering, but why the constant battle against nature? Just accept that males find this area more interesting, and stop fighting an uphill losing battle against human nature.
Engineering should be (and I know is) open to all. If anything Women entering Engineering enjoy positive discrimination already. I have two daughters who I have tried to show them what a great career engineering is and encourage them to pursue this path. But they are just not in the slightest bit interested no matter how interesting it is to me. Engineering is currently suffering a skills shortage and we need to raise the profile and interest to all young people and not spend time over promoting to just one demographic!
Engineering companies and the education system can do as much as they like to promote women in engineering (which by the way I think is critical for Britain’s long term prosperity as a global engineering player) but as long as a Plumber and Electrician can call them selves “Engineers” we are never going to dispel the misconceptions about our profession. Whenever I tell average Joe on the street I’m a Mechanical Engineer they ask if I can fix their car! Why would a school age girl who is good at STEM subjects aspire to be a car mechanic? In Germany (and many other countries) Engineer is a title similar to Dr or Architect, they don’t have our skills shortage problems.
I am an MD of a small electronic CEM, and have always had an interest in how “manufacturing” is perceived within a diverse community, as opposed to like minded “engineers”. In our local area (mainly woollen mils), traditionally, manufacturing was a part of every person’s daily experience, and young people of both sex’s (every young woman considered manufacturing, even if was not an ultimate choice) saw manufacturing as an normal employment option i.e. it was always part of most youngster’s range of choices. The manufacturing base disappeared from our local area in the 1990’s, and now, I find, it is not even on the radar of any young person, and more importantly, of any of their teachers. Without a broad manufacturing base it will be much more difficult to get any young person, let alone women, believing that there is an open door into that world.
“school age girls regularly outperforming boys in scientific subjects”
This is a symptom of problems with the structure of our education system. Girls have outperformed boys in GCSEs and A-levels overall since I can remember, our education system is (unintentionally) geared towards them.
Lack of male teachers and role-models for boys and young men to look to during their formative school years, along with strict academic expectations and endless exams favour girls across ALL subjects, not just STEM.
This lack of support for young men at school leads them to engineering where a lot of inspirational men have made huge contributions to society. Not only that, the engineering industry is a place where men have historically been able to make a good honest living, and become experts in a particular field during their career, while still joining at the bottom of the ladder so to speak.
I don’t know what the figures are for applications to engineering apprentice schemes, but I’m pretty confident the ratio of male to female apprentices is a lot higher than male to female engineering graduates. Which would support the HS2 demographics, as civil engineering has much higher entry level qualifications than say, manufacturing.
Honestly, boys and young men are victimised a lot in this society, and although they suffer from a lot of the same struggles as young women. Just google “disposable male” and work out why men find solace in fraternal environments such as shop floors and construction sites where what they do can make a difference.
I’m not saying it should stay that way, but this isn’t a problem that can be solved be encouraging women to take up engineering, it needs a more systematic change, along with a more practical approach to our education system.
Bottom line: Overall, boys generally aren’t attracted to engineering because of being inspired in school by their physics or maths teacher, but because it’s a profession that matches their demographic. How would girls be inspired by engineering if not even guys are? We need to get into schools at an early age and a more practical approach to teaching.
An engineering gene? Who discovered it? I need to know.
The human nature, male – female brain, inherent aptitudes and other similar arguments are non-sense and never proven scientifically. The discrimination against women in engineering and, in general, is a social construct, most probably built and maintained by those men, stuck in adolescence, with their puerile calendars.
I am a Mechanical Engineer. I did not think of the need to pull ropes with my teeth ro around my neck or lift heavy stuff as an impediment to become one. Thanks to all engineers and many other people before my generation raw human power is the least necessary to make or move stuff.
Sally and all the rest, do not let yourselves intimidated or discouraged. Disregard the pathetic fools who harass and offend you and go and show your competence: run the machine, draw the tool, design a product or a process, know what you are talking about, do what you love to do with confidence. When I started, a long time ago, I worked as a process engineer for a large manufacturer. My male boss asked me to work on a project to keep me busy, confident that as a woman and a “fluff”, what do I know. Do you think he was right? No. He admitted with embarrassment what he thought about me initially and apologized. It so happens that I was and still am a better engineer than him.
Thank you, Jon, and The Engineer for persevering on this topic, it is one way to change the situation.
QUOTE Silvia Leahu-Aluas
‘built and maintained by those men, stuck in adolescence, with their puerile calendars.’
It precisely comments like this that get male engineers backs up. I have 2 calendars at work, one depicts air craft the other vintage motorbikes.
So these are puerile ?
It precisely comments like this that gives other women the wrong impression and dissuades them from entering the engineering professions.
AP, sorry if it wasn’t clear that I was referring to the calendars mentioned by Sally, those are puerile and off-putting for everybody at work, hopefully. Of course your calendars are great, I also have posters with aircraft, even a piece of the sadly retired Concorde, which I consider one the most beautiful and useful machines ever created.
I have utmost respect for engineers, both men or women, who are professional, open-minded and collaborative. I want them to become and remain engineers, good engineers. However, I have no patience for the boors who dismiss my questions and wink at me at an industry trade show, as it happened just yesterday.