Pandemic widens engineering gender gap amongst young people

As part of the survey, Young people and Covid-19: How the pandemic has affected careers experiences and aspirations , just over 1,100 young people aged 11 to 19 were asked about their attitudes and the degree to which their educational and career aspirations have been affected by the pandemic. While, positively for the sector, a large majority of young people believe engineering had an important role to play in fighting elements of the pandemic, the gender gap when it comes to considering an engineering or technology career is still very much prevalent.

When asked whether they would be likely to consider engineering as a career, 44% of boys/young men answered yes as opposed to just 24% of girls/young women and that gap is even wider when it comes to technology with 65% of boys/young men vs 37% of girls/young women saying they would be likely to consider a career in the sector.