For anyone who has attended a technology trade show or conference in the last few years, it’s clear that the technology industry still suffers from an identity problem when it comes to diversity. Whilst initiatives have started to improve the balance of men versus women, figures show that women are still significantly underrepresented in the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) industries.
According to the most recent Office of National Statistics (ONS) data, women make up only 18% of digital technology roles. Furthermore, the UK Government’s Wise Campaign found that only 8% of women progress to a Level 4+ STEM qualification with only 24% of women progressing to the STEM workforce. European statistics also show that only 1 in 3 STEM graduates is a woman; only 17% ICT specialists in the EU are women; and 93% of capital invested in European companies this year went to all-male founding teams.
So why are these numbers so low? We believe the stumbling blocks lie with education and careers guidance. According to data from UCAS, 35% of STEM students in higher education in the UK are women. Whilst it is undoubtedly growing (the number of women graduating in core STEM subjects grew from 22,020 to 24,705 in 2019 for example), the figures also show that the percentage of men graduating in these subject areas has grown more rapidly, leaving the number of women still lagging behind.
Continue reading: https://www.information-age.com/time-to-close-gender-gap-why-we-need-more-women-in-stem-123497807/
According to the most recent Office of National Statistics (ONS) data, women make up only 18% of digital technology roles. Furthermore, the UK Government’s Wise Campaign found that only 8% of women progress to a Level 4+ STEM qualification with only 24% of women progressing to the STEM workforce. European statistics also show that only 1 in 3 STEM graduates is a woman; only 17% ICT specialists in the EU are women; and 93% of capital invested in European companies this year went to all-male founding teams.
So why are these numbers so low? We believe the stumbling blocks lie with education and careers guidance. According to data from UCAS, 35% of STEM students in higher education in the UK are women. Whilst it is undoubtedly growing (the number of women graduating in core STEM subjects grew from 22,020 to 24,705 in 2019 for example), the figures also show that the percentage of men graduating in these subject areas has grown more rapidly, leaving the number of women still lagging behind.
Continue reading: https://www.information-age.com/time-to-close-gender-gap-why-we-need-more-women-in-stem-123497807/
