There has been a lot of recent chatter about the recruitment of women engineers; is this the answer to the shortage?
It is a fact that the UK has Europe’s lowest percentage of female engineers. Not only is this an issue for engineering recruitment as a whole, but it begs the question – what is engineering doing to close this gender gap? Other industries, such as medicine, have already addressed gender imbalances and engineering must follow suit if it is to keep up with demand.
Some point to engineering’s enduring reputation as an ‘unfeminine’ career as a reason for the low percentage of women entering the profession. Girls are trained to believe at a very young age that technology, maths and the sciences are ‘boys’ subjects- leading to a very small pool of women who continue to study these subjects into higher education. What’s more, engineering is doing little to actively recruit women; there are very few events aimed at bringing them in.
Of course, all is not lost – a recent study claimed that interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects has increased over the last seven years at a rate that outstrips interest from men. The percentage of female students expressing an interest in civil engineering rose by 10%, and interest in general engineering is up by 16%. Combined sciences saw a 19% rise in female students, while mechanical and electrical engineering rose by 18% and 27% respectively. This suggests that campaigns that are out there aimed at recruiting women are having a positive effect.
So if the interest is there amongst the female population, and recruiting more women could solve a staffing shortage that now borders on crisis for the industry, why don’t we have more female engineers? Clearly, the Government needs to take a firmer stance; while Vince Cable admits that “within the overall problem of the shortage of engineers we have extreme under-representation of women”, there are few schemes aimed at solving the problem.
One such scheme is run at Brunel University, in which female students on post-graduate engineering courses will be granted an extra £1,250 a month in funding – however, national initiatives are needed. The business select committee recently urged ministers to introduce a nationwide careers service aimed at changing the culture in schools that seems to dictate certain career paths for female students. The committee also stated that women should be encouraged into apprenticeship sectors where they are under-represented.
Recruiting more women will definitely help the engineering sector get back on its feet and avoid further shortages. Let’s make it happen.
