Increasing the number of female graduates working in manufacturing, technology,
engineering and computing (MTEC)
TARGET 2030
NCUBGreen PaperMARCH 2014
Dr David Docherty, Chief Executive,National Centre for Universities and BusinessNCUB Green Papers are think-pieces intended to foster debate and discussion.
They do not commit the NCUB to action or reflect the views of the Leadership Council, members and funders.
Female graduates are not entering manufacturing, technology, engineering and computing (MTEC), companies in sufficient numbers to increase the quality and competitiveness of the talent pool.
Businesses are crying out for high-quality engineers, technicians and manufacturing business leaders, and yet firms are missing out on one the most important sources of talent in the country – smart, numerate, university-qualified women. The Target 2030 challenge, then, is to increase the number of women studying physical and formal sciences at school and university, and then to attract and retain them in the MTEC labour force.
But, the numbers don’t stack up...
TargeT2030
Whyfocus onwomen?
EUROSTAT LFS 2012. Countries for which data available.1 According to EU LFS S&E professionals have either “completed a relevant tertiary level of education” or “are not formally qualified but perform a role for which a relevant tertiary qualification is required”.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
IRELAND 10 9
DENMARK 99
SPAIN 6 5
NORWAY 65
BELGIUM 75
PORTUGAL 4 4
HUNGARY 72
CZECH REPUBLIC 41
AUSTRIA 73
GREECE 43
POLAND 53
TURKEY 23
SLOVENIA 73
ITALY 2 3
FRANCE 7 12
UNITED KINGDOM 4 12
GERMANY 4 12
SWITZERLAND 5 13
SWEDEN 8 8
ROMANIA 5 8
EU27 4 8
FINLAND 9 18
FEMALE MALEMale Female
Scientists and Engineers in Manufacturing 2012 (% of TOTAL employment)FIGURE 1A
1The UK performs poorly on the proportion of women in Science and Engineering.Fewer than one in ten science and engineering professionals¹ in the UK labour force are female (9.5%), and women are disproportionately underrepresented in the manufacturing sector.
05
EUROSTAT LFS 2012. Countries for which data available.
Figure 1 shows that female science and engineering (S&E) professionals working in manufacturing account for only 4% of the labour force, compared to 12% of men. This is also fewer than half of female S&E professionals in, for example, services as shown in figure 1B.
Male Female
Scientists and Engineers in Services 2012 (% of TOTAL employment)FIGURE 1B
06
FEMALE MALE
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
IRELAND 13 13
DENMARK
1412
SPAIN
9 7
NORWAY
118BELGIUM
PORTUGAL
HUNGARY
74
CZECH REPUBLIC
94
AUSTRIA
GREECE
87
157
POLAND
106
TURKEY
176
SLOVENIA
105
ITALY
5 12
FRANCE
10 14UNITED KINGDOM
GERMANY
SWITZERLAND
8 4
SWEDEN
10 10
ROMANIA
8 10
EU27
FINLAND
1212
107
97
87
107
7 8
Note: These numbers need to be treated with a little caution due to different definitions of what constitutes an engineering professional or job and to sample sizes, particularly for smaller European countries. But the point stands.
Figure 2 illustrates the comparative challenge relative to our closest European comparators.
Britain is firmly at the bottom of the league table of qualified female professional engineers, and trails far behind many of our Northern European neighbours ². This stark difference in the gender balance of science and engineering professionals is a cause for concern as there is strong evidence from the UK Innovation Survey that innovation-active firms employ more S&E graduates ³.
LATVIA 30%
BULGARIA29%
CYPRUS 29%
SWEDEN26%
TURKEY 21%
ITALY19%
IRELAND 14%
AUSTRIA10%
UNITED KINGDOM 9%
2007
2 Engineering UK 2011 An Investigation in why women have the lowest proportion of Female Engineers in the EU p1; data drawn from 2007 EU labour force survey by UKRC.– not validated.3 7.9% of employees in innovation active firms hold a science or engineering degree, while only 3.1% of employees in non-innovating firms hold such degrees (UK Innovation Survey 2011 - Table 13, page 17 of report).
FIGURE 2
07
The percentage of female ‘engineering professionals’ in EU countries. Quoted by Engineering UK 2011 as analysis of 2007 EU Labour Force Survey by UK RC
Figures 3 and 4 show that even though personal choices at GCSE level are more limited than at A-Level, there is a better and improving gender balance in graduation rates of single sciences. However, the gap is wider and widening at A-Level.
2Not enough girls and young women are studying maths, physics, technology and computing to enable them to enter these sectors as technicians, managers or entrepreneurs.The numbers of young women doing the A-level subjects that are most commonly required for a career in MTEC companies have been difficult to grow. Moreover, the gender gap in these subjects widened yet again in 2013.
FEMALE MALE
0% 10% 20% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%30%
PHYSICS GCSE 2012
PHYSICS GCSE 2013
PHYSICS A LEVEL 2012
PHYSICS A LEVEL 2013
MATHS GCSE 2012
MATHS GCSE 2013
MATHS A LEVEL 2012
MATHS A LEVEL 2013
BIOLOGY GCSE 2012
BIOLOGY GCSE 2013
BIOLOGY A LEVEL 2012
BIOLOGY A LEVEL 2013
83,976 73,401
82,580 78,155
27,148 7,361
28,190 7,379
336,253 339,536
378,414 381,756
51,513 34,301
53,435 34,625
86,365 79,521
88,063 86,647
27,140 35,664
26,988 36,951
Male Female
GCSE & A Level Results 2013 & 2012 (Biology for Comparison)FIGURE 3
08
Joint Council Qualfictaions 1 According to EU LFS S&E professionals have either “completed a relevant tertiary level of education” or “are not formally qualified but perform a role for which a relevant tertiary qualification is required”.
In terms of choices, physics is the 4th most popular A-level subject for boys, but the 19th most popular for girls. And this problem is compounded by half of our state schools not even putting girls forward for physics A-level4.
In terms of vocational qualifications, at BTEC Level Two while the proportion of females studying engineering was merely 5% they outperformed their male
peers with 37% achieving the highest grade (D*), more than in any other subject (Figure 5). At BTEC Level Three the picture was similar, only 4% of engineering students were females but 14% of them achieved the top grade compared to 9% of male students5.
At degree level, gender imbalances at take up are stark: Just 14.3% of engineering and technology undergraduates are women6.
GCSE PHYSICS A LEVEL PHYSICS
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
15,786
10,443 10,525
12,589
11,13110,575
4,425
16,36017,640 17,459
19,787
20,811
GCSE Physics A-Level Physics
Gender Gap (Male Headcount - Female Headcount)FIGURE 4
4 www.iop.org/education/teacher/support/girls_physics/file_58200.pdf 5 www.edexcel.com/btec/news-and-policy/Pages/BTECResultsDay.aspx6 Talent 2030 Dashboard, from HESA data www.ncub.co.uk/our-initiatives/talent-2030.html
09
34%
24%
10%
32%
19%
8%
24%
48%
18%
10%
25%
47%
62%
25%
7%
7%
31%
10%
25%
34%
50%
22%
9%
19% 20%
8%
20%
52%
68%
18%
5%
9%
30%
2%
14%
54%
50%
50%
37%
9%
18%
35%
50%
22%
8%
20%
43%
23%
10%
25%
10%
6%
20%
64%
42%
30%
9%
19%
66%
23%
4%
7%
78%
17%
2%4%
65%
23%
4%
8%
APPLIEDSCIENCE
ART &DESIGN
BUSINESS& SERVICE
CHILDREN’SCARE &
LEARNING &DEVELOPMENT
CONSTRUCTION& THE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
ENGINEERING HAIR &BEAUTY
HEALTH &SOCIAL CARE
HOSPITALITY
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
BTEC Level 2 Results 2013. D* is the top grade, achieved by 37% of girls taking engineering, a higher percentage then girls in any other subjectFIGURE 5
Pearson for Edexcel, 5th July 2013
37%
31%
10%
22%
19%
8%
24%
48%
28%
11%
30%
32%
62%
25%
7%
7%
16%
8%
24%
52%
67%
22%
9%
19%
22%
6%
22%
49%
23%
6%
14%
57%
21%
7%
23%
49%
58%
24%
6%
11%
36%
28%
12%
24%17%
10%
29%
45%
35%
25%
9%
32%
53%
24%
8%
15%
37%
46%
21%
24%
10%
21%
11%
31%
I.T LAND-BASED &ENVIRONMENT
MEDIA MUSIC PERFORMINGARTS
PUBLIC &UNIFORMED
SERVICES
SPORT TRAVEL &TOURISM
D*
D
M
P
11
What Can We DoAbout the Challenge?
1. This is more of a UK cultural and educational issue than a hard-wired gender problem and should be treated as such.
7 2011: www.oecd-ilibrary.org/science-and-technology/oecd-science-technology-and-industry-scoreboard-2011/science-and-technology-occupa- tions_sti_scoreboard-2011-14-en, page 72
2012: www.oecd-ilibrary.org/science-and-technology/oecd-science-technology-and-industry-scoreboard_20725345, page 92
12
UNDERSTAND IT
Twenty years ago perceived imbalances in biology and veterinary science were just as bad as in MTEC; and yet in 2010-11 women made up 75% of those studying for veterinary degrees, and 58% of biology graduates – which rose to 62% a year later (See Figure 6). Rebalancing gender in these sciences flows from concerted focus by policy-makers and educational institutions and shifts in how young women perceive the industries into which these subjects can take them.
Again, other European countries are driving change in the gender balance of human resources in science and technology (HRST). The OECD 2011 Science and Innovation Scoreboard notes that: “A particular characteristic of HRST employment is the increasing share of women. In the majority of countries, women are now more numerous than men among HRST employees. In Estonia, the Russian
Federation, Poland and Hungary, more than 60% of HRST in 2010 were women”⁷. And yet the UK’s proportion of women in this category was just 49% in 2011 and 2012, which is below the EU average and well below innovation leaders in both years⁷.
Furthermore, when women have equal opportunities in sciences, they are more employable. As Figure 7 shows, women graduates are less likely to be unemployed than their male counterparts – even in the majority of the physical and formal sciences. And more positively, are more likely to be employed (see Figure 8). This confirms once more than in the race for high quality talent, we must collectively focus on bringing more women into a sector because they are good and not because they are female. This is a talent challenge for the pipeline, not a ‘diversity’ issue.
FEMALE MALE
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
SUBJECTS ALLIED TO MEDICINE
EDUCATION
VETERINARY SCIENCE
LANGUAGES
SOCIAL STUDIES
CREATIVE ARTS & DESIGN
COMBINED
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
LAW
AGRICULTURE & RELATED SUBJECTS
MASS COMMUNICATIONS & DOCUMENTATION
MEDICINE & DENTISTRY
HISTORICAL & PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & PLANNING
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY 16
18
33
39
40
49
53
57
58
59
60
62
62
62
62
68
75
76
80
Percentage of male and female students per subject area in 2011-12FIGURE 6
Male Female
HESA Data
13
0
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0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
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HESA Data
Female and Male Unemployment 6 months after graduation in 2011/12 (DLHE)FIGURE 7
Male UNE Female UNE All 10%
14
Note: Blue bars to the right indicate female employment advantage. Orange bars to the left indicate female unemployment advantage.
-0.08 -0.06 -0.04 -0.02 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12
SUBJECTS ALLIED TO MEDICINE
EDUCATION
VETERINARY SCIENCE
LANGUAGES
SOCIAL STUDIES
CREATIVE ARTS & DESIGN
COMBINED
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
LAW
AGRICULTURE & RELATED SUBJECTS
MASS COMMUNICATIONS & DOCUMENTATION
MEDICINE & DENTISTRY0.015
0.003
0.1
0.05
0.042
0.06
0.047
-0.003
0.034
0.05
0.06
-0.02
0.064
-0.005
0.024
0.057
0.021
-0.024
-0.045
-0.002
-0.012
-0.023
-0.05
-0.0420
-0.016
-0.042
-0.020
-0.036
-0.05
-0.031
-0.019
-0.027
-0.021
-0.023
-0.06
-0.042
-0.007
-0.001
HISTORICAL & PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & PLANNING
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
EMPDIFF UNEDIFF
HESA Data
Female advantage in Employment - 6 months after graduation in 2011/12 (DLHE)FIGURE 8
EMPDIFF UNEDIFF
15
2. We should focus on MTEC targets rather than just STEM. There isn’t a major volume problem in many sciences or technology subjects.
ii) Physics A-level in particular is a major recruitment issue for manufacturing and engineering businesses
As many universities require physics to study engineering, the subject is a barrier (or a platform) for long-term employability in industry. Universities on their own cannot solve this gender bottleneck in the pipeline, but they can help drive the solution.
If we aim to achieve the gender dynamism demonstrated by the OECD Scorecard, the UK needs to increase the number of girls taking MTEC-relevant subjects in school. For example, if we wish to reach European averages for the percentage of women who are professional engineers the educational system will probably have to increase the number of young women taking physics A-level by 15 points, and almost double the number of women taking engineering degrees. (See Talent 2030 Dashboard)9.
i) There does not appear to be a major problem with the number of overall STEM graduates
One in ten formal and physical science graduates is unemployed six months after leaving university, which suggests there is a market clearance issue. (Table 1) So, simply growing the number of girls and young women studying STEM subjects does not address the core challenge of growing the MTEC talent pool.
MTEC is grounded in the needs of real businesses and sectors; whereas STEM graduates go into everything from banking to baking. Evidence from the department for Business, Innovaton and Skills shows that around 50% of graduates from STEM subjects end up in occupations considered as non- STEM 8. Some leakage of graduates is a good sign in a dynamic economy, but a generalised concern about it may partially be the result of difficulties understanding the demand and supply of STEM skills. In policy terms, we need to understand the difference between a scientifically and technically literate workforce, and specific graduate skills and talent needed for particular sectors.
8 www.dius.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/migratedd/publications/d/demand_for_stem_skills.pdf p.56-579 www.ncub.co.uk/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=70&Itemid=
16
FOCUS IT
MEDICINE & DENTISTRY
MEDICINE & DENTISTRY
SUBJECT AREA EMPLOYED %
91 13
11
11
9
9
9
9
8
8
8
8
8
7
7
6
6
4
4
1
88
87
77
86
77
76
74
73
68
71
70
67
67
65
62
61
63
62
SUBJECT AREA UNEMPLOYED %
% EMPLOYED BY SUGBECT AREA 2010/2011
SUBJECTS ALLIED TO MEDICINE
SUBJECTS ALLIED TO MEDICINE
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
VETERINARY SCIENCE
VETERINARY SCIENCELANGUAGES
LANGUAGES
SOCIAL STUDIES
SOCIAL STUDIES
CREATIVE ARTS & DESIGN
CREATIVE ARTS & DESIGN
COMBINED
COMBINED
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
LAW
LAW
AGRICULTURE & RELATED SUBJECTS AGRICULTURE & RELATED SUBJECTS
MASS COMMUNICATIONS & DOCUMENTATION
MASS COMMUNICATIONS & DOCUMENTATION
HISTORICAL & PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
HISTORICAL & PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES
BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCESARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & PLANNING
ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & PLANNINGCOMPUTER SCIENCE
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Destinations of Leavers of HE (DLHE)TABLE 1
17
HESA Data
A recent survey of undergraduate women for the Council for Industry and Higher Education (now the NCUB), showed that the problem for girls and their parents is that MTEC companies were not seen as appropriate career destinations¹⁰. When asked what might have changed their opinions about entering manufacturing and engineering, three variables made a difference. First, most girls did not realise that engineering had the second largest graduate premium. Second, they would have been more inclined to have taken an MTEC route if they had understood it had ‘green’ potential and responsibilities. And finally, they needed role models - namely, young women like themselves who have taken that path. The NCUB’s Talent 2030 project is an attempt to raise consciousness on these three issues¹¹.
Through its ‘Heroes’ campaign, it illustrated MTEC career portfolios taken by women in their 20s and 30s, and in the long-term hopes to help girls understand what they might achieve with an MTEC career portfolio.
Admirable, long-term targeted Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) initiatives aimed at girls need strengthening. Multiple initiatives funded by Government and sector partners (Women in Science and Engineering; MentorSET; STEM Ambassadors) have done terrific work and are the products of highly-committed participants. Furthermore, there are successful schools, teachers and heads who have driven hard at changing the picture. But overall the number of girls and young women MTEC-prepared is stubbornly refusing to grow.
Collectively, we need to review new, contemporary approaches that aim to tackle root causes of this persistent gender imbalance. And this may mean facing the challenges of language – particularly that of STEM.
STEM is used as a marketing term as if fourteen years olds know what it is. They don’t. It’s a meaningless acronym for many ¹². We must take the arguments to fourteen to nineteen year olds using terms they understand. This is not a question of dumbing down; it’s a question of being smart. The Target 2030Campaign should engage consumer focused companies, such as the BBC, Channel 4, MTV, WPP, Pearson, Google, Facebook, Twitter and mobile social media (which are constantly changing), alongside MTEC companies to drive key messages to students, teachers and their parents.
4. We need to campaign using language pupils and parents understand.
3. MTEC companies need to join with universities and schools in a coordinated campaign to emphasise the social and personal benefits of working in such companies.
10 www.ncub.co.uk/reports/great-expectations-top-manufacturing-and-engineering-talent-2030-creating-the-pipeline.html11 www.talent2030.org 12 www.iop.org/news/13/dec/page_62059.html
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CO-ORDINATE IT
SELL IT
The graduate recruiters, entrepreneurs and management teams of 2030 are at university today, and the people they will be recruiting were born a few years ago and will soon be entering the school system. Assuming we launch the Target 2030 project for academic year 2014, we will only have sixteen years to achieve the targets.
A blink.
WHY 2030?
Consider long-term A-level and undergraduate targets for women in pivot subjects, such as physics and computing. Review successful campaigns in other countries.
Next Steps?
1
2
3
Create a national campaign and sustained long-term program led by successful women (with an emphasis on young role models) and aimed at targeting parents and teachers in general, not just those who teach formal and physical sciences.
Mobilise the current female university population and alumni in a contemporary approach to engaging the next generation of female talent.
19
Drawing on the 25 years’ experience of our predecessor body, the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), NCUB is committed to a programme of research, policy development and practical partnerships.
From facilitating collaborative R&D, to developing the entrepreneurial and employability skills of students at all stages of their education, NCUB is working to support UK business and higher education in a competitive global market.
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VISION
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METHOD
MISSIONBy effective collaboration, nurturing the right talent, innovation and expertise for the UK’s future growth.
With thanks to Rosa Fernandez, Olivia Jones and Joseph Barnsley for their contributions
NCUB is supported by:
With thanks to Rosa Fernandez, Olivia Jones and Joseph Barnsley for their contributions
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