Engineering news
The lack of women working in engineering has once again been highlighted in a study by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
A survey of 400 firms showed no significant improvement in the number of women engineers since 2008. It showed the proportion of female engineers has remained at just 6% over the past few years.
The IET said its research showed that despite the poor record, more than two out of five employers were not taking any specific action to tackle the issue.
Lynne Palmer, partnership director at the campaign group Wise, which promotes female talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, said the report's findings were no surprise. She told PE: “Six per cent seems to be an accurate representation of the situation in the engineering world, which is not good. Wise is trying to improve that figure, but in an ideal world we wouldn't need to exist at all. The level of women in industry is really disappointing.”
The campaign is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Wise has more than 50 corporate members, but Palmer said that was just the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of what could be done. “It's going to take a concerted effort across the whole of UK industry to improve the statistics.” The members are drawn from companies, engineering and scientific institutions and academic establishments.
Demand for engineering staff is high and many employers are struggling to recruit staff. Nigel Fine, IET chief executive, said: “Demand for engineers in the UK remains high. Research suggests we need to find 87,000 new engineers each year for the next decade, so now is the time to act.”
Palmer added: “This is not just a diversity issue now – there is a real business imperative to fill positions.” She added that an improved gender balance in the workforce improved creativity. “We are going to be missing out on that if the sector is very male-dominated.” She said it didn't surprise her that the IET had found that a relatively low number of employers were addressing the issue. “We would like to be working with more employers.”
Management consulting firm Hay Group said that workforce diversity in engineering “had long been an issue”. The problem can be traced throughout the system, with a lack of female engineering professors within education institutions setting a male-centric image from the start, Hay Group said. It added engineering had been slow to embrace flexible working, as one example.
To get involved with the Wise campaign, visit: www.wisecampaign.org.uk