Few parents think girls like engineering

Research by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) reveals that parents of girls thought their daughters would be most interested in education and childcare careers (32%), as well as arts based careers (29%), healthcare (26%) and hair and beauty (23%).

There is a real need to change perceptions of what engineering can offer women

IET president elect Naomi Climer

”The research conducted by the IET to launch its ‘Engineer a Better World’ clearly shows that there is a real need to change perceptions of what engineering can offer women,” said IET president elect Naomi Climer.

”It’s by supporting events like NWED and the IET’s very own Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards that we aim to raise the profile of engineering and give them the role models they need for inspiration when on the path to pursuing a successful career in engineering.”  

The IET research came at the same time as manufacturing organisation EEF published its own statistics about female engineers to coincide with National Women in Engineering Day.

These include:

• The number of girls attaining an A*-C physics GCSE is now equal to boys, however less than 20% of A-level physics students are girls - meaning the majority of girls are choosing to drop the subject.
• The most recent stats from Engineering UK show that in 2013 only 14.2% of engineering graduates were female.
• With less than 10%, the UK has one of the lowest number of female engineers in Europe.

EEF senior employment and skills policy advisor Verity O’Keefe said: “Manufacturers need to find almost one million workers by 2020 simply to replace those retiring or leaving the industry. This is a huge challenge and why, by 2020, we want to see the number of UK engineering graduates increased by 25% and a 25% increase in the number of apprentices completing engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships.”

O’Keefe added that women need to have a vital role in engineering and it is no longer feasible to exclude them from the talent pipeline.

“National Women in Engineering Day is about raising awareness of the opportunities and inspiring more young women to seriously consider a career in engineering. It’s also a timely reminder to Government, industry and educators to ensure that every effort is made to encourage young women to aim high and to nurture their ambitions.”