For years women have been underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) university courses and occupations. STEM Women specialises in addressing the gender imbalance in STEM fields by hosting networking events and careers fairs for STEM employers and female students studying a course in these subjects.
Statistics
- In Scotland, a large number of women graduate in STEM subjects but fail to move onto a STEM career compared to men. The Royal Society of Edinburgh estimates that doubling women's high-skill contributions to Scotland's economy would benefit it by £170 million per annum.
- Since 2015, the number of women in STEM (women graduating in core STEM subjects) has grown from 22,020, to 24,000 in 2018. On the surface this would appear to show a linear increase, however, due to the more rapid growth in the number of men graduating in these subject areas, the percentage of women in STEM has fluctuated from 25%, down to 24%, and finally up to 26% in 2018.
- Physical science-related degrees have seen a year on year increase in the number of female graduates, showing that efforts to encourage women to study chemistry and physics-based subjects have been successful.
Coded by Ruqaiya Al Muharrami