Work and economy

Results from Research from France's Visit to the United Kingdom

The Facts (2019):

• 14.4% women work in Stem in the UK.
• Increasing the number of women in Stem is forecasted to increase the UK’s labour value by at least two-billion-pounds.
• Female software developers earn 20% less than their male counterparts.
• Male applicants are significantly favoured over female ones, even if they have the same qualifications.

In 2017:

–11% of the engineering workforce were female.

–39% of women graduated in physical science.

–41% of women graduated from mathematical science.

–14% of women graduated in engineering and technology.

Reasons why:

• Fewer girls than boys choose stem subjects at secondary school and university.
• Biologically, boys are better at practical tasks while women are better at verbal recall tasks.

Stereotypes associated with gender roles:

• Jobs associated with Stem subjects are typically seen as male jobs
• This means that females don’t have these jobs because they don’t want to be left out or treated differently.
• “Macho Culture” – Men are more capable of taking the harder jobs.

Comparison: UK / France

• Women make up the majority of university graduates, however, only 35.9% are Stem graduates.
• Gender equality has been the heart of policies aimed at reconciling work and family life in France for many decades.
• Men are still paid on average 9% more than women (France) likewise, in the UK men are paid about 9.1% more than women.

Suggestions for what could be done to improve:

• Try removing the stereotypes to make female feel more comfortable in taking part in Stem subjects.
• Increase in role models through social media and education programmes.
• Reduce in the gender pay gap.