Report highlights gender pay gap in SET

An UK Resource Centre for Women in SET product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 3, 2006

The UK Resource Centre for Women in Science Engineering and Technology has welcomed the publication of the report from the Women and Work Commission.

The UK Resource Centre for Women in Science Engineering and Technology (UKRC) has welcomed the publication of the report from the Women and Work Commission.

Established by the DTI in 2004 to increase the participation and position of women in SET, the UKRC works within some of the most highly gender segregated sectors of the workplace.

A spokesperson for the UKRC said: " We look forward to studying the details of the report".

"Its subject matter is a critical issue within SET where there are significant skills shortages, a predicted rapid increase in high level skills needed in the near future to help the UK economy meet predicted growth targets and yet 70% of women with SET skills do not work in the sector".

"We commend the prominence given by the report to the gender pay gap which is particularly evident in our sector given that only 24.1% of the workforce is female and only 12.5% of those holding managerial positions are women".

"This is an average and hides even more extremes within certain areas such as physics".

The UKRC works with organisations, women and policy makers to engender change within the workforce.

It is confident that dismantling occupational segregation will help reduce the gender pay gap.

"Women who choose a SET career path are being prevented from reaching their full potential both personally and economically".

"This is not only a waste of their talents and skills but a waste of the investment in the development of those skills and a severe loss to both SET organisations and the UK economy as a whole".

The UKRC does however express some concern that any initiatives emanating from this report join up with those already happening, such as the work of the UKRC itself - one of its key roles is to act as a co-ordinator and bring some cohesion to gender initiatives within SET.

It is also adamant of the need to tackle gender segregation at all career levels in order to properly manage the female talent pipeline.

Further concerns are expressed about the measurement of change and success being difficult when key baseline, gender disaggregated workforce data is not available, particularly from the private sector.

The UKRC would like to see gender reporting duties on all sectors to enable the real picture to be seen.

The issues considered by the commission are impacted by complex and varied elements that have no simple resolution.

A careful combination of measures is needed to change not only workplace culture and practices but the stereotypical images and pressures that pervade society and make certain careers "male" or "female".

This will not be achieved overnight but through a continuum of business case evidence and good practice possibly accompanied by more formal regulation or legislation.