Abstract

The issue of gender imbalance is one that affects almost all industries but is particularly prevalent within technology and engineering. Just 14.4% of the overall science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) workforce in the UK are female (ONS, 2015), and with many years of government efforts having been made to increase the interest of school age girls in STEM subjects, it would be thought that the figures in the workplace would be balancing out. This does not appear to be the case, however. This paper looks into the reasons women are still not choosing engineering and technology careers and the reasons why the women who have broken through into the industry are leaving by examining the opportunities they are offered as well as their motivation at work. The research carried out in this paper acknowledges that psychological differences between men and women mean motivators differ and observes that STEM roles tend not to cater to women’s motivational needs. An example supported in this paper is the notion that women find motivation from a good work life balance and that this is generally not accommodated well within STEM roles. The online questionnaire carried out in this study draws concepts from literature to further investigate the opinions of women who are currently working in STEM roles within the UK. The survey is comprised of seventeen questions and relies upon levels of experience and levels of education to analyse. Overall, ninety-nine women took part in the survey.

Keywords

Self-fulfilment, The Leaky Pipeline, The Glass Ceiling, Motivation, Opportunities, Women in STEM

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