Modest increase in women in STEM, but more to do

The Australian Government has released the 2023 STEM Equity Monitor, which provides valuable insights to help inform government and industry policies to help improve women’s participation in STEM. It does this by tracking outcomes, pay, academic research funding and other workforce characteristics.

For the first time, this year’s monitor includes Year 12 enrolment data, showing the number of enrolments of girls in all STEM subjects has increased slightly from 45% to 47% from 2013 to 2021. However, participation varies between disciplines; in 2021, girls made up a large proportion of biological sciences enrolments (65%) but fewer in engineering (23%) and physics and astronomy (24%). Women in 2021 meanwhile accounted for 37% of enrolments in university STEM courses — up from 34% in 2015 — while enrolments in vocational education and training STEM courses increased slightly from 15% to 17%.

There was also a modest increase in the number of women in STEM-qualified jobs in the decade to 2022, from 11% to 15%. In comparison, women qualified in non-STEM occupations rose by around 50%. Women also make up 23% of senior management but only hold 8% of chief executive officer positions in STEM-qualified industries. Like other industries, pay parity remains an issue — with women earning 17% less than men across all STEM industries (19% across all industries).

So what is preventing women from breaking into STEM workplaces, given the increase in girls studying STEM subjects at school and university? According to a recent report from the South Australian Academy for Gender Equity in STEM (SAAGES), released by the University of South Australia, STEM careers remain difficult environments for women to thrive in, despite no longer being considered ‘nerdy’ or ‘unpopular’.

The report includes feedback and recommendations from 75 professionals and students working in or interested in the sector who have participated in a series of think tanks over the past 12 months. They named unsupportive and even hostile work environments as the main reason women left jobs in STEM.

Inflexible work hours and a failure among many employers to acknowledge that the burden of unpaid care work for children and older parents still falls disproportionately on women is another major obstacle. Lead report author Dr Deborah Devis said the feedback demonstrates that Australia has a long way to go to achieve gender equity in the STEM workforce.

“These obstacles raised by women working in the sector should be a red flag as they continue to exacerbate critical STEM industry workforce shortages across the country,” Devis said.

“We have seen a significant increase in girls studying STEM subjects in schools and undergraduate degrees, but only a small increase in postgraduate programs and young women pursuing STEM careers. The number of women holding senior management roles in STEM industries is also very low.”

Increasing work flexibility would go a long way towards encouraging women to pursue and continue working in STEM careers, the report says, although companies should avoid creating a gender divide where only women are expected to take advantage of flexible work arrangements.

“It is also crucial that men advocate for women in the STEM workforce by actively supporting gender equity and promoting diversity and inclusion,” said report co-author Dr Florence Gabriel. “It should be an entrenched belief, not an exercise in box ticking.”

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