Almost three-quarters of female engineers, 71.7%, don’t believe young women are being made aware of the career opportunities available in the sector, according to independent job site CV-Library.

Female engineers believe the lack of awareness of opportunities is significantly damaging the pipeline of female talent.

The job site asked more than 500 female engineers to share their views on opportunities in the sector for women and discovered that 56.5% felt that engineering was still viewed as a male profession. Furthermore, 92.5% stated that more women would want to work in the sector if they were taught about it from an early age. The female engineers surveyed believe the following actions should be taken to eliminate gender inequality:

• Promotion within the education system: Almost two thirds, 60.4%, believe engineering-based subjects should be offered in schools
• Raising awareness of opportunities: More profile-raising and education on the study and application of engineering would encourage women to enter the industry, according to 41.9% of female engineers
• Profiling role models in the sector: Celebrating success stories could contribute positively, as 44.4% believe that there’s a lack of understanding amongst females around engineering and what it entails
• Actively promoting diversity: Nearly 45.4% believe sector organizations working together to promote gender diversity and equality would raise the profile of women in engineering

“There are great opportunities in the sector for women, but we regularly notice a severe lack of female candidates applying to engineering roles,” said Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library. “For example, in the last six months we had over 105,000 engineering jobs advertised on the site, which received over 2.1 million applications. However, only 9.2% (202,666) of those came from female applicants.”  

“It’s clear that changes need to be made further down the education system to entice women into the sector,” Biggins said. “In the meantime, I’d encourage organisations in the industry to use National Women in Engineering Day as a platform to support equal opportunities, diversify their recruitment strategies and promote the great careers that they have on offer to female engineers.”

National Women in Engineering Day takes place on June 23.

“The findings from CV-Library uncover the realities of what it’s like for many women to work in the sector,” said Narina Sekhon, project coordinator at the Women’s Engineering Society. “But, despite the fact that engineering is still a male-dominated industry, there are plenty of fantastic opportunities for women to embrace. We launched National Women in Engineering Day to raise the profile of females in engineering and focus on the amazing career opportunities available in this exciting sector. By working with a range of organisations and education bodies, we are taking steps to eliminate gender barriers once and for all.”