Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what estimate she has made of the proportion of professional people working in STEM-related industries that are female.

According to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), there were 1.26 million people employed as “science, research, engineering and technology professionals” in April 2016; and of this 1.26 million, 227,000 are female (18%).

This data is published by the Office for National Statistics at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2016provisionalresults

The Government is committed to increasing the number of women working at all levels in the STEM industries. That is why we are supporting girls to choose STEM subjects and careers by improving the quality of teaching of STEM subjects, increasing the proportion of girls’ A-level entries in maths and science. We are also raising awareness of STEM careers through the STEM ambassadors and publishing ‘Your Daughter’s Future’, online guidance to help parents support their daughter’s career choices.

The 2015/16 provisional results show that 12,000 more girls sat A-Levels in STEM subjects compared to 2010.

This data is published by the Department for Education at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-2015-to-2016-provisional