In the most recently released government workforce data for the UK:
- Female employees account for 19.1% of the total SET Management workforce.
- Female employees account for 43.3% of the total workforce of Science Professionals.
- Female employees account for 30.8% of the total workforce of Science and Engineering Technicians.
- Female employees account for 12.9% of the total workforce of Engineering Professionals
- Female employees account for 19.1% of the total workforce of IT Professionals
- Female employees account for 20.5% of the total workforce of IT Technicians.
- Female employees account for 26% of the total workforce of Core-STEM employees.
The latest government workforce data shows small but positive increases in the % of women making up the Core-STEM workforce for most sectors. In sample data taken from March 2023, we see an increase in the proportion of female employees working in 4 out of the 6 Core-STEM categories.
These include SET Management (19.1%), Science and Engineering Technicians (30.8%), Engineering Professionals (12.9%) and IT Professionals (19.1%).
26% of all Core-STEM sector employees are female. Despite broadly positive statistics, a notable fluctuation in the number of female Science Professionals – in roles including Biological Scientists, Biochemists, Biomedical Scientists and Physical Scientists – negatively impacts the overall data trend for female employees in the Core-STEM sector.
Workforce data from December 2022
- There’s been a slight increase in the % of female SET managers.
- There’s been a notable decrease in the % of female Science Professionals.
- There’s been a slight increase in the % of female Science and Engineering Technicians.
- There’s been a slight increase in the % of female Engineering Professionals.
- There’s been a slight increase in the % of female IT Professionals.
- There’s been a slight decrease in the % of female IT Technicians.
- There’s been a slight decrease in the % of female Core-STEM employees overall.
WISE will continue to update these headline figures as Annual Population Survey (APS) data is released. A more in-depth analysis of this data – looking at trends across the years – will be released in September 2023.
Update to SOC codes
Please note that we have updated the SOC codes used from SOC 2010 to SOC 2020. For more information from ONS about this revision, please click here.
Data Sources
Core STEM includes science, engineering, and information and communications technology. Health occupations are not included within the scope of core STEM. Although skilled trades are not included within the scope of core STEM, WISE monitors the participation of women in in these roles because of the scale of employment.
This analysis has been produced based on government figures from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The previous WISE analysis used the Labour Force Survey (LFS); Following changes, we now use the APS.
The APS uses a larger sample size than the LFS, which should make its results more accurate, and which allows for additional data to be published.
The APS also has a smaller sampling error than the LFS, due to differences in how the data is collected.