EngineeringUK report explores gender gap in higher education

Higher education statistics agency (HESA) data show that 115,000 more girls need to study A levels in Maths or Physics to level the gender gap in engineering.

Of the engineering and technology students in their first year, only 22% were females who studied A levels in both Maths and Physics. When looking solely at female first-year students in the field, 50% took Maths as a separate subject and 31% took Physics on its own.

For all students that study both A level subjects, the subject of choice is still engineering and technology, with 39% of males and only 29% of females choosing the subject.

‘Cultivating this interest and appetite at an early stage will be crucial, so that when it comes to selecting GCSEs and A levels, girls are informed and inspired to choose subjects that will allow them to progress into engineering and tech careers’ says Dr Claudia Mollidor, Head of Research and Evaluation at EngineeringUK.

This suggests the prerequisite of both A level subjects should be widened to encourage more female students to take subjects in the engineering and technology field.

The report was released by EngineeringUK and can be read in full here.