Majority of women in STEM jobs suffer sexism claims new report

Sexism and ageism are rife in Scotland’s science, technology, engineering and medical industries, with disabled, black and ethnic minority, and gay women the least confident in reporting discrimination, according to a new report.
Women in STEM industries experience sexism and ageism according to a new report.Women in STEM industries experience sexism and ageism according to a new report.
Women in STEM industries experience sexism and ageism according to a new report.

The damning report by Equate Scotland, which details the experiences of more than 400 women who work across STEM in Scotland, found that 60 per cent had experienced sexism and 35 per cent ageism, either in the workplace or in their place of education.

Further, it found that 30 per cent of women had experienced discrimination because of caring responsibilities or because of maternity issues.

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However a third of women did not feel confident in reporting discrimination to their employers, rising to more than half of disabled and black and ethnic minority (BME) women, and 50 per cent of LGBT women.

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Overall 64 per cent of women surveyed did not feel enough was being done to create inclusive workplaces or education institutions and only 17 per cent of women said they had experienced no form of discrimination.

The report claims to be the first to break down responses to give an “intersectional analysis”, looking at the different experiences of BME, disabled, LGBT women and those with caring responsibilities across the STEM industry in Scotland.

It was conducted to determine why statistics have shown that more than 70 per cent of women who graduate with a STEM qualification leave STEM specific employment, and that women continue to be under-represented across the STEM sector – making up only 11 per cent of engineers, 23 per cent of those in technology and less than two per cent of those working in construction – despite being over-represented in graduate numbers across science specific degrees.

And the report states: “Sexism and ageism were reported as the highest forms of discrimination experienced at work, college or university.”

It also includes “microaggressions”, indirect or subtle forms of rather discrimination, which were reported by 34 per cent of the women, such as being expected to take minutes at a meeting, “being told that you won’t get a pay rise because the money is needed to keep ‘the men on who threaten to leave’, or being “told my English is really good, even though I am born and bred in Edinburgh.”

Talat Yaqoob, Director of Equate Scotland said: “This report is ground-breaking as it has disaggregated the data to give us a more accurate understanding of women’s experiences.

“By analysing it in this way we are able to illustrate the often hidden realities for women who experience multiple discriminations. Our report reveals the extent of inequality faced by BME women, disabled women, LGBT women and women with caring responsibilities.

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“The report is a call for action to improve workplace practice. With the current Covid-19 crisis, science and technology has never been more important, to respond adequately we need the best minds working in these sectors; that is why we must tackle all and any inequalities that act as a barrier to women’s participation.”

She added: The majority of jobs of the future will require some STEM skills; if we do not tackle occupational segregation, we are likely to lock women out of future opportunities and lock them into under-paid and precarious work. I hope this takes us a step further forward in creating a progressive, inclusive and innovative STEM labour market.”

According to the report, while 64 per cent of women did not feel enough was being done to “create inclusive workplaces or education institutions”, this rose to more than 80 per cent of BME and LGBT women, 70 per cent in women over the age of 35, and 74 per cent of women with caring responsibilities. It was highest among disabled women at 90 per cent.

Mavis Amadi, a member of the Equate Scotland steering committee and a chartered engineer, said the report was a valuable insight into women’s experiences. “As a woman, a mother and a migrant, I have experienced inequality across these different parts of my identity, but I also know lots of employers are trying to change and create better working environments,” she said.

“Some women report feeling as though they are viewed as engaging with their work as a hobby and not as a lifelong calling or profession, due to motherhood. Some women never return to work due to minimal or no support. If we want to retain women in the workplace and create a level playing field, we have to tackle maternity discrimination.”

Equate Scotland is now calling for more state funded childcare and social care, as well as for employers “to invest in affordable and on-site childcare services for employees to make participation in the workplace more accessible for women”. It also wants to see employers make “flexible working a possibility from the recruitment process to day one of a job” and to “seek out equalities expertise in the design of their recruitment and selection processes” and “ensure that interview and shortlisting panels are diverse.”

Ms Amadi added: Most of the barriers that women face have existed for decades, such as feeling pressure to repeatedly prove their professional worth. Women are often on the receiving end of stereotypes and multiple, subtle but implicit, biases. I would encourage industries to consider putting monitoring systems in place to ensure that these barriers and challenges are eliminated or minimised to attract more women into the STEM workforce.”

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