Written evidence submitted by The Royal Academy of Engineering (WSC095)

Founded in 1976, The Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the country. Our fellowship – comprising the UK’s most eminent engineers – provides the leadership and expertise for our activities, which focus on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life. As a national academy, we provide independent and impartial advice to Government; work to secure the next generation of engineers; and provide a voice for Britain’s engineering community.

1. The Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes the Science & Technology Committee investigation into women in STEM careers. For engineering this is a particular concern as women are in a significant minority amongst staff in engineering departments across UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The latest data available for the designated engineering and technology cost centre group shows that there are 12,750 full-person equivalent staff, of which 2,200 or 17% are women[1]. This compares with 42% women academic professionals across the whole Higher Education (HE) sector. However, the staffing representation correlates with the 15% undergraduate female representation on engineering and technology degrees.

Why do numbers of women in STEM academic careers decline further up the career ladder? 

2. Taking a wider engineering view, the average proportion of female engineering professionals in UK engineering industry is 5.5%[2] and so overall the engineering HE sector compares favourably.
3. However, as academic staff progress up the career ladder, the proportions change significantly and only 150 of the 2,075 professors (7%) in engineering and technology are women[3]. This is comparable with the industrial professional representation but is significantly worse than the 21% of women at professorial grades across the whole HE sector.
4. In industry the majority of activity is structured around teams of engineers and managers with shared goals, with performance and success of individual team members measured by the collective output of the team as a contribution to business objectives. By contrast, the focus for research staff HE can be much more individual. Whilst research at universities is often conducted in teams, the performance of individuals is predominantly measured by their individual contribution to research output and to the departmental infrastructure (environment), that is authoring journal publications and being awarded funding for research. Each individual’s outputs then contribute to the overall departmental and university research quality assessment (as measured by the Research Excellence Framework).
5. This emphasis on individual output over a specific period of time presents a fundamental difficulty for those wishing to take a career break to change employment patterns or working hours whilst maintaining progress to higher grades within the university. This undoubtedly affects women during maternity breaks but equally can affect any staff who need to juggle research demands with childcare or other caring responsibilities, or even those who wished to take a sabbatical to work in industry.
6. In the face of these demands, local culture within the HEI management is probably the most significant factor in how flexible or otherwise an HE environment is in practice.
7. The Academy has gathered evidence for this inquiry from its current female recipients of HE research grants and has sought input from the Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC). A number of issues have been highlighted by respondents, which can be distilled into a single observation. The lack of specifically defined total working hours, or start/finish times, in some university employment contracts can present a barrier to those seeking to negotiate a part-time or flexible pattern of work. It is worth noting, however, that flexibility in working times can be an enabler to working flexibly in some roles when combined with a local culture that supports that approach for those individuals that need it. It is also true that academic roles break down into several elements, such as a teaching/research management/administration/primary research and some of these are elements are inherently more flexible than others.

When women leave academia, what careers do they transition into? What are the consequences of scientifically trained women applying their skills in different employment sectors?

8. We have limited data to examine the destinations following higher education study and the following uses the HESA DLHE dataset6 that captures information at the point 6 months after graduation.
9. For leavers from a first degree in engineering and technology, the significant occupational destinations for women are: engineering professionals (30.7%) and not in employment/assumed unemployed (11.7%). Research professionals are <1% and a further 18.7% undertake further study.
10. For female leavers with a postgraduate research qualification: engineering professionals (16.9%), research professionals (29.8%) and not in employment/assumed unemployed (8%). A further 12.7% undertake further study.
11. For female leavers from postgraduate teaching positions: engineering professionals (26.6%) and not in employment/assumed unemployed (14.5%). A further 11.6% undertake further study.
12. An engineering degree is rightly recognised as an educational background that equips an individual with valuable transferable skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, application of theory to new situations, numerate competence, understanding of scientific principles. These are skills that are in demand from many other employment sectors such as banking, law, project management.
13. Evidence already shows that a higher proportion of women than men enter non-STEM occupations following an engineering and technology degree, 45.1% compared to 30%4. The difference is smaller for those entering non-STEM occupations following postgraduate qualifications, at 30.9% and 25.6% respectively for women and men. We do not have data beyond this first destination information that illustrate where women who have pursued academic careers migrate to when they leave engineering academia. We do know, however, that higher proportions of women than men are found in sectors other than manufacturing and construction and that higher proportions of women than men are found in lower occupation groups5.
14. We also know that those with engineering (and STEM more generally) qualifications are widely distributed across many sectors of the economy5. Providing that future engineering skills demands can be met, the added benefit of having scientific and technically literate individuals spread throughout sectors such as finance, government, retail and business services should not be underestimated.

What should universities and the higher education sector do to retain women graduates and PhD students in academic careers? Are there examples of good practice?

15. HEIs’ promotions criteria should be examined to ensure that contributions across management, out-reach, knowledge transfer activity, teaching AND research are equally and appropriately recognised as it may be that some elements of such a portfolio lend themselves more readily to working more flexibly than others and that the mix of contribution to the required portfolio across an individual’s career will change.
16. The Equality and Diversity Panel for the Research Excellence Framework should seek to review how effectively their guidance was implemented through both quantitative and qualitative analysis after the event.  While the guidelines might be well developed, there might be more to be learned from how staff “on the ground” felt it was implemented locally.
17. Athena SWAN Awards are a well-documented approach to improving the gender equality practices within the higher education environment. Continued application for awards and renewals is recommended as a way of keeping commitment to inclusive practice active.
18. Daphne Jackson Fellowships are another well-established mechanism to help female STEM academics to return to their careers on a part-time basis after a career break.
19. A further example of good practice is the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships. These have explicit terms that cater for career breaks due to children, allowing women maternity leave and pay as well as conducting the fellowship part time in order to balance work and family requirements.
20. Universities should define expected number of weekly hours, including ‘core’ hours, which constitute full-time as part of academic employment contracts particularly for senior staff. This would mitigate the expectation that one will simply do ‘the hours to do the job’ and would facilitate arranging the sort of flexible work contracts (part-time, compressed hours, flexi-hours as examples) that are possible in other non-academic employment sectors.  Implementing this alongside a core hours approach would ensure that key meetings take place during those hours, enabling all staff to attend, including those who may have caring commitments.
21. The culture of using temporary contracts to fill part time teaching posts exacerbates the uncertainty for many people starting out on an academic career and as such, they may prefer to go into professions which can offer both flexibility and more security.
22. Other sectors have instituted mentoring schemes successfully to develop representation of minority groups.  The impact of role models is important so having high profile men who take advantage of flexible work contracts or who have made it to senior positions via non-traditional routes is really important.

What role should the Government have in encouraging the retention of women in academic STEM careers?

23. Government has a substantial influence over university culture through the funding provision it makes and the level of certainty of future funding levels. An increase in the level of future funding certainty would help the HE sector to plan and underwrite more longer term contracts for staff. This may make the sector a more attractive destination for women.
24. In terms of cultural influence, given that local culture has a substantial effect on the experience of individual women in academia, the Government could extend the lever already applied to the medical research community. The letter by Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, in July 20117 stating that no NHS/University partnership would receive research funding in next cycle unless the academic partner held Athena SWAN Silver status or higher has brought gender equality practices to the fore in the HE Medical Schools.

September 2013