While more women than ever before are entering into STEM fields, progress is slow and women still comprise just one quarter of the STEM workforce in the UK.
The numbers of women in mid-level life science roles specifically are slightly more optimistic, but as we move towards the leadership positions, numbers drop as women make up only 32% of senior executives and 26% of chief executives in biotech.
Despite research that shows girls outperforming boys in STEM subjects at GCSE and A Level, women are still vastly underrepresented in engineering and the sciences once they reach working age.
It’s no secret that more women need to be encouraged into engineering, but we need to come up with more realistic and effective ways to do this.
Although many women pursue scientific careers, they struggle to attain leadership positions in those careers.
Understanding the range of opportunities
One of the major challenges when it comes to recruiting for the life sciences sector is helping people understand the vast range of opportunities that are available.
There are an estimated 9.4 million people working in STEM fields across all industries in the UK – that’s about 12% of the entire population.
There’s a misconception that you have to have be really clever to work in any field of science, but you just need to be interested and curious.
There’s such a diverse range of roles, many of which involve skills that can be taught, as long as there is that curiosity and interest.
Of course, some roles in science require a deep understanding of complex topics, and you need exceptionally high grades to be able to study them; the problem is that although many women pursue scientific careers, they struggle to attain leadership positions in those careers.
For those with a passion for science, but who are concerned about the intellectual barriers to a career as a research scientist, there are many examples of achievable careers in STEM with much lower barriers to entry.
Addressing the confidence gap
Whilst all of this is true for men pursuing a career in science, I teach a lot of women and find that even the most intelligent ones lack self-confidence.
The women I teach often feel more scared of making mistakes, hold the belief that they must fully succeed in anything they attempt, and may have a lower perceived ability compared with their actual ability.
Men on the other hand are more willing to try anything, can bounce back from mistakes more quickly, and are less likely to hold themselves back.
Of course, we should also be encouraging women to reach for those complex roles with high barriers to entry, but we must highlight the range of opportunities available so that all women, not just the highest academic achievers, can realise a career in engineering and the sciences if they have the interest.
If more women knew about the range of careers in STEM fields, including those with lower barriers to entry, they may feel more confident pursuing such a career.
An opportunity in medicines manufacturing
Medicines manufacturing is experiencing a significant skills shortage, and it is a great example of an area in science where skills can be taught.
The RESILIENCE programme, which was started by the UK government in April 2024, is raising awareness of careers in medicines manufacturing and giving students experience of the job by using VR technology to simulate real-world labs and manufacturing facilities.
VR is a great way to inspire young people, not just because it’s exciting technology, but because it actually lets them have a go at the job and see that they can really do this.
We’ve now reached over 21,000 students from across the UK, which is opening up the conversation around lesser-known career paths in life sciences.
By helping women understand the vast range of opportunities available to them in STEM fields, and more specifically the life sciences sector, we can both fulfil the need for scientists where skills shortages exist and encourage more women into the field.
Misconceptions around the barriers to entry in STEM careers could be a major cause of low numbers of women entering the fields, but by opening the conversation and making clearer opportunities for women of all academic abilities, we can realise a more equal workforce, while also helping more women achieve those leadership roles too.
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