Gender and ethnicity analysis by date, region, industry, comparison
Female STEM and whole workforce by region
Ethnicity STEM and whole workforce by region
In contrast to the significant under-representation of women, the ethnicity of the STEM workforce is broadly in line with representation across the wider UK workforce – although, at 12% in 2019, the workforce representation was notably lower than representation within the UK population (18%) recorded in the 2021 Census.*
*ONS: UK census, 2021
Percentage of the STEM and whole workforce that were from an ethnic minority background in 2019, by region
Female workforce by occupation
A deep dive into some of the key STEM occupations, across April 2022-March 2023, highlights the extent to which female representation varies. It also identifies occupational groups in which gender parity has been achieved or exceeded. This could provide learnings for other occupations where employers are seeking to drive gender diversity.
Within the scientific skills arena, female representation in all key occupations is notably higher than the national STEM occupation average. This includes a 59% representation amongst Biochemists and Biomedical Scientists and half (49%) of Lab Technicians.
Key scientific occupations: female workforce representation, Apr 2022-Jun 2023
And within IT occupations, representation is varied – ranging from 41% of Database Administrators & Web Content Technicians to just 14% of IT Network Professionals.
Key IT occupations: female workforce representation, Apr 2022-Mar 2023
