Technical Notes

This Month's Notes:

Report shows how to gain more women in engineering careers
10 March 2004

Why do women shy away from equations and electric circuits—or is there another reason why there are so few females with careers in science, engineering, and technology? A new report published by the Institute of Physics and the Daphne Jackson Trust makes recommendations on how the U.K. can stem the tide of women not choosing science, engineering, and technology (SET) for careers.

This report stems from a debate held in September 2003 with science-based industry, academia, and political experts from the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. It targets SET businesses and industries that could and should be making their work environments more flexible and "gender neutral" to suit modern society. The report offers four recommendations:

• Hard facts get results: gender data from U.K. industry will provoke industry into addressing the imbalance in the system.

• Industry and business leaders—men as well as women—need to develop measures to tackle gender imbalances for effective action.

• Plugging the leaky pipeline: action must occur at all points where people can opt in/out of science, engineering, and technology careers.

• Children should know more about the range of science and
technology-based careers, so they do not rule them out unknowingly.

"The Institute of Physics recognizes the difficulties facing women in physics and related careers, and we are doing our best to change attitudes and to create a better working environment for all physicists, both female and male," said Julia King, chief executive of the Institute of Physics. "

For related information, go to www.isa.org/productivity

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