Teach17

For years, schools, universities and engineering organisations have worked hard to encourage more girls to consider STEM careers. Yet the numbers remain stubbornly uneven.

The new 40 by 40: Gender Equity in Engineering and Technology Education initiative argues that inspiration alone is not enough. Its ambition is that, by 2040, girls and young women should make up at least 40% of those following education pathways into engineering and technology.

The message for schools is particularly interesting: rather than continually asking how we can persuade more girls to choose engineering, perhaps we need to look more closely at the experiences, expectations and barriers that shape those choices in the first place.

1. The ambition is 40% by 2040.
   At present, girls make up only around a quarter of young people following education routes towards engineering and technology. The aim is to increase this to at least 40%.
2. This is not just a university problem.
   Ideas about who becomes an engineer start forming much earlier. By the time pupils are making GCSE and A Level choices, some may already have decided that engineering is not for them.
3. There is still a large interest gap.
   Research suggests boys are considerably more likely than girls to say they would consider a career in engineering. Schools therefore need to think about what happens long before pupils complete a UCAS form.
4. Girls are not avoiding STEM because they cannot do it.
   Girls frequently perform very strongly in science and mathematics. The challenge is often progression: turning achievement in STEM subjects into confidence about continuing with them.
5. Physics remains a key point in the pipeline.
   Girls still make up less than a quarter of A Level Physics entries. For physics departments, this makes subject choice at 16 one of the clearest places where the imbalance becomes visible.
6. Computer science has a similar problem.
   Female participation in GCSE and A Level Computer Science remains low. The issue therefore stretches across physics, computing, design, engineering and technology.
7. The imbalance becomes even greater on some vocational routes.
   Girls remain particularly underrepresented on engineering-related apprenticeships and technical qualifications. Schools should make sure these routes are presented equally to all pupils.
8. Practical science matters.
   Interestingly, girls report enjoying practical science and seeing it as something that can increase their interest in the subject. Hands-on science should not disappear under the pressure of covering examination content.
9. Give pupils things to solve, build and investigate.
   Engineering becomes much more understandable when pupils experience it. Designing a bridge, testing insulation, programming a device or solving an energy problem can reveal what engineers actually do.
10. Careers education needs to start earlier.
    A Year 11 careers interview is unlikely to undo years of assumptions about what different careers are like. Conversations about engineering, technology and STEM should begin much earlier.
11. One STEM day will not solve the problem.
    A visiting engineer or annual careers fair can be useful, but sustained exposure is likely to have far greater impact. Engineering needs to appear regularly within lessons, clubs, trips and careers conversations.
12. Show what engineering really looks like.
    Engineering is not simply hard hats, engines and construction sites. It includes medical technology, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, robotics, satellites, transport, electronics, sustainable buildings and countless other areas.
13. Representation still matters.
    Pupils need to encounter female engineers, physicists, programmers and technicians as a normal part of their education rather than only during a special Women in STEM week.
14. Look at who attends your STEM activities.
    A school may proudly run robotics clubs, coding clubs and engineering competitions, but who actually joins them? Participation data can sometimes reveal barriers that are easy to miss.
15. Teachers can make a difference through everyday language.
    Small assumptions matter. Examples used in lessons, careers mentioned in passing, who gets encouraged to answer difficult questions and who is asked to operate equipment can all contribute to pupils’ sense of belonging.
16. A whole-school approach is likely to work better than isolated initiatives.
    Improving participation cannot sit entirely with the physics teacher or careers lead. Curriculum choices, option processes, displays, enrichment, careers guidance, expectations and school culture all contribute.
17. Perhaps the most important idea is to stop trying to ‘fix the girls’.
    Girls do not need to become more interested, more resilient or more confident simply because the system expects them to overcome barriers. The more useful question is whether schools, employers and the wider education system can remove some of those barriers in the first place.

The 40 by 40 initiative raises an important challenge for schools. We have spent years asking, “How do we get more girls into engineering?” Perhaps the better question now is: what would need to change so that far more girls naturally see engineering and technology as something they could choose?