According to research published today by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the underrepresentation of women in senior roles is the ‘single largest cause’ of the gender pay gap for engineers, rather than unequal pay. The report entitled Closing the engineering gender pay gap was compiled for the academy by WISE, the UK’s campaign for greater gender balance in STEM.
After analysing the pay data of around 42,000 UK-based engineers, the report identified the factors that contributed most to pay variance for engineers. They included career level (40%), type of employer (12%), age (6%) and the annual employer revenue (5%). Just 9% of engineers in the top career grade were female, and women accounted for just 8% of those in the upper pay quartile, according to the report findings.
On a positive note, the report noted that the gender pay gap in the engineering profession is not as ‘large as feared’, and actually smaller than the UK employee average. In fact, both the mean (10.8%) and median (11.4%) pay gap for engineers is around two-thirds of the national average. Nevertheless, despite the gender pay gap being ‘less than feared’, closing it will take a concerted industry effort.
REDUCING GENDER & RACE INEQUALITY
Another issue contributing to the engineering gender pay gap is the lack of women entering the profession in the first place. Jonathan Lyle, Chair of the Academy’s Closing the gender pay gap Steering Group, believes that reducing both gender and race inequality is key to addressing the damaging shortage of engineering skills in the UK economy. Although attempts have been made to address this, progress is disappointingly slow.
“Whilst we are making some modest progress in attracting more girls and women into engineering, our research shows that there remains much to be done to achieve gender equality in engineering careers,” Lyle commented. “The good news is that there are well proven steps that business leaders can and should take to improve how women engineers progress within their companies into more senior, more influential, more fulfilling, better rewarded roles. The best, most inclusive, businesses are doing this well, critically underpinning their business success. But others make excuses about their gender pay gap, risking losing business and talent.”
‘CREDIBLE’ ACTION PLAN
Adding to his comments, WISE Chief Executive Helen Wollaston, stated: “This isn’t really about pay, and it isn’t really about women. It’s about good business. Our research found that a credible action plan to address the underlying causes of the gender pay gap helps recruit the best people, engage and motivate your employees and gives a competitive edge when bidding for contracts from public sector clients. The recommendations are relevant to engineering employers of all sizes, whether or not they have to publish a gender pay gap report.”
The recommended actions go beyond addressing the initial recruitment challenge to close the gender pay gap. It’s now vital to address the retention and progression of women to more senior and higher paid roles. So the Royal Academy of Engineering also recommends implementing transparent pay structures and grades, reviewing promotion criteria and introducing flexible working options for senior roles.
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