Diversity and Inclusion are often seen as buzzwords, but the true benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace can be seen in increased profits, stronger problem-solving capabilities and improvements in driving innovation. Diverse workforces in their very nature bring together a variety of people with different perspectives, experiences and insights, which improve opportunities for thinking outside of usual constraints and provides the foundation to sparking new innovative ideas.

McKinsey & Company’s Women Matter Time To Accelerate Report found “a difference in return on equity of 47% between the companies with the most women on their executive committees and those with none, and a 55% difference in operating results”.

Why is it important for women to join engineering roles?

It’s more important than ever for women to join the field of engineering, a field that has long been male dominated. Although over the past 14 years, there has been an aggregate rise in the percentage of women in engineering and technology careers having risen from 10.5% in 2010; the fall between 2022 and 2023 shows a big step backwards. According to EngineeringUK’s Women in Engineering Report 2024, “The number of women working in engineering and tech has dropped by 38,000 – from 16.5% of the 2022 workforce to 15.7% of the 2023 workforce”.

EngineeringUK explain “The fall in women in the engineering and tech workforce is driven by a fall of 66,000 between the ages of 35 to 64, indicating that women are not being retained”.

It’s evident that attracting women to engineering remains a challenge for many employers, so here are our top five strategies to consider, to attract more women to your engineering workforce.

1. Create an inclusive workplace culture

Starting from within to create a workplace culture that values diversity and inclusion is crucial. This may include implementing policies such as supporting work-life balance and flexible working. According to Deloitte’s Empowering Women at Work article, a company’s lack of ability to offer a positive work/life balance contributed to 12% of reasons why women left their employers, and flexibility around when they can work was 14%. The data backs up reasoning that improving flexibility will support your female talent retention and thereby talent attraction. But don’t only listen to the data, make sure to listen to your employees; Ensuring your team members understand that their voices are heard and valued, by improving communications will also contribute to talent retention.

2. Highlight female role models

Do you already have women in your organisation, and you wish to retain them? Highlight your value for these women role models, by including them in your marketing materials, social media and other owned channels, both internally and externally. Representation matters, and by highlighting stories of successful women in engineering, you foster not only the opportunity for your business to stand out against the rest for attracting female talent, but the opportunity to provide inspiration to all women of STEM about the prospects of joining a successful engineering career.

3. Advocate for pay equality

According to Deloitte’s Empowering Women at Work article, 18% of women left their jobs because the pay wasn’t high enough.

Ensuring equal pay for both men and women is crucial to attracting and retaining your female talent. You could communicate this through internal transparent salary structures and clear criteria for raises and promotions, which foster trust between employer and employee and demonstrates your company’s commitment to fairness and equality.

4. Address unconscious bias

Unconscious bias can unknowingly impact hiring decisions but by implementing a standardised unbiased interview process, and organising regular reviews to continually improve best practices, you might start to see change. Your company may wish to address unconscious bias, by directly investing in training for your leadership and staff through agencies such as ACAS.

Even from the advertisement stage of recruitment your hiring process may be biased towards a male audience with subtle linguistic gender-coding, previously undetected. Words such as ‘competitive’, ‘aggressive’, ‘dominate’ and ‘decisive’ are among those that are male gender-coded, that may be having a negative impact on the total number of female applicants you attract.

5. Learn from and partner with organisations supporting women in engineering

Collaborating with organisations dedicated to supporting women in engineering, such as the Women’s Engineering Society, can provide businesses with access to resources, networking opportunities, and guidance for best practices. These partnerships can enhance your reputation as a supportive employer for women in engineering and provide additional support for female employees. Learn more about WES here: https://www.wes.org.uk/

Where to start?

Despite the landscape changing as more women enter and succeed in engineering careers every single year, more can be done to attract women to the engineering workforce.

“We’re excited to be doing our part in supporting our clients and encouraging more women of STEM to join the field of engineering. We’re confident the percentage of women in engineering will see growth.” – Rupal Shah, Operations Director, Synergi Recruitment.

By implementing even one of these strategies, your business could be one step closer to closing the gap on gender disparity in your workforce. If you have a vacant engineering role you’d like to fill, get in touch with our team today.