“We need more women in STEM.”
You’ve heard it a thousand times. But did you see McKinsey found:
There are 2 major drop-off points for women in STEM:
1. School –> University
2. University –> First Job
Looking at gender, proportionately more women are employed in manufacturing and services, which is why women saw a 4.2% hit in terms of job losses during Covid, whilst men saw only a 3% drop.
If we look at Covid, STEM skills are more sought after than services, yet —
Only 23% of women STEM majors end up in Tech.
Compared to 44% of men.
Interestingly:
Many women work in the fastest-declining tech roles:
systems administrators and programmer analysts.
Surely these women can be trained in high-demand tech roles.
Right?
Tech companies are doing well:
44% of women in tech roles are from non-STEM backgrounds.
The gap is non-Tech companies where women are performing Tech roles.
Can your company cross-train these women for your team?
Either way —
Half of women who go into Tech drop out by the age of 35.
It’s not just about getting more women into STEM…
It’s also about giving them reasons to stay.
___
McKinsey provide 4 recommendations:
👉 Enable women in tech to thrive at work
– reduce isolation
– increase flexibility
– provide support networks
– active sponsorship from men
👉 Give women a reason to stay in tech
– provide better opportunities
– create KPIs for retaining women
– provide better management support
👉 Ensure women are in tech roles that matter
– not the pure number of women
– but about the quality of the work
– retrain women in modern technologies
👉 Address STEM drop-off at university
– not the pure number of women
– provide better mentoring and coaching
– focus on better internship opportunities
___
What shocked me most was the number of drop-offs after university.
What else do you think needs to be done?
Thanks for reading.
“We need more women in STEM.”
You’ve heard it a thousand times. But did you see McKinsey found:
There are 2 major drop-off points for women in STEM:
1. School –> University
2. University –> First Job
Looking at gender, proportionately more women are employed in manufacturing and services, which is why women saw a 4.2% hit in terms of job losses during Covid, whilst men saw only a 3% drop.
If we look at Covid, STEM skills are more sought after than services, yet —
Only 23% of women STEM majors end up in Tech.
Compared to 44% of men.
Interestingly:
Many women work in the fastest-declining tech roles:
systems administrators and programmer analysts.
Surely these women can be trained in high-demand tech roles.
Right?
Tech companies are doing well:
44% of women in tech roles are from non-STEM backgrounds.
The gap is non-Tech companies where women are performing Tech roles.
Can your company cross-train these women for your team?
Either way —
Half of women who go into Tech drop out by the age of 35.
It’s not just about getting more women into STEM…
It’s also about giving them reasons to stay.
___
McKinsey provide 4 recommendations:
👉 Enable women in tech to thrive at work
– reduce isolation
– increase flexibility
– provide support networks
– active sponsorship from men
👉 Give women a reason to stay in tech
– provide better opportunities
– create KPIs for retaining women
– provide better management support
👉 Ensure women are in tech roles that matter
– not the pure number of women
– but about the quality of the work
– retrain women in modern technologies
👉 Address STEM drop-off at university
– not the pure number of women
– provide better mentoring and coaching
– focus on better internship opportunities
___
What shocked me most was the number of drop-offs after university.
What else do you think needs to be done?
Thanks for reading.