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United Kingdom Engineering Workforce

United Kingdom Workforce Representation: EngineeringUK published the report Women in engineering: Trends in women in the engineering workforce between 2010 and 2021 and found that in 2021, women represented 16.5% of the total UK engineering workforce, which includes those working in core engineering roles and those working in engineering-related roles. Overall, women represented 15.2% of workers in core engineering roles across any sector. However, within the engineering sector, their representation is slightly lower (12.5%) compared to their representation (24.4%) outside the engineering sector.

UK engr workforce


Employment After College: In 2016-17, among those with a first degree in engineering and technology, the proportion of women that do not work in an engineering role (41.4%) is greater than the proportion of men that do not work in an engineering occupation (35.2%).

Employed first degree engineering and technology graduates, by gender and occupation, 2016-17

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Source: EngineeringUK. (2019). Excel Resource 2019, EngineeringUK 2018: The state of engineering.

The Gender Gap: The gender gap in starting salaries among UK engineering and technology graduates widens as the level of study increases, such that the largest gender gap in starting salaries is observed among research postgraduates. Moreover, among research postgraduates, men have a mean starting salary that is 11.6% higher than that of women.

Mean starting salaries of UK engineering and technology graduates, by gender and level of study, 2016-17

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Source: EngineeringUK. (2019). Excel Resource 2019, EngineeringUK 2018: The state of engineering.

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