All talk: gap between policy and practice a key obstacle to gender equity in STEM: 2018 Women in STEM Professions Survey report

This report is set out in two parts. The first part of the report looks at the current state of play of gender and diversity in the STEM workforce with reference to data from a range of sources including the Chief Scientist's Office, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and our own surveys in these key areas: the low participation rates of women in many STEM fields; attrition from the STEM workforce; occupational segregation within the STEM workforce (the concentration of women at less senior levels and under-representation at senior and management levels); the gender pay gap in STEM; and retirement savings. The second part of the report looks at factors at the workplace level that contribute to the current state of play in STEM with reference to the Women in STEM Survey data across the following areas: bias in career-building activities (including lack of access to professional development, role models and mentoring); working part-time; career disruption; workplace culture; unconscious bias in decision-making and recruitment; discrimination and sexual harassment; and gender stereotyping. We have included comments from our survey respondents wherever possible to help illustrate firsthand the career experiences of professional women in the STEM workforce.

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