FOI REF: FOI-2023-1090
You asked
I am researching how the gender gap in STEM changes within different careers and levels of study in the UK. I was wondering if you had any data on any of the following questions:
1. In each individual year from 2010 to 2023 how many men and how many women were employed in different STEM industries
2. In the same individual years how many men and how many women held senior roles/management roles in different STEM industries
3. In the same timeframe how many men and how many women were employed in different areas of STEM related research
4. In the same years how many students of each gender took STEM related GCSE’s across secondary schools in the UK and how many girls and boys took STEM related A-levels in the same years.
We said
Thank you for your request.
We use Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes to categorise employment sectors and Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes to categorise occupations. The term STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) is a term primarily used in the context of education policy and does not fit neatly into either of these classifications, however the following information is the closest data we hold to that requested.
1. In each individual year from 2010 to 2023 how many men and how many women were employed in different STEM industries
The best source of data is likely to be from our employee jobs by industry estimates. These show the number of jobs in each industry, broken down by sex for both Great Britain and for the United Kingdom. The dataset contains data from 1978 to present with data for 2010 to 2023 shown in rows 138 to 185. Please note, these figures are for total employment by industry, so may include employees who do not work in STEM roles within an organisation eg. Administrative functions.
2. In the same individual years how many men and how many women held senior roles/management roles in different STEM industries
Focusing on those working in senior roles requires use of occupation information which is not captured on the above data source. Alternatively, you could look at Annual Population Survey occupation data on Nomis, based on the Standard Occupation Classification 2020, which will have counts for occupation codes that align with senior STEM related jobs.
The best proxy for a senior role using this data would be in SOC category 1. Any category that begins with a 1 would be included in this category. Note however, this does not include all managerial roles.
Further information on this is available via bespoke analysis. Such services are subject to legal frameworks, resources and agreement of costs. If you would like to request this bespoke dataset, please contact socialsurveys@ons.gov.uk to discuss your enquiry further. Please note, there may be a charge for this work which would be subject to our charging policy.
3. In the same timeframe how many men and how many women were employed in different areas of STEM related research.
4. In the same years how many students of each gender took STEM related GCSE’s across secondary schools in the UK and how many girls and boys took STEM related A-levels in the same years.
Unfortunately, we do not hold any information in scope of this question. The Department for Education (DfE) may be better placed to assist with this element of your request. Their FOI team can be contacted at FOI contact form.
You may, however, find this article published by the DfE of interest: More young people are taking STEM subjects than ever before - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk).
UCAS may also be able to assist Data and Analysis | Business | UCAS.