An analysis of the Annual Population Survey, which is produced by the Office for National Statistics, reveals the gender split in STEM roles within the South East of England.
Burgess Hill Girls School compared the number of men and women reported to be in STEM roles from January to December 2021, with those from October 2023 to September 2024 (the most recently available data) to understand how the number of roles had changed in that time.
The South East saw numbers for women in STEM fall between the two periods, with a 2.67% drop, while men saw an increase of 9.78%
Software development remains the dominant field, with male participation growing by over 13%. Female representation rose by just over 20% in 2023/24.
IT managers also saw significant growth among both genders, with men rising from 26,700 to 38,600, a nearly 45% increase, but women experienced a larger growth of 77.5%.
Nursing continues to be a predominantly female-dominated field, with women holding over 89% of the positions in “other nursing professionals”.
IT business analysts, architects and systems designers also saw growth, with a notable increase in male numbers by 31%. Women’s numbers have risen more slowly in this category, increasing from 2,800 to 3,800.
Metal working production and maintenance fitters saw a surge in male participation, rising by 19% (from 26,700 to 28,200), though the number of women remained relatively low at 1,500.
Anne Pithie, director of marketing and communications at Burgess Hill Girls, said: “We often hear about the importance of women in STEM, but phrases like this and the numbers behind them are often used without context.
“Ensuring a diverse range of perspectives and inputs means that the problems that STEM roles tackle can be solved more effectively, and in ways that account for the needs of the full population.
“Seeing numbers fall in STEM occupations is disappointing, especially seeing numbers for women fall at a higher rate when they’re already underrepresented.
“Our school aims to empower girls both within our school and the wider community to be able to achieve their personal and academic goals, which means ensuring that the opportunities and pathways are available for them to pursue careers which might not be traditionally encouraged.
“If we want to see these numbers moving in the right direction, we all have a responsibility to ensure that as many doors are open, giving all children the ability to walk through them.
“When we look at the actions that Northern Ireland has taken within the past two decades, we can see why their numbers are rising.
“Northen Ireland’s unique situation during Brexit has attracted more fintech and cybersecurity businesses, meaning more roles in STEM sectors would become available, but their efforts in promoting these subjects as key educational sectors starting with their ‘Success through STEM’ programme in 2011 has seen rises in the number of students studying those subjects at GCSE level, as well as an increase in engineering apprenticeships in recent years.
“This has meant that Northern Ireland has been able to meet the demand of new roles, with a qualified workforce, where other UK nations have suffered from an ongoing skills gap.”
