Women working in science, engineering and technology appear to be a select and unhappy bunch. Statistics show that there are alarmingly few women studying science-related subjects at school or university; and, out of 500,00 qualified women, less than a third still turn up to work in these economically-important sectors. It’s little wonder that industry, academia and government agencies, such as the UK Resource Centre for Women (UKRC), which was set up to tackle the problem, are raising the alarm.

Of course, some women do choose to and enjoy working in science. Victoria-Alice Porter ( pictured) is one of them: not only a female scientist but one trained to be strapped into a centrifuge and subjected to 9G – the acceleration force experienced by fighter pilots. An altitude physiologist and strategic business analyst at QinetiQ, a defence technology company, Porter is a good example of what can lead young women into a career in science. A biology teacher piqued her interest in biomedical science at the point when she was looking for career inspiration: “I am pretty convinced that if I hadn’t experienced his teaching style I probably wouldn’t have done sciences.”

It’s telling that, although there is a healthy mix of men and women working in human sciences at QinetiQ – biological sciences is one of the few areas that does not struggle to recruit women – there are fewer women working across the company as a whole. “You can be the only female working in a department,” she says. Such a disparity is not unique to QinetiQ, so Porter visits schools, universities and lecture theatres to promote science-related careers to women. “When I talk about the things that we do ... people are excited. It’s making that connection between what the whitecoated, spectacled scientists do and how that relates to what we all use on an everyday basis.”

But why all the fuss? What do women have to contribute that men already don’t and can’t? “Science will always need the best brains and top performers whatever their gender,” Jim Al-Khalili, professor of physics at the University of Surrey, says. “However, despite the 20 per cent of physics students who are women achieving around half the top degree grades . . . scientific research does not lend itself to career breaks, which means that many female graduates who show early promise rarely make it to the top. Ultimately, we are losing these promising scientists because of gender issues.”

The UK is not unique in having a problem recruiting and then retaining women in science-related fields. An EU report into the underrepresentation of women found that they face a number of barriers, says Mary Honeyball, MEP. “Seemingly across the scientific community, career breaks are not heard of,” she says. “[And] a lot of jobs in science ... are quite insecure. There is a lot of mobility required and short-term contracts [which], does not lend itself to much of a work-life balance.” Former communist countries such as Romania are well ahead of the UK in promoting women to senior positions in science, according to EU calculations. Sweeping traditional institutions away and starting again has been “a big result for women”, Honeyball says.

There is some good news. The work culture within science, engineering and technology organisations, which has long frowned on family-friendly practices, could be about to change, says Annette Williams, the director of the UKRC, which helps employers to improve work practices and runs support schemes to help women to return to work after career breaks. The pressure for change is coming in part from men, who can also see the value of career breaks. “When men can see the benefit of these policies and practices, that’s when the culture starts to change,” she says.

And while it can be tough, women can and do make an impression in male-dominated environments. It just takes a lot of determination and confidence, Porter says. “It can be difficult but if you are willing to apply yourself then you can use that to your benefit. If you are the only female in a group of 20 or 30 or 40 [people], then if you are willing to put the effort it, you potentially stand out.”

www.ukrc4setwomen.org

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