STEM subjects: Women still outnumbered by men two to one

Their numbers are growing, but women are still outnumbered nearly two to one in this exploding field of future employment.

Women studying STEM courses at Queensland universities are still outnumbered almost two to one by their male counterparts – but female participation is gradually on the rise.

The 2022 State of Science in Queensland report will be released this week, revealing how job opportunities in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) are growing at 1.5 times the rate of non-STEM jobs.

The report shows that as of 2019, males made up 24,656 domestic enrolments at Queensland universities in STEM courses compared to 12,981 for females.

And in the same year, there were 2405 women who completed a STEM course at Queensland universities compared to 4203 men – a split of 36 per cent to 64 per cent.

Science Minister Meaghan Scanlon said she was encouraged by the thousands of Queensland women enrolling in STEM courses, but she was keen for more to get involved and to close the gender divide.

“There’s the famous photo of the Fifth Solvay Conference, where Marie Curie is the only woman pictured,” Ms Scanlon said.

“I’m hoping the next time that the greatest minds in science get together that there will be as many women – hopefully, Queensland women – as there are men.”

The report points out that female participation in STEM units at a tertiary level had been “gradually increasing” since 2011, while male STEM enrolments had flat lined or gone backwards since 2015.

Engineer Dr Anh Tran. Picture: Jerad Williams

Doctor Anh Tran, a guest lecturer in engineering at the University of Queensland, said when she started her degree in chemical engineering, she was one of five women in a room of 500 students.

“It was difficult, it was challenging and it was a bit intimidating because you felt like you had to prove yourself that you belonged there,” she said.

“Now 51 per cent of the students at UQ in that course are female which is a great result, but that’s certainly not like that in every course.

“It is great to see the number of girls in science increasing because it is a beautiful, amazing field that can change the world.”

Meanwhile, participation by Queensland Year 12 students in five of the eight STEM subjects increased between 2012 and 2019, with more than 30 per cent studying biology and one in five studying chemistry.

“Four out of every five Queenslanders has an interest in science – how do we convert that into pursuing studies and a career in the field, particularly for women?” Ms Scanlon said.

“And I think the answer is in the thousands of solid jobs being created in Queensland that are hungry for STEM qualifications.”

Ms Scanlon said STEM jobs were growing at 1.5 times the rate of other jobs, but the STEM-qualified workforce was only growing at half the rate of the non-STEM qualified workforce.

“We need to break the perception of STEM jobs being just in the lab or classroom, because, especially for young women, pursuing STEM studies will open the door for so many different types of exciting jobs,” Ms Scanlon said.