Though women working within STEM industries may have more opportunities and face less bias than previously, new research shows that their struggle for equality is far from over. A national survey performed by Professionals Australia asked 957 female STEM professionals about their workforce experience, and found they are regularly underpaid, underrepresented and unsupported. Following this survey, the trade union has urgently called for future, post-Covid strategies to focus on improving the participation, retention and career advancement for women in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

The Women Staying in the STEM Workforce report found that women still only account for less than one-third of the Australian STEM workforce and face a gender pay gap of 22 percent. Furthermore, nearly 40 percent of respondents said they do not receive equal compensation for equal work, while more than half reported direct discrimination because of their gender. 

The report also found that the pandemic had resulted in higher job losses among women than men, something Professionals Australia CEO Jill McCabe said she had feared, though predicted, would occur. 

“The survey found that many women in STEM planned to leave the industry, with pay, conditions and a lack of career advancement among the top reasons for doing so”, she said. “The pandemic has also created a further ‘push’ factor.”

“This confirms that we need urgent organisational changes to ensure the retention of women in STEM fields and that increasing the number of female STEM graduates alone isn’t enough.”

Attrition rates of women in STEM growing 

Encouraging greater numbers of women and girls to take on STEM subjects and driving greater participation at school and university is crucial for developing a sustainable STEM workforce. However achieving comparable gender ratios is not a solution in itself – the second half of the equation is addressing the reasons women leave the STEM workforce once they get there. 

Over one-third of the female STEM workforce surveyed who were aged 25 to 35 said they intended to leave their profession within five years, while 33.9 percent of women expected to have already left their profession within five years. This attrition at mid-career stage plays a significant role in the under-representation of women in senior roles and is a critical factor in the gender pay gap in earnings and retirement savings.

Why are women leaving? 

According to the report, dissatisfaction and frustration with a range of workplace practices including lack of career advancement, pay and conditions, lack of professional recognition and lack of opportunity to gain experience or undertake increased challenges were the major factors contributing to women considering leaving their profession. 

Of those who expected to leave their profession in the next five years, the top six reasons overall were: 

• for better pay and conditions (28 percent)
• lack of career advancement (27.6 percent) 
• for better work/life balance (25.7 percent)
• for increased challenges (19.9 percent)
• for a change or to gain experience (19.2 percent) and 
• for greater professional recognition or status (12.6 percent)

As the above indicates, it is not simply for better work/life balance or flexibility that women are dissatisfied in their jobs. Instead, they crave equal opportunities to grow, advance and be recognised within their organisations. 



Next steps for STEM employers 

Consistent research indicates that greater gender equality within any industry results in greater productivity, profitability and employee satisfaction. Against the backdrop of the candidate shortage and the “great resignation“, STEM organisations should implement post-Covid strategies that aim to address the barriers faced by women, with a specific focus on eliminating the bias that occurs during career-building activities. 

While these strategies will look different for every organisation, proper diversity and antidiscrimination policies should be implement at the systemic level. Management can also be engaged and trained to incentivise change and address the workplace culture and practices that get in the way of making equitable, family-friendly and safe STEM workplaces a reality. 

By creating more equal and diverse STEM workplaces, not only will employers have access to the broadest pool of high-quality STEM talent, but they also have a greater chance of retaining knowledge within their organisation. 

As specialist recruiters for STEM industries, Bayside Group can help you source and secure professionals within engineering, science, and information technology. Contact us today to see how we can assist in growing your workforce.