Low numbers of women taking up STEM apprenticeships in Leeds

Across England, apprenticeships as a whole are evenly split between men and women, but female representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics apprenticeships – known as Stem subjects – remains low.

In Leeds, 4,310 Stem apprenticeships were started over the last five years – and just 310 were taken up by women, according to the latest data by the Department for Education.

Female representation varied between years, but remained low. It reached its highest in 2015-16 at 10 per cent, and was lowest in 2017-18 at just 4 per cent. Meanwhile, women took 53 per cent of apprenticeships in all subjects in Leeds.

Across England, the percentage of Stem apprenticeships taken by women varied considerably, but in no area did they represent more than a quarter of apprentices. Numbers in the statistics have been rounded, and data for the last quarter of 2018-19 is not included.

Ana Osbourne, from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, said: “Research has shown that the language used in job adverts can make the job more or less appealing to one gender and therefore discourage women from applying for certain jobs.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our ambition is to make sure that everyone, regardless of their background or gender, is able to fulfil their potential and get the skills and training they need to build a successful career.

“We want to encourage more women to take Stem apprenticeships and tackle gender disparities.”