Around 115,000 more girls would need to study A-levels in maths or physics, or both, to reach equal numbers of male and female students studying engineering and technology degrees, a report has found.
Just 8% of first-year undergraduate women who had studied maths and/or physics at A-level went on to study engineering and technology degrees, compared to 23% of first-year undergraduate men who had studied at least one of the subjects at A-level, an analysis by charity EngineeringUK suggests.
With the current conversion rate from A-level to undergraduate study, around 150,000 girls would need to study A-levels in one or both subjects to reach the same number of women studying engineering and technology as men – which represents an increase of around 115,000 girls, the report suggests.
The analysis, which is based on Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) data of UK first-year undergraduate students during the 2020/21 academic year, found that only 18% of students on engineering and technology degrees were female, compared to 57% for all subjects combined.
