Jobs for the boys...and girls?

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional Committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. CSW charts progress of states to deliver on the Beijing Platform of Action on women’s equality, agreed at the 4^th World Conference on Women.

The theme of CSW 2011 is on ‘access to and participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology’ and will include discussions on ‘the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment.'  

Occupational segregation is a key cause of the gender pay gap, where women are ‘clustered’ into lower valued and lower paid jobs and a lack of flexible working options makes it hard for women to progress in their chosen careers and capitalise on promotional opportunities.

This phenomenon is endemic in Scotland’s education, training and employment structures. For example, only 26 per cent of modern apprentices ‘in training’ are women. Of that total, we can see a stark gender divide in the uptake of MA Programmes; where only 2 per cent of engineering apprentices are women and 98 per cent of childcare apprentices are women. The average salary for an electrical engineer (skilled trade) is £24,030 and for a nursery nurse it is £12,695 (from Annual Survey Hours and Earnings, 2010). The jobs for the boys are also more likely to be better paid.

In higher education in Scotland, 90 per cent of computing science undergraduates are men.  In bioscience, despite 66 per cent of all graduates being female, only 35 per cent of senior scientific and managerial positions are held by women.

Close the Gap, Engender and the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SRC) have organised an event at the Scottish Parliament to discuss our report for CSW 2011 and the barriers and challenges facing women and girls in education, training and the labour market.

The discussion will centre on access to education, occupational segregation and the nature of women’s participation in the labour market in Scotland. Taking part in this debate will better inform our report and ensure we can influence action at a national and international level.  

The event is taking place on Wednesday 9 February at the Scottish Parliament between 6pm-8pm and is hosted by Johann Lamont MSP. The speakers include Engender, Close the Gap and the SRC.

To attend please contact Karen@engender.org.uk or call 0131 558 9596. We hope to see you there.