The full results of the exclusive survey by Hays for Building which reveals some of the challenges female engineers still face

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WOMEN surveyed

Which age group do you fall in?

Baby Boomers (born 1940 to 1960) 3.77%
Generation X (born 1961 to 1982) 57.55%
Generation Y (born 1983 to 1995) 38.68%
Generation Z (born after 1995) 0%

Which of the following best describes where you work?

East Midlands 5.66%
East of England 3.77%
Greater London 15.09%
North East England 1.89%
North West England 8.49%
Northern Ireland 6.6%
Scotland 28.3%
South East England 2.83%
South West England 4.72%
Wales 2.83%
West Midlands 11.32%
Yorkshire and the Humber 3.77%
Outside of the UK 4.72%

Which sector does the organisation that you work for primarily operate in?

Private 77.78%
Public 22.22%

Please indicate the size of your entire organisation:

Small (fewer than 50 employees) 12.26%
Medium (between 50 and 250 employees) 20.76%
Large (between 251 and 1,000 employees) 20.76%
Very large (more than 1,000 employees) 46.23%

Your career

Was engineering your first career choice?

Yes 74.51%
No 25.49%

Were you ever discouraged from choosing engineering as a career?

Yes 35.35%
No 64.65%

How did you enter the engineering industry?

Apprenticeship 10.78%
Graduate programme 35.29%
Joined company following postgraduate study 35.29%
Change of career or retraining 18.63%

If you changed careers to become an engineer, which sector did you work in before?

Already in the engineering sector 5.26%
Accountancy 5.26%
Banking and capital markets 5.26%
Construction and property 10.53%
Energy, oil, gas and renewables 5.26%
Hospitality, leisure, tourism and sport 15.79%
Housing 5.26%
IT (including software) 10.53%
Local government 5.26%
Marketing, PR and creative 5.26%
Manufacturing 15.79%
Utilities (water, gas and electricity providers) 5.26%
Other 5.26%

Your job

Do you feel secure in your job?

Yes 63.54%
No 36.46%

Are you happy in your job?

Yes 63.54%
No 36.46%

Which of the following do you feel is most important for job satisfaction?

Stimulating work 39.58%
Salary 13.54%
Benefits 0%
Worklife balance 25%
Career progression opportunities 13.54%
Seniority of role 1.04%
Relationship with colleagues 5.21%
Management 2.08%

Are there good CPD opportunities at your firm?

Yes 34.74%
No 38.95%
Not sure 26.32%

Do you aspire to a senior leadership position (director or board level) in engineering?

Yes 60.42%
No 39.58%

Equal opportunities

Do you feel women and men have equal opportunity for career progression in your current organisation?

Yes 43.16%
No 56.84%

Have you ever experienced sexual discrimination, harassment or victimisation during your career?

Yes 72.63%
No 27.37%

Have you ever witnessed sexual discrimination in the workplace during your career?

Yes 65.26%
No 34.74%

Family

Do you have children?

Yes 38.54%
No 61.46%

After having children did you:

Resign to look for more flexible work 11.11%
Take a part time role or role at a lower pay grade 27.78%
Change role but remain at the same level 8.33%
Become self employed 8.33%
Get promoted to a more senior role/higher pay grade 13.89%
Stay in the same role with the same working hours 36.11%
Other 16.67%

Whilst on maternity leave were you made redundant?

Yes 14.29%
No 85.71%

Which of the following child related benefits does your workplace offer?

Childcare vouchers 34.41%
Onsite childcare 1.08%
Subsidised childcare 2.15%
Health insurance for dependents 15.05%
Enhanced maternity pay 12.9%
Flexible working arrangements 31.18%
None of the above 19.36%
Don’t know 33.33%

Do you believe having children negatively affects a woman’s career in engineering

Yes, very much so 54.26%
Yes, a little 34.04%
No 11.7%

 

MEN surveyed

Which age group do you fall in?

Baby Boomers (born 1940 to 1960) 27.84%
Generation X (born 1961 to 1982) 48.65%
Generation Y (born 1983 to 1995) 21.62%
Generation Z (born after 1995) 1.89%

Which of the following best describes where you work?

East Midlands 10.57%
East of England 2.98%
Greater London 5.69%
North East England 3.52%
North West England 14.09%
Northern Ireland 7.05%
Scotland 15.99%
South East England 5.69%
South West England 6.50%
Wales 1.36%
West Midlands 11.92%
Yorkshire and the Humber 3.25%
Outside of the UK 11.38%

Which sector does the organisation that you work for primarily operate in?

Private 84.77%
Public 15.23%

Please indicate the size of your entire organisation:

Small (fewer than 50 employees) 24.66%
Medium (between 50 and 250 employees) 18.16%
Large (between 251 and 1,000 employees) 17.07%
Very large (more than 1,000 employees) 40.11%

Your career

Was engineering your first career choice?

Yes 76.54%
No 23.46%

Were you ever discouraged from choosing engineering as a career?

Yes 16.38%
No 83.62%

How did you enter the engineering industry?

Apprenticeship 46.11%
Graduate programme 20.28%
Joined company following postgraduate study 18.06%
Change of career or retraining 15.56%

If you changed careers to become an engineer, which sector did you work in before?

Already in the engineering sector 18.52%
Agriculture and environment 3.70%
Automotive 5.56%
Aviation and aerospace 1.85%
Construction and property 9.26%
Defence 7.41%
Education 1.85%
Energy, oil, gas and renewables 1.85%
Hospitality, leisure, tourism and sport 5.56%
IT (including software) 7.41%
Manufacturing 14.82%
Pharmaceuticals and life sciences 1.85%
Retail 3.70%
Security and prison services 1.85%
Transport, logistics and distribution 1.85%
Utilities (water, gas and electricity providers) 1.85%
Other 11.11%

Your job

Do you feel secure in your job?

Yes 58.26%
No 41.74%

Are you happy in your job?

Yes 70.93%
No 29.07%

Which of the following do you feel is most important for job satisfaction?

Stimulating work 33.33%
Salary 16.52%
Benefits 1.16%
Worklife balance 25.22%
Career progression opportunities 10.73%
Seniority of role 1.74%
Relationship with colleagues 6.38%
Management 4.93%

Are there good CPD opportunities at your firm?

Yes 34.21%
No 31.58%
Not sure 34.21%

Do you aspire to a senior leadership position (director or board level) in engineering?

Yes 48.99%
No 51.01%

Equal opportunities

Do you feel women and men have equal opportunity for career progression in your current organisation?

Yes 66.57%
No 33.43%

Have you ever experienced sexual discrimination, harassment or victimisation during your career?

Yes 24.18%
No 75.82%

Have you ever witnessed sexual discrimination in the workplace during your career?

Yes 32.05%
No 67.95%

Family

Do you have children?

Yes 62.99%
No 37.02%

After having children did you:

Resign to look for more flexible work 3.14%
Take a part time role or role at a lower pay grade 1.57%
Change role but remain at the same level 5.76%
Become self employed 16.75%
Get promoted to a more senior role/higher pay grade 19.90%
Stay in the same role with the same working hours 57.59%
Other 4.19%

Which of the following child related benefits does your workplace offer?

Childcare vouchers 18.45%
Onsite childcare 1.94%
Subsidised childcare 2.27%
Health insurance for dependents 11.33%
Enhanced maternity pay 3.88%
Flexible working arrangements 20.39%
None of the above 31.72%
Don’t know 36.57%

Do you believe having children negatively affects a woman’s career in engineering?

Yes, very much so 24.68%
Yes, a little 45.51%
No 29.81%

Methodology

In December 2016 Hays surveyed over 370 men and over 100 women engineers working in the UK. They were asked a series of questions under three headings: your career, your job, equal opportunities and family. The survey was also available through building.co.uk.