Evidence library

What are their experiences telling us and what more can be done?

"Our findings suggest that workplace culture and discrimination is still a major barrier for women in STEM in Scotland.

Employers need to be more accommodating of caring responsibilities, gendered health issues, and disability access needs to retain female talent. While inclusive policies such as flexible working or enhanced maternity leave might be available, this is not necessarily translating into improved equality outcomes for people who use these policies or would benefit from them.

Flexible work arrangements are important to recruiting and retaining women into STEM sectors in Scotland.

A large majority of survey respondents said they would be put off applying for, or remaining in, a role if flexible
working was not available with many reporting, they had left a role due to the lack of flexible working.

There is a culture of exclusion in STEM workplaces, exacerbated by out-of-hours meetings and habits of informal work events, which necessarily did not centre around structured work discussions. This culture disproportionately impacts those with caring responsibilities and is a large factor in deterring women from wanting to be in leadership roles, where there is an expectation to have availability for work related commitments which are outside of core hours.

A large majority of respondents had faced discrimination or harassment at work, but only around half of these would feel comfortable reporting this or speaking about it at work.

Almost half of respondents with care responsibilities had either left a role or reduced their hours because of their caring responsibilities and nearly a quarter of disabled respondents had left a role due to their access needs not being met. Two thirds of disabled respondents felt their access needs were a barrier to their career progression.