Australia has a diverse STEM workforce — but still lacking in women

The Office of the Chief Scientist has released what is said to be the first detailed analysis of Australia’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) trained workforce.

‘Australia’s STEM Workforce’ is the first comprehensive analysis of the STEM-qualified population, according to Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel. Based on data from the 2011 Census, the report investigates the workforce destinations of people with qualifications in STEM fields, looking at the demographics, industries, occupations and salaries that students studying for those qualifications can expect in the workforce.

“Studying STEM opens up countless job options and this report shows that Australians are taking diverse career paths,” said Dr Finkel. The report finds that most graduates gravitate towards one of six industries, which together employ 65% of all STEM graduates — professional, scientific and technical services (25%), manufacturing (10%), public administration and safety (10%), education and training (10%), heath care and social assistance (6%) and financial and insurance services (5%).

The bad news is that just 29% of STEM university graduates are female, with physics and astronomy and engineering having even lower proportions of female graduates. Among people in STEM positions with vocational education and training (VET) qualifications, this figure falls to 9%, meaning women make up only 16% of all Australian STEM-qualified people.

Furthermore, Dr Finkel made note of a particularly worrying pay-gap between men and women in all STEM fields revealed in the report — a gap that cannot be fully explained by having children or by the increased proportion of women working part-time. For example, while 32% of male STEM graduates are in the top income bracket, earning $104,00 per year or more, only 12% of female STEM graduates are in this bracket.

The report has been described as a valuable resource for students, parents, teachers and policymakers, and will also serve as a benchmark for future studies. It is available on the Chief Scientist’s website.