While increasing numbers of women are taking engineering courses at university and college, this is not translating into more women going into engineering as a career, according to a new University of Loughborough study.
The study found that many female engineering students, as well as male ones, were critical of the teaching and learning methods used in higher education and many felt that the most useful skills they could take to the workplace were practical and generic ones.
Consequently, students were using their engineering qualifications as a launch into other careers.
Even though female students felt they were more employable due to their gender, many thought they were receiving more help than their male counterparts in the workplace and education, indicating that they were viewed as less capable, the report stated.
The university's Professor Bagilhole, who led the study, commented: "A drive to recruit more women into the industry is commendable, but this has had the effect of making them wonder whether they have been employed for their capabilities or their gender.
"Alternatively, this has also led women to believe - possibly falsely - that engineering workplaces would be equitable for women, posing the question of whether 'getting in' is the same as 'getting on' in these industries."
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