Women in STEM roles increase profits, says survey

Companies that want to increase profits should work to increase the number of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) roles, according to an executive survey.

Futurestep, a division of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY), the global people and organisational advisory firm, found that of the nearly 1,000 survey respondents from around the globe, 63% believed having more women in STEM careers would have a ‘great impact’ on their company’s bottom line.

However, less than one-third (30%) of respondents said their organisations either often or always require there to be at least one female candidate as part of the recruitment process for hiring STEM employees.

Meanwhile, more than half of respondents (59%) said there are more women in STEM careers in their organisation than five years ago. In addition, 58% thought having an employee referral program targeted toward female STEM recruits would have a great impact on finding qualified candidates.

“Clients who understand the positive cultural and financial impact of having women in STEM roles often require that women candidates be included in the recruiting mix,” said Joanne Cumper, Managing Consultant Digital, EMEA, Futurestep. “This doesn’t mean that the women will get preferential treatment, it simply helps create a diverse pool from which to choose.”

Statistics paint a picture of significant under-representation of women in STEM careers. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), women comprise 69% of the UK workforce, but just 13% of the STEM workforce is made up of women.

In the Futurestep survey, the respondents said STEM careers are being considered by less than a quarter of the secondary school girls and college women they know (e.g. children, grandchildren, children of friends/colleagues).

Cumper elaborated: “There are many reasons why today’s companies have a low percentage of female STEM workers, including the fact that fewer young women than young men are choosing this field as their college major and profession. The silver lining though, is that we do see a slow but positive trend for more women in these roles.”