Salaries for engineering jobs for grads are higher and more gender equal than in most fields, yet girls and women are not choosing them
Girls are least interested in engineering of all the STEM fields, and interest is actually going down, according to the latest STEM Equity Monitor from the Australian Government.
The monitor tracks participation by girls and women in STEM through school, higher education, graduation and the workforce. And it shows engineering is losing out.
Just 29% of girls were interested in engineering in 2023–24, compared to 31% in 2021–22. This compares with 56% of boys who were interested in engineering in 2023–24.
The end result is fewer women studying engineering and ultimately in the workforce.
There are lots of reasons for this, but if you’re a girl considering engineering study or career options, here’s some intel that might seal the deal:
- Engineering jobs pay more equally for graduates – in 2023-24 both male and female STEM undergraduates with engineering qualifications had the same median annual income of $75,000
- Female engineers are more satisfied with their career than women in science and commerce fields, and on par with those in health fields, according to Engineers Australia
- Surveys show one of the reasons girls don’t consider engineering as a career path is because of a lack of awareness of what engineering involves. We’re here to fix that – check out some of the dozens of profiles we have of engineering grads!
- Engineering careers aren’t all about construction! The engineering skills you gain from qualifications and degrees can set you up to work in all kinds of places: outdoors, at live events, in the classroom and even in space. Here are 10 surprising engineering careers to take a look at.
And don’t miss our latest Careers with STEM: Engineering special edition on net zero careers – a career in engineering can set you up to help change the world too!
