Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 October 2021
170. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which male and female students continued to be attracted in equal proportions to participation in the sciences; if a corrective measure or inducement is needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50143/21]
View answerThere are a number of key strategies in place at all levels to ensure we meet existing and future skills demands, including in the area of the sciences. These include policies designed to ensure a pipeline of suitably qualified science graduates, and initiatives to equip young people and the working population more generally with the skills and capacity to meet these demands.
These strategies and initiatives include: the National Skills Strategy 2025; Technology Skills 2022; Springboard+; the Human Capital Initiative and Modular Skills Provision.
Maintaining and developing a strong supply of STEM graduates is critical to Ireland’s growth as a world-class centre of innovation and research. Ensuring that we have good gender balance in STEM is a key part of meeting this supply. It is also a worthwhile policy goal in its own right, given all that we know about the importance of diversity in STEM, as well as our desire to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to pursue courses of study that will interest and engage them, and give them the skills to pursue a productive career.
This is an issue which requires action at all stages of the educational and career journey. Getting a good gender balance in the higher education system is an issue depends on people being engaged and interested in STEM at a much earlier stage in their education.
The STEM Education Policy Statement was published in 2017 and seeks to raise awareness and interest in STEM. The first pillar of the strategy is "Nurturing learner engagement and participation" and focuses on increasing the uptake of STEM related subjects for learners of all backgrounds, ability and gender. The strategy targets a 40% increase in the number of females taking STEM subjects for Leaving Certificate
On 18th May Minister Foley and I announced a new partnership to support education and public engagement in STEM. This partnership contributes funding to projects under the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Discover Programme, which aims to support effective interventions in early STEM education, help students engage with science subjects at an early age and foster interest in STEM careers.
On 30 June 2021, I co-hosted an event aimed at advancing and connecting women in science, technology, engineering and mathematical disciplines.The event, an industry event with Women in Technology & Science (WITS), brought industry and academic experts together to discuss how to support women into and during their STEM career, and to consider how to develop and advance this into the future.
The event featured four spotlight discussions:
- CONVENE: An Accelerated Skills Hub for Aspiring Female Leaders in Digital Transformation, which aims to address the ‘Glass Ceiling’ challenge - increasing the percentage of women transitioning from middle to senior management roles.
- Women Returners Digital Hub, which focused on work to develop an online centralised platform which will support women at all digital literacy levels and act as a portal for companies to access a new talent pipeline. The platform will provide free guidance and toolkits to IT returners, new IT entrants and organisations to provide accessible pathways to restart and develop their career in tech.
- A Framework to Identify High-Potential Women & Support them onto the First-Rung of the Leadership Ladder. This session heard from Engineers Ireland, UL and ESB, sharing best practice and discussing a comprehensive framework to identify and support women onto the first rung of the leadership ladder
- STEM Skills Passport For Inclusion. This spotlight discussed a potential project to meaningfully support 1000 working-class girls to progress into STEM courses and careers, with mentoring, teaching, course mapping and work experience.
The number of students studying STEM at third level has been growing, with the number of yearly graduates in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics increasing by almost 1,240 between 2014 and 2020, from 5,474 to 6,713.
The number of yearly enrolments in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics has increased from 22,751 in 2018 to 24,512 in 2020. Female participation accounts for over 50% of these yearly figures.
Under 2020/2021 there was a total of 24,512 enrolments in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, 13,099 were female and 11,375 were male, the other 28 were non-binary or undeclared. Please find attached tables for further information.
More widely, the promotion of gender equality in higher education is also critical. This is an area that I have prioritised, including through support for initiatives including the National Gender Equality Dashboard for Higher Education Institutions; the Athena SWAN Charter and the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative which is increasing the number of women involved in decision making roles in higher education.
My Department will continue to engage with the Department of Education on their STEM Education Policy Statement to ensure that learners are given every opportunity to engage with the sciences, and ensure that pipeline of suitably qualified science graduates is maintained.
|
2020/21 Enrolments by Broad Field of Study / Gender |
Female |
Male |
Non-binary |
Undeclared |
Total |
|
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary |
2,104 |
1,909 |
7 |
4,020 |
|
|
Arts and humanities |
20,655 |
13,116 |
86 |
40 |
33,897 |
|
Business, administration and law |
27,723 |
26,915 |
55 |
13 |
54,706 |
|
Education |
11,849 |
4,182 |
10 |
3 |
16,044 |
|
Engineering, manufacturing and construction |
6,305 |
21,552 |
18 |
7 |
27,882 |
|
Generic programmes and qualifications |
994 |
764 |
1,758 |
||
|
Health and welfare |
32,611 |
9,839 |
11 |
10 |
42,471 |
|
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) |
3,037 |
11,956 |
19 |
13 |
15,025 |
|
Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics |
13,099 |
11,375 |
28 |
10 |
24,512 |
|
Services |
4,781 |
5,812 |
1 |
4 |
10,598 |
|
Social sciences, journalism and information |
9,491 |
5,230 |
21 |
8 |
14,750 |
|
Total |
132,649 |
112,650 |
256 |
108 |
245,663 |
Enrolments by field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
|
Year |
Female |
Male |
Other |
Total |
|
2018/2019 |
11,573 |
11,169 |
3 |
22,751 |
|
2019/2020 |
12,057 |
11,148 |
18 |
23,223 |
|
2020/2021 |
13,099 |
11,375 |
38 |
24,512 |
