Wales sees biggest drop in male STEM roles in UK
An analysis of the Annual Population Survey by Burgess Hill Girls School revealed a 10.32 per cent decrease in male STEM roles in Wales between January to December 2021 and October 2023 to September 2024.
This suggests that a tenth of males previously working in STEM roles in Wales may have been replaced or left the sector entirely.
Women also saw a drop in STEM roles, with a 9.50 per cent decrease.
Despite the overall decline, Wales has seen relatively stable STEM employment figures between 2021 and 2023/24, with only minor shifts in the composition of top careers.
The most common STEM occupation for women remains nursing, with women making up more than 88 per cent of all 'other nursing professionals' in 2023/24.
There was growth in female representation in software development, increasing by 28.57 per cent, and women also saw an 8.33 per cent increase in generalist medical practitioner roles.
Anne Pithie, director of marketing and communications at Burgess Hill Girls, said: "We often hear about the importance of women in STEM, but phrases like this and the numbers behind them are often used without context.
"Seeing numbers fall in STEM occupations is disappointing, especially seeing numbers for women fall at a higher rate when they're already under-represented.
"If we want to see these numbers moving in the right direction, we all have a responsibility to ensure that as many doors are open, giving all children the ability to walk through them."
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Wales sees biggest drop in male STEM roles in UK
An analysis of the Annual Population Survey by Burgess Hill Girls School revealed a 10.32 per cent decrease in male STEM roles in Wales between January to December 2021 and October 2023 to September 2024. This suggests that a tenth of males previously working in STEM roles in Wales may have been replaced or left the sector entirely. Women also saw a drop in STEM roles, with a 9.50 per cent decrease. Despite the overall decline, Wales has seen relatively stable STEM employment figures between 2021 and 2023/24, with only minor shifts in the composition of top careers. The most common STEM occupation for women remains nursing, with women making up more than 88 per cent of all 'other nursing professionals' in 2023/24. There was growth in female representation in software development, increasing by 28.57 per cent, and women also saw an 8.33 per cent increase in generalist medical practitioner roles. Anne Pithie, director of marketing and communications at Burgess Hill Girls, said: "We often hear about the importance of women in STEM, but phrases like this and the numbers behind them are often used without context. "Seeing numbers fall in STEM occupations is disappointing, especially seeing numbers for women fall at a higher rate when they're already under-represented. "If we want to see these numbers moving in the right direction, we all have a responsibility to ensure that as many doors are open, giving all children the ability to walk through them."
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Clackmannanshire (Scotland) 17.40%Blackpool (Lancashire) 16.90%Neath Port Talbot (Wales) 16.53%North Ayrshire (Scotland) 15.31%Merthyr Tydfil (Wales) 15.19%North Lanarkshire (Scotland) 14.48%Bolton (Greater Manchester) 14.42%South Tyneside (Tyne & Wear) 14.03%Torfaen (Wales) 13.82%Knowsley (Merseyside) 13.81%North East Lincolnshire 13.31%West Dunbartonshire (Scotland) 13.25%Middlesbrough (Tees Valley) 13.19%Hartlepool (Tees Valley) 12.97%Bridgend (Wales) 12.94%Salford (Greater Manchester) 12.85%Carmarthenshire (Wales) 12.51%Nottingham 12.51%Blaenau Gwent (Wales) 12.45%Sandwell (West Midlands) 12.24%Hull 12.13%Dundee (Scotland) 12.02%Halton (Cheshire) 11.97%Wigan (Greater Manchester) 11.94%Highland (Scotland) 11.90%North Tyneside (Tyne & Wear) 11.86%Calderdale (West Yorkshire) 11.77%Wolverhampton (West Midlands) 11.76%Bury (Greater Manchester) 11.68%Rhondda Cynon Taf (Wales) 11.59%Inverclyde (Scotland) 11.43%Torbay (Devon) 11.37%Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire) 11.34%County Durham 11.32%North Lincolnshire 11.14%Rochdale (Greater Manchester) 11.14%Angus (Scotland) 11.14%East Ayrshire (Scotland) 11.08%Argyll & Bute (Scotland) 11.05%Plymouth (Devon) 10.95%Redcar & Cleveland (Tees Valley) 10.90%Rotherham (South Yorkshire) 10.85%Enfield (London) 10.82%Tameside (Greater Manchester) 10.72%Blackburn with Darwen (Lancashire) 10.69%Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) 10.68%South Ayrshire (Scotland) 10.67%Tower Hamlets (London) 10.57%West Lothian (Scotland) 10.56%Northumberland 10.35%Sunderland (Tyne & Wear) 10.30%St Helens (Merseyside) 10.19%Dumfries & Galloway (Scotland) 10.06%Fife (Scotland) 10.05%Northern Ireland 10.03%Caerphilly (Wales) 9.93%South Lanarkshire (Scotland) 9.80%Conwy (Wales) 9.73%Liverpool (Merseyside) 9.71%Glasgow (Scotland) 9.69%Cumbria 9.62%Stockport (Greater Manchester) 9.60%Barnsley (South Yorkshire) 9.46%Gwynedd (Wales) 9.42%Swansea (Wales) 9.40%Wakefield (West Yorkshire) 9.24%Lincolnshire 9.22%Midlothian (Scotland) 9.11%Gateshead (Tyne & Wear) 9.07%Powys (Wales) 9.02%Pembrokeshire (Wales) 8.99%Oldham (Greater Manchester) 8.85%East Lothian (Scotland) 8.67%Luton (Bedfordshire) 8.64%Stockton-on-Tees (Tees Valley) 8.53%Dudley (West Midlands) 8.49%Cornwall 8.43%Falkirk (Scotland) 8.28%Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (Dorset) 8.27%Wirral (Merseyside) 8.24%Scottish Borders (Scotland) 8.22%Renfrewshire (Scotland) 8.20%Southend-on-Sea (Essex) 8.20%Birmingham (West Midlands) 8.14%Coventry (West Midlands) 8.07%Lancashire 8.06%Doncaster (South Yorkshire) 8.02%Barking & Dagenham (London) 8.01%Darlington (Tees Valley) 8.00%Sheffield (South Yorkshire) 7.98%Suffolk 7.94%Manchester (Greater Manchester) 7.81%Leeds (West Yorkshire) 7.77%Newcastle upon Tyne (Tyne & Wear) 7.73%East Dunbartonshire (Scotland) 7.71%Cardiff (Wales) 7.68%Telford & Wrekin (Shropshire) 7.54%Denbighshire (Wales) 7.48%Newport (Wales) 7.37%East Riding of Yorkshire 7.27%Bristol 7.27%Flintshire (Wales) 7.22%Leicester 7.09%Hounslow (London) 7.04%Isle of Anglesey (Wales) 7.00%Kirklees (West Yorkshire) 6.91%North Northamptonshire 6.91%Staffordshire 6.82%North Yorkshire 6.80%Norfolk 6.71%Perth & Kinross (Scotland) 6.62%Bradford (West Yorkshire) 6.53%Essex 6.47%Isle of Wight (Hampshire) 6.43%Lewisham (London) 6.38%North Somerset 6.36%Ceredigion (Wales) 6.34%Solihull (West Midlands) 6.25%Nottinghamshire 6.24%Central Bedfordshire (Bedfordshire) 6.02%Greenwich (London) 5.94%Moray (Scotland) 5.93%Camden (London) 5.91%Barnet (London) 5.88%Croydon (London) 5.88%Sefton (Merseyside) 5.87%Somerset 5.86%Warrington (Cheshire) 5.78%East Sussex 5.76%Devon 5.67%Waltham Forest (London) 5.65%Warwickshire 5.60%Kent 5.60%York (North Yorkshire) 5.57%Medway (Kent) 5.56%Aberdeenshire (Scotland) 5.54%Hammersmith and Fulham (London) 5.53%Bromley (London) 5.47%Wrexham (Wales) 5.47%Derby 5.34%Cheshire West & Chester (Cheshire) 5.31%Dorset 5.30%Islington (London) 5.22%Bath & North East Somerset 5.13%Southampton (Hampshire) 5.07%Derbyshire 5.07%Monmouthshire (Wales) 5.05%Cambridgeshire 5.04%Newham (London) 5.03%Hampshire 4.99%West Sussex 4.98%Portsmouth (Hampshire) 4.96%Wiltshire 4.89%Bedford (Bedfordshire) 4.88%Thurrock (Essex) 4.88%Swindon (Wiltshire) 4.85%Slough (Berkshire) 4.73%Worcestershire 4.71%Ealing (London) 4.70%Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) 4.69%Aberdeen City (Scotland) 4.64%South Gloucestershire 4.49%Brent (London) 4.48%Hackney (London) 4.48%Surrey 4.47%Walsall (West Midlands) 4.46%Kensington & Chelsea (London) 4.42%West Northamptonshire 4.40%Stirling (Scotland) 4.17%Haringey (London) 4.15%Merton (London) 4.14%Redbridge (London) 4.09%East Renfrewshire (Scotland) 4.08%Herefordshire 4.07%Brighton & Hove (East Sussex) 4.04%Trafford (Greater Manchester) 4.03%Edinburgh (Scotland) 3.92%Hertfordshire 3.91%Leicestershire 3.84%Harrow (London) 3.76%Windsor & Maidenhead (Berkshire) 3.75%Shropshire 3.71%Vale of Glamorgan (Wales) 3.68%Southwark (London) 3.49%Gloucestershire 3.48%Hillingdon (London) 3.46%Sutton (London) 3.33%Reading (Berkshire) 3.24%Buckinghamshire 3.20%Richmond upon Thames (London) 3.05%Oxfordshire 2.99%Bracknell Forest (Berkshire) 2.98%Havering (London) 2.55%West Berkshire (Berkshire) 2.54%Cheshire East (Cheshire) 2.39%Rutland 2.35%Wokingham (Berkshire) 1.85%Westminster (London) 1.40%Wandsworth (London) 1.39%Lambeth (London) 1.05%
