Huddersfield graduate Jess Murdoch was one of the students featured in the 7th edition of FIELDS, our open-access student research journal. We asked Jess for some insights into her article and research:

The issue of gender imbalance is one that effects almost all industries but is particularly aggressive within tech. Just 14.4% of the overall science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) workforce are female in the UK (ONS, 2015), and despite efforts being made to increase the interest of school age girls in STEM subjects the figures are not improving.

This paper looks into the reasons women aren’t choosing STEM careers and why women who have broken through into the industry have left. The questionnaire carried out in this study collects opinions of women who are currently working in STEM roles within the UK in relation to existing literature.

The primary research shows women value work life balance, a supportive culture and existing diversity. Overall, it can be seen that motivation is a dynamic concept which varies between individuals but some main foundational factors can be linked to the gender imbalance seen in organisations.

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