March 2020

News 0 8 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk March 2020 Research published by the Royal Academy of Engineering indicates that the gender pay gap is smaller in the engineering profession than the UK employee average. The mean (10.8%) and median (11.4%) pay gap for engineers in the sample analysed is around two-thirds the national average. Although the gap is less than feared, the report finds that closing it will take concerted effort within the engineering profession. One well-recognised issue that is contributing to the gender pay gap in engineering is the lack of women going into the profession, and while attempts have been made to address this, progress is disappointingly slow. The report recommends actions that go beyond addressing this initial recruitment challenge to close Engineering gender pay gap in the UK less than feared the gender pay gap through addressing the retention and progression of women to more senior and higher paid roles. The actions it recommends as most effective include implementing transparent pay structures and grades, reviewing promotion criteria and introducing flexible working options for senior roles. To compile Closing the engineering gender pay gap, the first report of its kind for the engineering profession, the Academy commissioned WISE to analyse the pay data of nearly 42,000 engineers working in the UK, to approximate the gender pay gap for the engineering profession. This analysis, with data voluntarily provided by 25 engineering organisations of different sizes and from different sectors, excludes non-engineering roles to help identify issues and challenges specific to the profession. This approach differs from the mandatory gender pay gap reporting to government, which does not identify the professions of individuals in an organisation. The report confirms that underrepresentation of women in senior roles - rather than unequal pay - is the single largest cause of the gender pay gap for engineers. The factors that most contributed to pay variance for engineers in the sample included career level (40%), type of employer (12%), age (6%) and the annual revenue of the employer (5%). Just 9% of engineers in the top career grade in the sample were female and women accounted for only 8% of those in the upper pay quartile. Jonathan Lyle CB FREng, Chair of the Academy’s Closing the gender pay gap Steering Group, said: “Reducing both gender and race inequality is key to addressing the damaging shortage of engineering skills in the UK economy. Whilst we are making some modest progress in attracting more girls and women into engineering, our research shows that there remains much to be done to achieve gender equality in engineering careers. “The good news is that there are well proven steps that business leaders can and should take to improve how women engineers progress within their companies into more senior, more influential, more fulfilling, better rewarded roles. The best, most inclusive, businesses are doing this well, critically underpinning their business success. But others make excuses about their gender pay gap, risking losing business and talent.” New appointment for Plant & Works Engineering Daniella Gavin has now taken on the role of area sales manager for Plant & Works Engineering magazine, having been with the magazine since 2018. She is looking forward to continuing to grow the success of the magazine – working closely with editor Aaron Blutstein to both expand and develop current popular features as well as new specialised features for 2020 which will include: Moving & Lifting, PPE, Editor’s Insight, Maintenance 4.0, and Dust & Fume Extraction amongst other identified key areas, selected specifically for our growing requested readership. Daniella started her career in magazine publishing in 2016, after completing a degree in communications, and has since joined Plant & Works Engineering working in commercial sales in 2018. She has worked on both the magazine and the biennial Plant & Asset Management show, and is enjoying meeting with the magazine’s many contributors and show exhibitors. Plant & Works Engineering has seen a year of growth in terms of readership, both in print and digitally, and continues to have one of the highest ABC Audited requested figures in its market. It remains the UK’s leading engineering maintenance journals. To request an editorial features list for the year, or to find our more information about our associated show Plant & Asset Management at the NEC, please contact Daniella today at: Daniella.gavin@dfamedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)1732 371084 Daniella Gavin, area sales manager, Plant & Works Engineering magazine