Trade and Industry Secretary and Women’s Minister Patricia Hewitt has announced plans to reverse ‘jobs for the boys’ culture, thus giving women better job opportunities in traditionally male industries such as engineering and manufacturing.

The proposals are part of a drive to close the 19.5% gender pay-gap by tackling occupational segregation – where men and women are overly concentrated in certain jobs, such as women and nursing or men and construction.

Research shows that over 60% of all working women are concentrated in just ten occupations which typically pay the least. Although women make up 49% of the workforce, they make up less than 10% and just 1% of employees in engineering and construction respectively.

The new drive will focus on helping women who want to work in male dominated sectors like IT, construction, engineering and science. It includes:

• careers advisors offering more information about traditionally male jobs to schoolgirls and advising those who want to work in these sectors;



• new drive to increase the number of female entrepreneurs starting up their own business;


• funding for universities to help female science and engineering graduates find jobs in those industries;


• adult education “taster courses” for men and women in non-traditional subjects, such as plumbing for women, and childcare for men; and


• better information for school leavers about jobs that are dominated by one sex.

Ms. Hewitt said:

“It’s not government’s job to dictate employment options to people, but we must give women more choice if we are to address the chronic pay gap. Career sexism limits opportunities for women of all ages and prevents them from achieving their full potential. It is simply wrong to assume someone cannot do a job on the grounds of their sex.”