Senior technicians at UK universities overwhelmingly male

Just 11 per cent of physics and engineering technicians working in UK higher education are women, according to a report that is the first to explore equality, diversity and inclusion challenges facing technical staff.

While other disciplines have a much higher share of female technical staff, the vast majority of technicians in managerial positions across the sciences are male, according to the study, which is based on data on 14,375 technician roles in UK universities in the 2017-18 academic year.

For example, 58 per cent of university technicians in medicine, dentistry and health and 74 per cent in agricultural, forestry and veterinary science are women, but they make up just 9 per cent and 5.6 per cent of senior staff in these subjects, respectively.

Overall, 41 per cent of technicians working in higher education are women.

The data also reveal that just 10 per cent of technical staff at universities are black, Asian or minority ethnic. When analysed by age group, the study found the same proportion of those under the age of 25 of BAME ethnicity, suggesting that there were limited or ineffective measures aimed at increasing diversity in recruitment.

In total, 30 per cent of all technicians are over 51 years of age, increasing to 45 per cent within physics and engineering.

The report, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): A Technician Lens, which was launched at the Stemm-Change annual conference at the Royal Society of Chemistry, is based on analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency using occupational classification codes to identify technician roles. The Stemm-Change project, which is led by staff at the University of Nottingham, aims to change diversity culture and practices across science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.

The report also collected qualitative data from workshops involving more than 200 technicians. Female technical staff in engineering and physical sciences reported “a lack of practical considerations in traditionally male-dominated subject areas”, including protective equipment, clothing and footwear being unavailable in appropriate sizing.

Some technicians also cited inequity in working arrangements, such as flexible working, between academic and technical staff as a barrier to advancing EDI.

Meanwhile, many technical staff who were aware of institutional programmes to address equality and diversity reported a lack of inclusion of technical staff and, consequently, a lack of technical representation on EDI committees, according to the study.

The report recommends that university diversity initiatives be inclusive of technical roles, and advocates better support for female and ethnic minority technicians wanting to move into leadership and management roles. It also says universities should introduce better succession planning to avoid losing skills as technical staff move towards retirement.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com