Bias in the recruitment system is still preventing STEM professionals on a career break from returning to employment, according to a new survey by STEM Returners.

Participants in the STEM Returners Index said they felt they were being penalised for their age, gender, ethnicity and whether they had a disability. However, bias against their lack of recent experience was their main barrier to entry, according to the survey.

The annual STEM Returners Index asks more than 1,000 STEM professionals on a career break a range of questions to understand their experiences of trying to re-enter the STEM sector.

In the 2024 Index, more people said they felt they had experienced personal bias in the recruitment system compared to the previous year, (40% in 2024 vs 33% in 2023) and said they found returning to work difficult or very difficult (65% in 2024 vs 51% in 2023).

Half (51%) of respondents said a perceived lack of recent experience was a barrier to entry, an increase from 38% in last year’s survey.

In the survey, more than a quarter (26%) of women said they felt they have personally experienced bias in the recruitment process due to their gender compared to 8% of men.

One in five women said they experienced bias due to their childcare responsibilities and more than half (58%) of women said they experienced bias because of a lack of experience, a stark increase from last year’s survey when 10% of women reported this.

Both men (38%) and women (33%) said they felt they have personally experienced bias in recruitment processes due to their age.

In the survey, professionals from minority ethnic backgrounds represented a large proportion (40%) of candidates attempting to return to work in 2024. They were twice as likely as all other ethnic groups (38% vs an average of 18%) to feel they have experienced bias in a recruitment process related to race or ethnicity.

42% of returners who identified with a limiting health condition or disability reported experiencing bias due to their health circumstances, a sharp increase from 12% in 2023.

Natalie Desty, director of STEM Returners, said: “It’s disappointing to see that returners are still being penalised because of a gap on their CV. We know that most people do not take a career break out of choice – only 15% of our survey’s respondents said it was their choice to take a career break.

Recommended reading

• Are Non-IT Leaders Overconfident in Cybersecurity Capabilities?
• IT Leaders Split on Generative AI’s Role in Cybersecurity
• Cyber Leaders Reveal Compliance and Boardroom Struggles

“So why are more people being penalised for a lack of recent experience when for many, it’s something that cannot be helped? It’s particularly concerning to see more people saying they’ve experienced bias against their health and disability status.

“There are growing skills gaps across the engineering, tech and green jobs sectors that returners are ready and waiting to fill. More people saying they are experiencing bias suggests that discrimination in the recruitment process is systemic and industry leaders must do more to update recruitment practices and challenge unconscious bias to give returners a fair chance to rejoin the industry they are passionate about.”