The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (STC) has tasked the government’s new Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) to tackle diversity issues in STEM as a key priority.

In the STC’s recent Diversity and Inclusion in STEM report, under-represented groups were still found to be a low levels across the pipeline, and urged that this should take priority for DSIT.

Part of the Department’s major challenges in delivering on the Prime Minister’s ambitions to turn the UK into a technology superpower lies in the skill shortage – while tech jobs are in demand, there simply are not enough skilled workers to fill all the gaps.

A key factor in this issue, however, is the lack of diversity found across STEM industries, which starts from an early age.

The report examined school children and subject uptake into A-levels across England, finding gender disparity as well as racial and ethnic disparity in subject intake. Girls were much less likely to continue with STEM subjects than boys, and those from Black and Caribbean ethnic backgrounds were also less likely to take STEM subjects than their white or Asian classmates.

While the report recognised that it was institutionalised sexism at the heart of the gender disparity, it made no reflection on why the racial disparity permeated at such an early age in schoolchildren across England.

The STC highlighted how single interventions or policies would not be effective in solving the issues and a systematic approach should instead be adopted to help solve the lack of representation in STEM education and work.

Some barriers the report cited as inducing the diversity gap include a lack of support from teachers, a lack of visible role models, a lack of access for those from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds, and differing opinions from cultural perspectives.

Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer for FDM Group, commented: “The lack of diversity in STEM is an ongoing issue and requires greater action that an all-in-one solution. The issue is complex with many barriers to entry within STEM fields, as well as the struggles with retention, so reviewing what can be done to promote and support under-represented groups along each stage of the pipeline is crucial.”

More specifically, the STC is recommending higher wages for STEM teachers to increase the number and skillset of teachers so students are better supported, continually updating the curriculum to include more relevant role models such as women and BAME scientists, improving the access to ‘triple science’ GCSEs across the board, and gathering data on different disparities to better understand and mitigate root causes.

The lack of diversity among STEM teachers was also highlighted as a key component of the issues, stating that an additional 15,655 black teachers would need to be added to the general population of teachers to match the number of black students in education.

Flavell added: “The education sector plays a large part in this, as children from a young age may be exposed to a lack of diversity in role models, especially teachers, within STEM that may impact their want to pursue the subject. The government should implement further support for teachers from diverse backgrounds to enter teaching and receive the right support to aid in retention.”

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For higher research institutions, the STC report also noted several barriers widening disparity, including hiring and funding practices, as well as representatives on deciding committees.

The need for targeted interventions has thus been identified to champion this issue, and once the new department addresses this topic, the education and research sectors are expected to follow in its lead.

“It is great to see this call to action for the government, especially as the new department has so much potential to help curve obstacles and drive inclusion,” Flavell said.

“By tapping into underrepresented groups, new talents can evolve and continue in the fight for a fairer, more inclusive society.”