Science: Still a boys' subject

The government has promised action following the publication of an Equal Opportunities Commission report which found that sexism is still rife within careers advice and training.

The "free to choose" report revealed that sex discrimination is worst against girls from lower income backgrounds, who are not encouraged to pursue careers such as construction and engineering.

Similarly, the survey showed that few boys are encouraged to take up posts in childcare, health or social care.

The lack of advice and opportunity comes despite the fact that a majority of young people of both sexes say they would be interested in non-traditional careers.

Researchers concluded that government schemes such as apprenticeships have actually made the system worse, while the imbalance is perpetuating pay discrimination between men and women.

Reforms

Education secretary Ruth Kelly, who was addressing the report's launch event, said recently announced reforms to secondary and further education would help bridge the divide.

"The links between occupational segregation, national and employer productivity, skills shortages and the gender pay gap are particularly striking. It is clear that these issues need to be addressed, both for the benefit of our economy and on social justice grounds," she added.

"Occupations with a high number of vacancies very often have gender imbalances. For example, six per cent of all skill shortage vacancies are in skilled construction occupations – where 99 per cent of the workforce is male.

"Conversely, seven per cent of skill shortage vacancies are in personal service occupations within health and social work – where 90 per cent of the workforce is female.

"Our recent white papers contain many proposals which should help address the EOC's concerns. These include improving the quality and range of information, advice and guidance available to teenagers and adults, and the aim of creating a truly comprehensive education system."

Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt added that businesses must play a part tackling social and sexual discrimination.

"The government is committed to ensuring that young people from all backgrounds achieve their full potential and get the job they want," she said. 

"The recently published skills white paper will ensure that young women and men get the skills needed to join the workforce and contribute to the UK's competitiveness in business."

Suffering

But EOC chairwoman Julie Mellor argued that ministers must do more at government level.

"Girls from lower socio-economic groups are often ending up in lower paid work than boys, despite doing well at school," she said.

"Opportunities for some boys to take up the work that suits them are also being blocked.

"Britain can't go on letting young people down – the choices they make at an early age affect their whole lives and the economy suffers if employers can't get the right mix of skills and talents.

"Our findings demonstrate how important it is for government to remove the barriers facing young people and the employers who want to take them on – with careers advice available to every child, including information on non-traditional work and its pay, the chance of two work experience placements, one non-traditional; and apprenticeships which open doors to more non-traditional trainees.

"Tackling occupational segregation needs to be put at the heart of government's strategy to raise skills and productivity."