Farnell launches Global Women in Engineering Survey 2022

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Farnell, an Avnet company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, has today announced the launch of the annual Global Women in Engineering Survey in partnership with the element14 Community. The survey is an opportunity for professional women in engineering to share their insights and experiences, shedding light on career development as well as the broader challenges and opportunities within the electronics engineering industry.

The survey opens on International Women in Engineering Day (June 23), and will run for two months, closing on Saturday, August 20. The global survey is designed to gain direct insight from all members of the industry to understand current barriers to achieving equality and how to further diminish discriminatory practices in the workplace while painting a vision for the future. Results of the survey will be announced in September 2022. 

Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for element14, said: “This year we have added new questions addressing issues highlighted in the analysis of previous survey responses. While it’s clear that our industry is moving in the right direction, there is more to be done. We are also looking forward to uncovering even more amazing success stories of women who are achieving great things in our industry.”

The 2021 global survey drew responses from 370 people. Most of the respondents were aged between 25-54, and just over half said they had more than 10 years’ experience in the electronics engineering industry. The survey showed that while women in engineering are gaining support from all genders, they are still underrepresented overall and experience various degrees of discrimination.

The 2021 research further highlighted that all respondents believe the most important goal for the modern workforce is to achieve is the equal treatment of all genders. This year’s survey will be a key indicator of whether that positive trend has continued.

Other key findings of Farnell’s Global Women in Engineering Survey 2021 included:

• All genders have similar views about the benefits women bring to the engineering industry and believe that inequality needs to be addressed. Elevating more women into leadership positions where they can act as role models and mentors to other women will strengthen the implementation of equality policies and reduce inequality and sexism in the workplace.
• The research showed strong agreement on many issues, while some key differences were uncovered. Despite women citing good pay as a benefit of working in engineering, they still believe that the gender pay gap is still an issue.
• One powerful finding was that women were less worried about the need to travel for work than other genders perceive them to be. Only 15% of women surveyed suggested that reduced travel would be beneficial to their work-life balance and career prospects in contrast to the 25% of all other respondents who believed this to be true. This response suggests a further reduction in one perceived barrier to advancement in engineering careers for women.

There was an overwhelming response from all genders encouraging women to be more confident, trust in their abilities and embrace the challenge of working in engineering. Some of the top drivers leading women to enjoy a career in engineering included the opportunity to work on diverse projects, being involved at the birth of next-generation technology and establish and nurture a good work/life balance.

Farnell’s continued support for the survey will provide a comprehensive view of the challenges professional women working in the electronics engineering industry continue face and how they can successfully turn them into life-changing opportunities for themselves and the organisations they represent.

To get involved in Farnell’s new Global Women in Engineering Survey, go to: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FarnellWiE2022