According to construction charity, Be On Site, women currently represent only 11 per cent of the construction work force in the UK, with just 2 per cent of those in manual work.

Similarly, less than 9 per cent of engineers in the UK are women and a disappointing 15.5 per cent of workers in the STEM workforce -  in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths is female. Certainly the roles that have long been regarded as ‘men’s’ jobs can seem prohibitive to a woman. But it is not because they pose a risk to manicured nails. As a female, entering into a world that has a longstanding reputation for misogyny and gender inequality takes guts, determination and tenacity.

Lady Geek, a campaigning agency aimed at making technology more accessible to women, the Women’s Engineering Society and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network were just three of the organisations that joined the discussion around what more can be done to speed up action and encourage more girls and women to take up STEM.

Source: Huffington Post