A third of teenage girls plan to ‘break the glass ceiling’ in male-dominated fields Business News

According to a survey, teenage girls want to “break the glass ceiling”, with 37% wanting a career in a traditionally male-dominated field.

A survey of 2,000 women and girls aged 13-19 found that one-third of those likely to choose a traditionally male career would be interested in a career in science, while 31% were keen to explore a job in science. engineering.

More than eight in 10 of them thought they were just as capable as their male counterparts of performing certain roles. More than a quarter felt more capable than the boys.

Additionally, more than 81% said it was important for their career to make a “positive contribution” to society.

The research was commissioned by British Gas, which has pledged to create 3,500 apprenticeship places over the next decade with the ambition that half of all new recruits will be women.

Jessica Rawstron, a British gas engineer, said: “My inspiration first came from my father, who specialized in gas for many years.

“And with the support of my family, friends and colleagues, my confidence has grown since the day I started as an apprentice.

“There are no stereotypes to conform to and we appreciate the diversity of our team.”

Investigators found that 36% of girls wanting to pursue a career in a traditionally male field had been positively influenced by their teachers and 44% had been inspired to do so by their family.

This is despite the fact that 56% of them said that none of their female family members worked in one of these industries.

Still, 64% said they thought it was easier for women to get a role in an industry like energy, construction or engineering today, compared to when their mother was the age they are now.

But 62% were confident their gender would still have some kind of impact on their future job prospects, with 70% saying there were still barriers that made it difficult for women to step into a particular role.

Greater gender equality in the workplace was the main improvement respondents wanted to see for working women in the future (43%).

Having the same job opportunities as men (42%), better help with childcare (39%) and better pay (38%) also topped the list.

The survey, conducted by OnePoll, found that 73% of girls believed Britain would see more women in traditionally male-dominated roles in the near future.

And although the average teenage girl said she thought it would take 15 years for there to be full gender equality in the workplace, 72% agreed their generation would be the ones to make that change happen. .

Ms Rawstron added: “Young women have more opportunities than ever – both in terms of the roles available to us and the impact we can have on the world around us.”