Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 9 November 2021.
Can I thank my South Wales West colleague Sioned Williams for tabling this important question as well? And, First Minister, I share her ambition to eliminate the gender pay gap in Wales, particularly as we know that the pay gap is wider in Wales than it is in the rest—compared to the UK average. But, one of the ways we can help to tackle the gender pay gap is by ensuring women and girls are not put off courses in well-paid careers in sectors of the economy that are traditionally seen as male sectors. In the Welsh Government review into gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, we saw that of those work-based placements in the STEM sector registered with the Education Workforce Council just 22 per cent of those placements were occupied by women. The review also stated that Wales also had the lowest percentage of women enrolling onto higher education STEM courses anywhere in the UK. So, what action is the Welsh Government taking to improve access to the STEM sector for women and to better encourage them to pursue STEM courses in higher education?