Many STEM workers say they are experiencing biases that are preventing them from returning to work, according to a study by STEM Returners
A study has been conducted into STEM returners bias, asking workers who are returning from a career break about their experiences in the recruitment process.
The study was conducted by the STEM Returners Project, and many of those interviewed have expressed falling victim to biases against age, gender, ethnicity, and a perceived lack of experience.
Experience bias was a top barrier for returning workers
Of those surveyed, 51% had cited that a perceived lack of experience had actively prevented them from finding work, up from 38% in the previous year, and out of the 65% of those surveyed who said that they had found returning to work difficult or very difficult.
Furthermore, 26% of the women surveyed said that they had experienced gender bias in their return to work, with 1-in-5 citing “childcare responsibilities” as a key issue. 58% of women also cited a perceived lack of experience as a barrier as well.
38% of surveyed men and 33% of surveyed women said they had experienced age bias as well.
Rise in STEM returners bias “disappointing”
Natalie Desty, director of STEM Returners, said: “It’s disappointing to see that returners are still being penalised because of a gap on their CV. We know that most people do not take a career break out of choice – only 15% of our survey’s respondents said it was their choice to take a career break.
“So why are more people being penalised for a lack of recent experience when for many, it’s something that cannot be helped? It’s particularly concerning to see more people saying they’ve experienced bias against their health and disability status.
“There are growing skills gaps across the engineering, tech and green jobs sectors that returners are ready and waiting to fill. More people saying they are experiencing bias suggests that discrimination in the recruitment process is systemic and industry leaders must do more to update recruitment practices and challenge unconscious bias to give returners a fair chance to rejoin the industry they are passionate about.”
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