Drive to attract more women to sector

The Sheffield-based British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation is doing its bit to ensure that more women decide to work in sectors linked to technology and engineering.

The Government wants to encourage greater participation in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects (STEM), particularly among women, in order to help the UK become more competitive.

Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said yesterday; “Rising numbers of people are taking maths and physics A levels – but it is still very low. Too many teenagers, especially girls, don’t realise that maths and physics get you everywhere.

“They have the highest earnings and can open doors to careers in business, journalism, technology, engineering – in fact anything you can probably think of.

“That is why I’m so pleased to see some of the UK’s top businesses and organisations showing their commitment by signing the call to action and committing to recruit more science and maths students.

“Together we can ensure young people have the skills they need to succeed in life and help the UK compete on a global scale.”

Dave Dalton, the chief executive of British Glass, said: “Our pledge announced today commits to launch a charter in 2014, backed by 100 livery companies of the City of London, which will see businesses take on around 100 young female apprentices each year across many different professions.”