Report finds STEM job candidates facing bias after career break
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Participants in the STEM Returners Index said they felt they were being penalised for their age, gender, ethnicity and whether they had a disability. Bias against their lack of recent experience was their main barrier to entry, according to the survey.
The STEM Returners Index asks over 1,000 STEM professionals on a career break a range of questions to understand their experiences of trying to re-enter the STEM sector.
In the 2024 Index, more people said they felt they had experienced personal bias in the recruitment system compared to the previous year, (40 percent in 2024 vs 33 percent in 2023) and said they found returning to work difficult or very difficult (65 percent in 2024 vs 51 percent in 2023).
In total, 51 percent of respondents said a perceived lack of experience was a barrier to entry, up from 38 percent in 2023.
In the survey, 26 percent of women said they felt they have personally experienced bias in the recruitment process due to their gender compared to eight percent of men. One in five women said they experienced bias due to their childcare responsibilities and 58 percent of women said they experienced bias because of a lack of experience, an increase from last year’s survey when 10 percent of women reported this.
Men (38 percent) and women (33 percent) said they felt they have personally experienced bias in recruitment processes due to their age.
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In a statement, 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 percent 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.
