The low proportion of women studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) is a constant in secondary and tertiary education worldwide, despite the fact that various studies have demonstrated women’s aptitude for those subjects (Buck, Clark, Leslie-Pelecky, Lu, & Cerda-Lizarraga, 2008; Christie, O’Neill, Rutter, Young, & Medland, 2017). Women start to move away from STEM during compulsory secondary education, especially between the ages of 13 and 15 (National Centre for Education Statistics, 2013; OECD, 2017). This directly results in low numbers of women working in the traditionally male professions that generate greatest economic value (Struthers & Strachan, 2019). The scientific literature shows that this situation worsens at subsequent stages of education (post-compulsory secondary and university education), with the consequent underrepresentation of women in the labour market (Korbel, 2016; Makamen and Wan, 2020). Research conducted mainly at university level indicates that both female performance and retention (understood as women's choice to persist with the courses selected) in STEM subjects is similar to that of men. Thus, the underrepresentation of women is a consequence of low levels of enrolment in these disciplines and not of women's performance or aptitude (Sadler, Sonnert., Hazari., and Tai, 2012; Diekman, Weisgram and Belanger, 2015).

The “leaky pipeline” metaphor describes the greater likelihood of women and girls to leave STEM fields at every point, relative to men and boys. Gender disparities occur both in recruitment—that is, who chooses to enter a STEM pathway—as well as retention—that is, who chooses to persist in a STEM major or occupation. In addition, women who persist in STEM careers are less likely than men to reach top levels of leadership in those careers.The “leaky pipeline” metaphor describes the greater likelihood of women and girls to leave STEM fields at every point, relative to men and boys. Gender disparities occur both in recruitment—that is, who chooses to enter a STEM pathway—as well as retention—that is, who chooses to persist in a STEM major or occupation. In addition, women who persist in STEM careers are less likely than men to reach top levels of leadership in those careers.

This paper describes and compares, in quantitative terms, female enrolment on STEM courses within Spain's vocational education and training (VET) system, analysing the proportion both overall and by occupational group, while also examining the trend in these figures and the extent of progress. Female enrolment on STEM courses in VET is analysed at two distinct points: entry and completion. On the one hand, this paper analyses the proportion of women entering STEM programmes based on the number and distribution of women enrolling on STEM vocational education and training courses. On the other, it is examined female representation among all holders of STEM qualifications, considering those graduates to represent the potential workforce leaving the education system. Finally, it studies system efficiency in terms of course completion within the designated time, doing so via the completion rate.

The methodology consists of conducting quantitative analysis of data gathered from secondary sources (Educaweb, Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Education and Training [MFEP], etc.), analysing a five-year series taken from the latest figures available (MEFP, 2020; Gamboa-Navarro et al., 2020). Firstly, female participation in STEM subjects will be weighted at both enrolment level and per occupational group over the period analysed, and will be broken down into the various types of VET (classroom VET, distance VET, dual VET). Secondly, the proportion of women in the STEM occupational groups will be weighted in line with both the number of graduates overall and the number per occupational group over the period analysed, and will be broken down into the various types of VET as above. Finally, women’s completion rate in STEM subjects will be analysed. This paper reports preliminary findings in these three areas. Finally, we would like to point out, on the one hand, that this study is novel in the Spanish context and, on the other, that it is relevant given the underrepresentation of women on STEM programmes in VET, a situation that creates barriers both to women’s professional development and Spain’s economic and social advancement. This is both because employability in these occupational groups is usually higher than in the rest and because of the amount of value these occupational groups generate for enterprises. Studying the proportion of women on STEM courses in VET is key to examining their underrepresentation in detail and so advancing understanding of a significant problem for Spanish society, thereby allowing for reflection on possible ways of encouraging female participation in these occupational groups.

As a starting point for the conclusions, it is important to note that this research remains ongoing and that the conclusions are subject to change once the project is completed. Firstly, the authors substantiate the underrepresentation of women on STEM programmes in VET in Spain. Of the total number of VET students enrolled in the 2018-2019 academic year, 36% were studying STEM subjects, of which 11.4% were women. Furthermore, while the number of these enrollees has fallen by almost two percentage points since 2012-2013, underrepresentation has increased in relative terms in the last five years. Secondly, female underrepresentation in entry to STEM programmes (11.4%), in terms of number of enrolments, is matched by the proportion (11%) of total STEM graduates in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 academic years. This reveals that female retention in STEM subjects is similar to that of men in comparative terms, indicating that underrepresentation in entry is due to women moving away from STEM at an earlier age. Thirdly, female representation is unequal between STEM occupational groups, ranging from over 50% in the case of Chemistry and Food Industries to less than 5% in Electricity and Electronics, Installation and Maintenance, and Vehicle Maintenance and Transport. However, most job offers target these latter occupational groups (Infoempleo-Adecco, 2020). Therefore, analysis of female representation by occupational group needs to be conducted at the level of each group, or in even greater detail at programme level. Fourthly, female underrepresentation in STEM in dual VET is increasing, meaning that the effort to raise their participation in dual VET associated with the STEM occupational groups needs to be greater. Fifthly, this area of knowledge requires greater analysis given the limited and fragmented research conducted to date.

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