University researchers asked students, workers, managers and academics of both sexes for their views on the career prospects of women in audio-video engineering. They found that the unsociable working hours, poor work-life balance and job insecurity are putting women off a career in the discipline.
The team behind the Women in Audio Visual Engineering (WAVE) project will present their findings and develop recommendations at an event at the BBC studios in Manchester on 5 December 2007 where the keynote speaker is BBC's head of technology delivery, Ela Jastrzebska.
The project was led by Dr Haifa Takruri-Rizk of the University's School of Computing, Science & Engineering. She said: "Typically, audio-video jobs involve working at night in either a freelance role or for a small company. In the North West 91% of companies employ fewer than five people. For many women with families this isn't what they are looking for in a career."
Partly as a result, statistics from Skillset have also shown that 62% of the workforce is aged under 35 compared with a national average of 39%.
Haifa added: "We also found that in many of the smaller companies which dominate the sector, the process of recruitment is very informal, with jobs being awarded through word of mouth or family ties."
The study was initiated when the team found that on Salford's engineering courses it was audio and video engineering which had the lowest proportion of women. Haifa said, "While there has been progress in other fields of engineering, it still seemed that there was work to be done in this area. We felt that by asking people in the industry what they thought we could make a start on addressing some of the inequalities."
Haifa concluded, "The conference will allow us to present our findings to the industry and influence their thinking. Personally, I believe that while some aspects of the industry will prove difficult to change, there is more that can be done in the way job opportunities are created through better HR policy. This should ensure that men and women have an equal chance to progress in a rewarding career."
(Jim Evans)
