Review of the education policy to reduce the gender gap in engineering education in Ireland

Context This paper investigates European and national Irish education policy geared toward improving representation of women in engineering at the tertiary level of education in the context of the persistent underrepresentation of women in engineering and other Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction (EMC) fields. Purpose or Goal Our concern for general equity prompted the research questions: To what degree do current strategies at the European level aim to reduce the gender gap in engineering courses, and what has been enacted to counteract gender imbalance at the third level in Ireland? Methods This paper provides macro-level analysis by mapping out the public policies aimed at enhancing women's access to ECM courses in Ireland. Employing scoping review procedures, the study collects and critiques existing literature, seeking to establish connections and assess alignment between gender-related goals and policy levers. Outcomes We located and assessed eleven strategies and/or policies at the European and Irish levels. Conclusion Several current Irish policies are geared toward addressing the gender gap. Yet their gender-related effectiveness is hindered in two primary ways. First, the policies lack concrete actions to promote women's participation in STEM fields and only a subset of them acknowledge the gender gap as a significant issue requiring resolution. Second, although many of them identify the demand for engineers in the labour market, they do not explicitly address gender-related aspects of the existing gaps. As a result, the pursuit of this objective may inadvertently exacerbate the gender disparity rather than alleviate it by attracting men but not women.