Methodology

About the monitor

We released the first edition of the STEM Equity Monitor on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2020. This is the fifth edition, and we will update it annually until 2029. 

The monitor gives national data on girls’ and women’s participation in and engagement with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) across 4 stages of the pathway:

• primary and secondary school
• higher education
• graduation outcomes
• the workforce.

It collects and standardises data from a range of sources into a single publication. 

Each data page gives interactive data visualisations and high-level observations from the data. Users can filter or reconfigure the interactive data to make their own observations. As the relevant issues are different for each stage of the pathway, data in each section is not comparable to other sections.

The monitor aims to help policymakers and the STEM sector understand where progress is being made. It can also show where they should focus future investment in programs and policies to improve gender equity in STEM.

Unless specifically indicated, significance testing has not been carried out on data in the monitor.

Acknowledgements

Our department would like to thank the following organisations, which contributed data to the STEM Equity Monitor:

• Australian Antarctic Division (AAD)
• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
• Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
• Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
• Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
• Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)
• Australian Research Council (ARC)
• Bureau of Meteorology (BoM)
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
• Department of Education
• Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG)
• Geoscience Australia (GA)
• National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
• Social Research Centre
• YouthInsight (the research arm of Student Edge)
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)

We would also like to thank the Office of the Chief Scientist and all those who have contributed support and advice through the development of the monitor.

Data labelling for gender, women and men

The Australian Government recognises that some people identify as and are recognised in the community as either or both:

• a gender other than the biological sex they were assigned at birth or during infancy
• a gender which is neither, or not exclusively, woman or man.

That’s why we use the terms ‘gender’, ‘women’ and ‘men’ to identify the data in the monitor. These terms (and ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ for minors) encompass everyone who identifies as women/girls or men/boys, whether they be:

• cisgender (someone whose gender identity corresponds with the sex assigned at birth)
• transgender
• non-binary
• intersex.

Some data may have been collected and recorded by sex. However, recognising the government’s preferred approach to collect information by gender wherever possible (and for consistency) the terms ‘gender’, ‘women’ and ‘men’ will be used throughout.

Some data sources include information for people who don’t identify as a woman/girl or man/boy. This information is not shown in visualisations, except for perceptions and attitudes to STEM among gender diverse youth. There are also some pages where data for non-binary and gender diverse people can be shown in commentary. This is stated on relevant pages. 

View the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender.

STEM definitions

The monitor considers STEM to include the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This is consistent with the approach in Australia’s STEM Workforce report (Office of the Chief Scientist 2020). The monitor takes the Chief Scientist’s definition of STEM education fields, which is sourced from the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED). It then matches these to research fields from the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC).

The monitor also uses qualifications in STEM education fields to define STEM-qualified occupations and STEM-qualified industries. The monitor considers an occupation or industry to be STEM-qualified if the majority of workers in the occupation or industry reported a qualification in a STEM field of education in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. However, the monitor also recognises that STEM-qualified graduates work in wide range of sectors across the workforce.

Previous editions of the monitor were based on education and occupation data from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. Changes to definitions of STEM- and Health-qualified occupations and industries are described below. Definitions based on the 2021 Census of Population and Housing have been applied over entire time series throughout the monitor (unless otherwise specified) to ensure data can be tracked over time on a consistent basis.

This monitor does not include health in the definition of STEM. However, health is recognised as a closely related field that people with STEM qualifications may enter. It is often included in broader definitions of STEM. The monitor allows users to view health data as well as STEM, so they can see the results for STEMM – science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.

STEM fields of education and research

Education and research fields are defined by the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) and Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC). 

Consistent with the Australian STEM Workforce report (Office of the Chief Scientist 2020), the monitor’s STEM definition uses STEM education fields at the 2-digit level.

Source: Office of the Chief Scientist (2020)

These are mapped across the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) to define the ‘STEM research fields’. 

From the 2024 edition and into the future, the monitor uses ANZSRC 2020. Previous editions of the monitor used ANZSRC 2008.

*Note: Division 45 Indigenous Studies is reported together at the 2-digit level in the monitor, as a non-STEM field of research. However the table above reflects that, where possible, groups 4506 and 4517 should be included in analysis as STEM fields of research.

Source: ABS (2020)

STEM-qualified occupations

STEM-qualified occupations are defined by identifying occupation classes in which more than 50% of workers reported a VET or university STEM qualification in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing.

VET qualifications identified in the Census were non-school qualifications at the following levels:

• certificate
• advanced diploma and diploma.

University qualifications identified in the Census were non-school qualifications at the following levels:

• bachelor degree
• graduate diploma and graduate certificate
• postgraduate degree.

This method was developed with support from the Office of the Chief Economist. Occupations were analysed using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) at a 4-digit level. Data for this analysis was originally sourced from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing and was then updated using the 2021 Census of Population and Housing.

This same methodology has been applied to classify the roles reported in the 2021 Australian Public Service (APS) Employee Census as STEM, health and non-STEM. For publicly funded research agencies, participating agencies defined which occupations in their agency were STEM, health and non-STEM. They based this either on our methodology or through a self-determined analysis. Agencies also aligned classification levels in the organisation to equivalent levels in the APS if they do not use standard APS classifications. 

Some staff in senior positions may be described as being in management or leadership occupations, so may not be captured under STEM.

* Note: Based on highest qualification stated in ABS (2021).

Based on updated analysis from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing, a small number of the occupations below have remained STEM occupations but have moved between categories. For example, in previous editions of the monitor, some occupations were VET STEM-qualified and have changed to mixed STEM-qualified.

Some occupations are no longer identified as STEM. These are:

• primary product inspectors (code 3113)
• vehicle body builders and trimmers (code 3242)
• printers (code 3923)
• upholsterers (code 3933).

Unless otherwise specified, the occupations shown below have been applied over entire time series throughout the monitor to ensure data can be tracked over time on a consistent basis.

The ANZSCO occupations ‘Actuaries, mathematicians and statisticians’ (code 2241) and ‘Other natural and physical science professionals’ (code 2349) were included in the STEM occupation definition, even though they were not identified using the description in Table 3. Only 33% of the workers in the occupation ‘Actuaries, mathematicians and statisticians’ and 39% of the workers in occupation ‘Other natural and physical science professionals’ declared a STEM qualification as their highest qualification. The most common fields of education for people in these occupations were ‘Management and Commerce’ and ‘Health’ respectively. We decided to include these in the list of STEM occupations because of the core STEM skills required by those occupations. 

Note: Occupations marked with ‘nfd’ (not further defined) denotes responses and occupations which are not classified into the other defined categories by the ABS.

Source: ABS (2022)

Note: Occupations marked with ‘nfd’ (not further defined) denotes responses and occupations which are not classified into the other defined categories by the ABS.

Source: ABS (2022)

Note: Occupations marked with ‘nfd’ (not further defined) denotes responses and occupations which are not classified into the other defined categories by the ABS.

Source: ABS (2022)

STEM-qualified industries

STEM-qualified industries in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) are defined as industries in which more than 50% of workers reported a STEM qualification from VET or university (Table 3) in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. Note there were no industries which qualified as STEM industries based on university level qualifications alone.

Based on updated analysis from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing, a small number of the industries below have remained STEM industries but have moved between categories.

Some industries are no longer identified as STEM. These are:

• Forestry support services (code 051)
• Iron and steel forging (code 221)
• Metal container manufacturing (code 223).

Unless otherwise specified, the industries shown below have been applied over entire time series throughout the monitor to ensure data can be tracked over time on a consistent basis.

The ANZSIC industry ‘Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services’ (code 692) was included in the STEM industry definition, even though it was not identified based on the description in Table 3. Only 41% of the workers in this industry declared a STEM qualification as their highest qualification. That’s because this code includes the ‘Architectural Service Industry’, which does not meet the definition of a STEM-qualified industry. However, there are 4-digit code industries classified under ‘Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services’ that meet the definition of STEM-qualified industries. These include:

• 6922 Surveying and Mapping Services
• 6923 Engineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services
• 6925 Scientific Testing and Analysis Services.

We made the decision to include ‘Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services’ in the list of STEM industries because of the core STEM skills required, as shown by the 4-digit industries in it.

Beverage and tobacco manufacturing, nfd (code 120) and ‘Electricity Transmission’ (code 262) were also identified through this process. Data is not collected for these industries so they have not been included in the monitor. This is because of insufficient sample sizes of organisations in these industries that reported to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

Source: ABS (2013)

Source: ABS (2013)

Health fields

We include health fields in the monitor, but they are reported separately from STEM fields. These fields rely heavily on the application of STEM skills and knowledge but do not fit the monitor’s classification of STEM. 

Health education (ASCED ‘Health’ classification – Code 06) was used to define research fields (see Table 7) and health-qualified occupations and industries. These are defined as those where 50% or more of the workforce report a ‘Health’ (ASCED code 06) qualification in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing (see tables 6 to 9). This follows the same methodology as STEM-qualified occupations and industries.

Where possible, health data is presented in the interactive data to allow comparison with STEM data or combination with STEM data to present ‘STEMM’ (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) results.

Data on researchers working in health or non-STEM fields of research (as defined by the monitor) does not indicate that they do not hold STEM qualifications or are not working in a STEM occupation.

These fields report notably different demography and pathways for women. Data on women’s participation in health fields (across education, research, occupations and industries) is captured and reported in a separate category. This is to give evidence for, and greater understanding of, the differences and relationships between these fields and STEM fields. 

Based on updated analysis from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing, a small number of the occupations below have remained Health occupations but have moved between categories.

Source: ABS (2001)

*Note: Division 45 Indigenous Studies is reported together at the 2-digit level in the monitor, as a non-STEM field of research. However the table above reflects that, where possible, groups 4504 and 4516 should be included in analysis as Health fields of research.

Source: ABS (2020)

Source: ABS (2022)

Source: ABS (2022)

Source: ABS (2022)

Source: ABS (2013)

Source: ABS (2013) 

Data sources

Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) (2015) Australian government guidelines on the recognition of sex and gender, AGD, Australian Government, accessed 13 January 2022.

Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, AAD, Australian Government, accessed 6 December 2023.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2023) ‘EQ08 – Employed persons by occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), sex, state and territory, August 1986 onwards’ [data table], Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, November, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001, ABS website, Australian Government, accessed 12 January 2024.

—— (2016) Census of Population and Housing, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 January 2022.

—— (2022) Census of Population and Housing, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2022.

—— (2021) Women in STEM longitudinal analysis of the 2011 higher education cohort and completion rate analysis of the 2012–16 cohort, analysis supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 7 December 2021

—— (2024) Women in STEM longitudinal employment analysis of the 2011 higher education cohort, 2021 outcomes, analysis supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 12 January 2024.

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, ACIAR, Australian Government, accessed 20 December 2023.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2023), National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Achievement in Reading, Writing and Numeracy: National Results 2023, ACARA, accessed 15 December 2023.

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, AIMS, Australian Government, accessed 4 December 2023.

Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, ANSTO, Australian Government, accessed 1 December 2023.

Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) (unpublished) (2023) APS employee census by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, APSC, Australian Government, accessed 14 December 2023.

Australian Research Council (ARC) (2018) Gender and the research workforce – excellence in research for Australia (ERA) 2018, accessed 12 February 2020.

—— (unpublished) (2024) Gender outcomes: National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) trend data, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, ARC, Australian Government, accessed 5 February 2024.

Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, BoM, Australian Government, accessed 10 January 2024.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, CSIRO, accessed 11 December 2023.

Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, DSTG, Department of Defence, Australian Government, accessed 11 December 2023.

Department of Education (unpublished) (2023) Research staff by field of education, duty classification and year, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Department of Education, Australian Government, accessed 17 January 2024.

—— (2024) Student enrolments and award completions by field of education, gender and year, Department of Education, Australian Government, accessed 16 January 2024.

—— (unpublished) (2023) Year 12 enrolments by subject, key learning area and gender, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Department of Education, accessed 20 November 2023.

Geoscience Australia (unpublished) (2023) Research workforce by type of work, gender, and classification levels, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Geoscience Australia, Australian Government, accessed 11 December 2023.

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) (2023) Total VET students and courses [data set], DataBuilder, NCVER website, accessed 23 November 2023.

—— (unpublished) (2023) VET student outcomes, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, NCVER, accessed 20 December 2023.

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (unpublished) (2024) Research funding statistics and data, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, NHMRC, Australian Government, accessed 25 January 2024.

Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) (2016) Australia’s STEM workforce, OCS, Australian Government, accessed 13 January 2022.

—— (2020) Australia’s STEM workforce, OCS, Australian Government, accessed 13 January 2022.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2023) PISA 2022 Results, Volume 1, Executive Summary, Table I.3. Snapshot of gender gaps in performance, accessed 16 January 2024.

Social Research Centre (2023) Graduate outcomes survey (GOS) 2023 national tables [data set], Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT), accessed 24 June 2024.

—— (unpublished) (2023) Median salary, skill utilisation, and part time employment, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Social Research Centre, accessed 21 December 2023.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) (unpublished) (2024) WGEA data, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, WGEA, Australian Government, accessed 6 February 2024.

YouthInsight (2023), 2023-24 Youth in STEM survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 3 November, 2023.

—— (2022) 2022–23 STEM influencer – Teacher and career adviser survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 13 October 2022.

—— (2022) 2022–23 STEM influencer – Parents survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 13 October 2022.

——   (2021), 2021-22 Youth in STEM survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 18 November, 2021.

——  (2021) 2020–21 STEM influencer – Teacher and career adviser survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 25 March 2021.

—— (2021) 2020–21 STEM influencer – Parents survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 25 March 2021.

—— (2021) 2020–21 STEM Influencer – Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander educator survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 25 March 2021.

—— (2020) 2019–20 Youth in STEM survey, report to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, YouthInsight, accessed 26 March 2020.

Additional resources

These resources include explanatory notes on source data and definitions.

AlphaBeta (2018) Digital innovation report: Australia’s $315b opportunity, report to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO’s) Data 61, CSIRO, Australian Government, accessed 29 January 2020.

Attorney General’s Department (AGD) (2015) Australian government guidelines on the recognition of sex and gender, AGD, Australian Government, accessed 24 September 2019.

Australian Academy of Science (AAS) (2019) Women in STEM: Decadal plan, AAS, Australian Government, accessed 29 January 2020.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2001) Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001, cat no. 1272.0, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 6 October 2022.

—— (2013) Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (revision 2.0), cat no. 1292.0, ABS, Australian Government, viewed 6 October 2022.

—— (2022)  Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), 2021 cat no. 1220.0, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 24 November 2022.

—— (2008) Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), cat no. 1297.0, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 6 February 2020.

—— (2020) Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), ABS, Australian Government, accessed 12 December 2022.

Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) (2016) School subject coder, AIFS, Australian Government, accessed 18 October 2022.

Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) (unpublished) (2021) Maths subject classification, data set supplied to the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, AMSI, accessed 1 November 2022.

Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) (2022) Australian public service employee census explanatory guide, APSC, Australian Government, accessed 28 November 2022.

—— (2022) Job family framework, APSC, Australian Government, accessed 28 November 2022

—— (2019) APS employee census 2019 – Participant information, APSC, Australian Government, accessed 11 October 2021.

Department of Industry, Science and Resources (2019) Advancing women in STEM, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Australian Government, accessed 29 January 2020.

—— (2020) Advancing women in STEM: Action plan, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Australian Government, accessed 6 December 2020.

Social Research Centre (2019) Study areas, Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) website, accessed 15 December 2019.

Thomson S, De Bertoli L, Underwood C, Schmid M (2019) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018: Reporting Australia’s results, volume 1 student performance,  Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), accessed 12 December 2019.