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Masculinity in Engineering Research 2022

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, with male construction workers 3.7 times more likely to take their own life compared to the national average. Engineering and technology in the UK is a predominantly male profession, with men comprising over 89% of the workforce.

Engineering has a problem with mental ill-health amongst engineers and is losing people to suicide, with men 3.5 times more likely than women to say they have self-harmed or considered taking their own lives.

Only 31% of engineers feel included in the environment they work in, and less than a quarter of engineers would feel comfortable discussing their challenges battling depression, or financial stress with colleagues or their superiors.

Key Findings from 2022 Research:

  • Over 70% claim that men are expected to control their emotions by not showing weakness, fear or cry openly.
  • There is difference in the way women find engineering culture than men; half of them find it Masculine – only a fifth of men do so.
  • Only half of engineers feel comfortable talking about Stress with their employer
  • It is very uncomfortable discussing about depression and financial problems with employer
  • Over 4 in 5 experienced emotional/mental health issue.
  • A very high 25% considered self-harm/taking their own life.
  • Those who tried to self-harm belong to both genders, and 56% of them are young aged 18-34 years.

Click below to download the refreshed research report from 2022, and the original research from 2019.

Download the 2022 Report
Download the 2019 Report

Masculinity in Engineering Research 2022

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, with male construction workers 3.7 times more likely to take their own life compared to the national average. Engineering and technology in the UK is a predominantly male profession, with men comprising over 89% of the workforce.

Engineering has a problem with mental ill-health amongst engineers and is losing people to suicide, with men 3.5 times more likely than women to say they have self-harmed or considered taking their own lives.

Only 31% of engineers feel included in the environment they work in, and less than a quarter of engineers would feel comfortable discussing their challenges battling depression, or financial stress with colleagues or their superiors.

Key Findings from 2022 Research:

  • Over 70% claim that men are expected to control their emotions by not showing weakness, fear or cry openly.
  • There is difference in the way women find engineering culture than men; half of them find it Masculine – only a fifth of men do so.
  • Only half of engineers feel comfortable talking about Stress with their employer
  • It is very uncomfortable discussing about depression and financial problems with employer
  • Over 4 in 5 experienced emotional/mental health issue.
  • A very high 25% considered self-harm/taking their own life.
  • Those who tried to self-harm belong to both genders, and 56% of them are young aged 18-34 years.

Click below to download the refreshed research report from 2022, and the original research from 2019.

Download the 2022 Report
Download the 2019 Report

Masculinity in Engineering 2022 survey insights

The video below represents the highlights of the EqualEngineers Masculinity in Engineering 2022 survey, introducing some of the key insights of the report.

On demand Masculinity Webinar 2022

To celebrate the launch of the Masculinity in Engineering Research Report 2022, we have presented and discussed findings from the latest data, and shared insights in our Masculinity Webinar 2022. The event was held the 8th September 2022, in partnership with our guest speaker Jane Petit, CEO at My Foothold.

Click below to watch the on demand webinar.

On demand webinar

Dr Mark McBride-Wright 
Founder & Managing Director, EqualEngineers

The survey is the brainchild of Dr Mark McBride-Wright, who set up EqualEngineers, after years of working in the sector and seeing not only the challenges that the lack of diversity can bring, but also the risks posed to health, safety and wellbeing. Being a gay safety engineer himself, and setting up networking group InterEngineering for LGBT+ engineers gave him the drive to set up EqualEngineers as an organisation covering all aspects of diversity.

Mark says:

"For me, inclusivity in the workplace is a health and safety issue. Not being able to be open about who you are, because of attitudes and lack of diversity around you can lead to mental health issues and decreased wellbeing. In Construction, for example, an industry where suicide rates among men are more than three times the national average, more needs to be done to ensure that commitment to these issues goes much further than token inclusion policies.

Our survey revealed some alarming statistics that nearly one in 5 engineers have lost a work colleague to suicide, and over one in 5 have self-harmed or considered ending their own life through suicide.

We need to create parity of esteem between mental health and physical safety in engineering. We need to rapidly overhaul the way in which we approach culture change programmes within our industry, and we need to ensure everyone feels included, and is able to find their voice as part of the diversity narrative."

Results

The insights will inform methods for making sure men feel included in diversity and inclusion projects.

They will be used to inform Government lobbying to make Mental Health First Aider training mandatory.

They will be shared with organisations across the industry to help better inform intervention initiatives.

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