The proportion of women engineers graduating has been falling steadily over the past two years
Even if the crisis has reduced the number of recruitments made, an engineering degree still represents a recognized asset for employers. Indeed, 90% of the female graduates from 2008 who are on the job market are currently employed. However, over the past two years, the proportion of women training as engineers has been trending down. For the first time in 2009, the number of female engineers fell, not only in terms of relative proportions (17% of engineers are women), but also in absolute terms (1,000 female engineers less between 2008 and 2009). There are numerous factors behind this. A number of investigations highlight a certain lack of interest among the youngest individuals in scientific and technical professions. Others reveal the impact of certain prejudices, which could explain why even though girls represent 39% of science students in the final year of high school, only 20% of them go on to higher education. This is combined with a lack of understanding of the professions and opportunities that exist.

Through a lack of information, 40% of young female engineers choose specializations that create only 20% of the jobs
In 2009, the service sector accounted for one quarter of the 48,400 engineers recruited, and more specifically IT services (engineering activities, IT service providers). Fewer female engineers were hired, notably because less and less of them are choosing to specialize in information technology (down 11% in two years), despite the many jobs available in this sector. This situation is even more paradoxical when you consider that young women use IT on a daily basis, and that this sector has one of the best employability levels for women, its positions offer a high level of stability (91% of women in the ICT sector have a permanent contract, compared with 83.7% for all engineers) and the average level of pay is higher, driven by the significant percentage of women over the age of 45 (€71,000 versus €50,000 for female engineers in general).

Women's skills are better recognized in businesses and 70% of engineers are in favor of mixed management
More than half of women consider that their skills as experts or team leaders are effectively recognized in businesses. For other indicators in which there was a major male-female gap in 2008, the situation is improving: +8% of women are involved in taking strategic decisions, +6% are project managers and +5% have responsibilities relating to budgets or revenues. However, the glass ceiling is still a reality, with 33% of women claiming to have management responsibilities, compared with 45% for men. This gap can still be seen for higher level positions: only 12% of women are members of management committees or executive boards (21% for all engineers).

For most engineers, a greater gender mix needs to be promoted in management, since this makes it possible to further strengthen the company's economic performance. One of the first actions to help make this happen, backed by more than 80% of the women engineers polled, concerns support for work and home life (flexible hours, support for parental leave, management of double mobility for couples). 20% of the organizations in which women engineers work today are focusing on this specific issue.

Orange has commissioned this research for the second year running in line with its commitment to encouraging young women to focus on scientific and technical sectors. In order to concretely promote gender equality in the workplace across all areas, Orange has also set itself a very ambitious objective for the feminization of all its management committees, representing 35% by 2015.