Addressing the “gender gap” in the managerial labour market: The case of scientific small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the North East of England

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the “gender management gap” in the scientific labour market in the North East of England. The paper seeks to compare and contrast employment, ownership, management structure and capacity between men and women in the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) sector.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical investigation is based on a survey of 60 SET‐based small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), operating in the North East of England.Findings – The results show that women are particularly under‐represented in managerial and senior positions of scientific nature in the private sector in the North East of England. The “glass ceiling” effect appears to be widespread.Research limitations/implications – There are very limited empirical data and research on the nature and level of participation of women in the scientific managerial labour market at firm level in the UK. There is a need for more rigorous research at firm and regional levels to examine the cumulative e...