Women still choose STEM studies less often than men, but the share of women starting such courses has risen steadily over recent years.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), women made up 36 percent of first‑semester university entrants in STEM fields in the 2024 academic year-its highest level to date. Ten years earlier that proportion was 31 percent.
The distribution varies widely among disciplines: interior design saw an 87 percent female share, while vehicle engineering attracted only 10 percent women.
In total, slightly more women than men began university studies: women accounted for 52 percent of all first‑semester students in 2024.
Of all first‑semester entrants, 39 percent (about 318,800 people) chose a STEM discipline. Computer science led the way with 45,800 new students, followed by mechanical engineering with 23,100 and business informatics with 22,000.
The total number of STEM first‑semester entrants rose by 3 percent compared to 2023, a slightly higher increase than the 2 percent rise observed for all disciplines. In absolute terms, there were about 823,900 first‑semester students in STEM in 2024-2 percent above the 2023 figure. However, on a long‑term basis, STEM entrants are 5 percent lower than they were a decade ago.
Besides university study, apprenticeships in STEM professions also provide entry into the field. In 2024, 167,700 persons started a STEM apprenticeship-5 percent more than in 2014, when 159,300 new contracts were signed. During the same period the overall number of new apprenticeships fell 8 percent, from 514,000 in 2014 to 475,100 in 2024.
The most common apprenticeship in STEM in 2024 was for power plant / tool mechanics (24,300 new contracts), followed by IT specialists (17,200) and electronics technicians (14,400).
Regarding gender, 88 percent of new STEM apprentices were men and 12 percent were women, a ratio that has remained almost unchanged over the last ten years (2014: 89 percent men, 11 percent women).
Large differences also exist among individual STEM occupations. New electronics technicians and plant mechanics for HVAC systems had a female share of only 3 percent, whereas eye opticians and media designers (digital and print) had a female share of 72 percent.
