The topic of how to attract more women to the field of manufacturing has been top of mind for many industry executives as they struggle to find talent to fill a variety of company roles, from engineering and operations on the factory floor to sales, marketing and field support. While there are正在努力教育年轻一代on the opportunities available, it is becoming increasingly clear that there’s a bigger societal shift that must take place to create momentum for future generations.
最近，德勤，APICS和制造学院对600多名妇女进行了调查，并进行了近20次制造执行访谈，以探索制造公司如何有效地吸引，招募和保留妇女，以及应采取的措施来缩小性别差距。被调查的妇女作为Deloitte Women in Manufacturing Study 2017are well-educated (90 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or above), experienced (71 percent have been working over 15 years), hold a variety of senior positions, and are employed by large companies (52 percent work in organizations with annual revenue over $1 billion).
那么，女人怎么说？根据该报告，鉴于妇女在制造业方面的代表性不足，并且增加女性人才的论点是有说服力的，因此可以肯定的是：制造公司需要另一种方法来招募，保留和推进工作场所的妇女。而且，这直接转化为公司的文化以及整个行业。
The executive interviews done for the report—conducted with both men and women—produced a handful of key things: Employee diversity makes good business sense; the gaps between expectations and workplace realities can be better addressed; women leaders need more visibility; companies need to attract qualified people early (because once they come, they stay); more attention could be given to the ‘group in the middle’ (i.e. women at career points where work/life balance becomes complex should be retained and engaged); and allies and advocates, at all levels and across genders, need to be identified and engaged.
It’s time to talk
Keeping these key points in mind,PMMI的包装与处理女性领导网络（PPWLN）held a breakfast panel atPACK EXPO International and Healthcare Packaging EXPOthat brought together industry leaders for a candid conversation on how the industry can assist in building a diversified workforce.
The discussion, moderated by Jane Chase, executive director at theInstitute of Packaging Professionals, included panelists Carol O’Neill, group president, packaging forBarry-Wehmiller; Hugh Roddy, vice president, global engineering and project management atChobani; and AJ Jorgenson, associate vice president of strategic engagement at TheManufacturing Institute。
It was an energetic dialogue between the industry professionals and an interactive exchange with the audience (of over 500 attendees), who were encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentation. Chase kicked off the conversation with the question, “Why do you feel women are underrepresented in manufacturing?”
“有很多历史克服回应道Barry-Wehmiller’s O’Neill. “The vision of what manufacturing is is that of a dark, dirty, heavy-lifting environment with pin-up calendars on the wall, and your role would be a cog in a wheel, which doesn’t sound exciting.”
The industry’s reputation is a clear obstacle, Chobani’s Roddy agreed, which is why the mindset of what manufacturing ‘is’ must change, and that must start early on in the education of young boys and girls. “Everyone has obstacles, male and female,” noting that his own upbringing in Ireland didn’t provide a full picture of the career opportunities and, consequently, it wasn’t a goal of his to work in manufacturing as an electrical engineer. Rather, he sort of just fell into it. But, he said, changing an industry starts with the individual. “It comes down to respect for everyone. I personally treat everyone with respect, whether they are putting a case on a pallet or sitting at the reception desk. Remember, they have lives outside of manufacturing and it’s important to feel good at work.”
The ability to balance work and life are also important—for men and women—which is why Chobani recently implemented a parenting policy that gives both mothers and fathers six weeks paid leave after the birth of a child or the arrival of foster or adopted children.
It’s a commendable program, but once parents are back to work, the equality must continue on the job. Jorgenson, who started her career at candy company火星公司，在加入之前National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)这是制造研究所的母公司，是双胞胎的母亲。重返工作岗位后，她的许多同事认为她不想旅行或开展一项重大倡议，事实并非如此。“我们的女总统说，‘到目前为止，她一直在成功地做到这一点，让她这样做。'假设是，如果您有孩子，您会自动排除职业。”
On the topic of career choice, Jorgenson noted that children of parents who work in manufacturing are three times more likely to get a job in manufacturing. Despite the great efforts by associations, corporations and colleges to introduce manufacturing as a career at the high school level, “they need to know by middle school, or even elementary school, what manufacturing is,” she said.
Dealing with discrimination
关于在工厂地板上处理歧视，或者被男同事解雇，有时甚至骚扰的观众有一些问题和评论。一位女人指出，“女人必须更加努力才能获得一半的尊重，”她讲述了一场事件，当时她与男性进行了非常技术性的工作对话，他突然中断了她，告诉她她很漂亮。“我应该如何回应该评论？”
观众和小组中的其他人提出了一些建议，包括建议找到可以为这些情况做准备的导师。但更重要的是，即使这意味着与客户进行艰难的对话，也要确保您的团队认真对待它。
“It’s really all of our responsibility to handle these situations when they happen,” O’Neill said. “We had a high-level customer treat someone on our team with disrespect and his counterpart didn’t do anything to stop it. When I heard, we communicated back to the client and our team member on the spot that those comments must be discouraged and to not allow it to happen again.”
Whatever you do, don’t laugh it off, which only enables the behavior. “We have to change it,” Jorgenson said. “Create allies, so maybe it’s not you addressing it but another colleague saying ‘what did you just say to her?’ Create the right kind of atmosphere to call it out.”
Roddy reinforced that thought, noting that women should speak out as well as seek help from someone in the organization who understands. “Listening and mentorship go hand-in-hand,” Roddy said. “I’m an engineer and I sometimes look at things differently than others until someone once said to me, ‘Just listen.' Embrace change by listening to everyone on the plant floor to empower [the organization] from the ground-up.”
Ultimately, having more women on staff will help a company succeed. According to the Deloitte report, research shows that gender diversity benefits a manufacturing firm through improved ability to innovate, higher return on equity (ROE) and increased profitability. So when trying to change minds to change a culture, start with the facts.
“事实上,团队使公司有更多的女性more profitable,” said Jorgenson.
点击hereto see the video of the PPWLN breakfast panel at PACK EXPO International, as well as past presentations.
