Let’s Spread the Word

Attend a manufacturing industry tradeshow, open house or other event and the one thing that’s constant across the board is that the number of men attending these events far outweighs the number of women. It’s indicative of the gender ratio for the entire manufacturing industry – not that women don’t necessarily take the time to attend or that men enjoy the events more than women. It’s because there are nearly three times as many men in manufacturing than women. While this is great for women when we need to use the bathroom during one of these events (no line because there are so few of us) it does present challenges in the workplace…and opportunities.

One of the greatest opportunities lies in the potential for young women coming into the industry. According to a recent (2013) Catalyst Research study, women account for 46.9% of the total U.S. labor force, but only 25% of the total labor force in manufacturing (durable goods). With today’s manufacturing industry struggling to find skilled workers, the opportunities for women are nearly boundless. But we have to let young women know what is available and what is possible.

Exposure is Key

I was exposed to manufacturing early. When I was in junior high, all students were required to take home economics and “shop” class. The boys had to learn how to sew and cook and the girls had to take wood shop and metal shop. While these were fairly basic classes, all of us learned how to wield a frying pan, a needle, a hammer and metal shears.

Even before then I was exposed. My father worked for two tire manufacturers over the course of his 35+ year career. He talked about his job and what it was like working in manufacturing. While in college, I worked summers there, driving a forklift and working in the plant. The understanding I gained about manufacturing processes has been invaluable throughout my career. And it’s one of the reasons I love to see how things are made.

We can start by showing our daughters (and sons) what we do, how we do it and where we do it. April 24, 2014 is national Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work day. I strongly suggest you do just that. Let our kids know how cool our industry really is.

Start the Conversation

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Women in Manufacturing Summit held in Dearborn, Michigan. This event brought together more than 200 women from manufacturing companies across the US. Of course we discussed the issue of gender disparity in our industry, but we also networked, attended seminars on topics including marketing and career development and went on tours of local manufacturing companies. While on the tour of the Detroit Diesel plant, I realized that I’ve truly become a manufacturing geek. It was REALLY COOL! An interesting fact about that plant – when it first opened, there was one women working there, and NO ladies’ bathrooms. She had to fight to get her own bathroom, but she did it (there are now a lot more women working there and a lot of ladies’ bathrooms).

During the conference we heard from women who have ascended the career ladder in manufacturing, including Linda Hubbard, President & COO of Carhartt, who came into manufacturing from the public accounting sector. One of the most inspiring stories came from Nancy Cole, the current president of the American Welding Society. If I remember correctly, she told us she was the first woman to graduate with an engineering degree from the University of Tennessee. Her father encouraged her because he wanted to make sure she would always be able to support herself.

This type of encouragement is necessary. We need to let young women know of the opportunities and possibilities. And it’s starting to happen. I saw this recent news story about a high school in Wisconsin that started an all-female engineering class. In addition to the curriculum, the young ladies will be exposed to successful women in manufacturing and have opportunities to visit local manufacturing facilities. They may not all go into manufacturing as a career, but the seeds are being planted. One of the quotes from a teacher in this program, Patrick Moerchen, is quite interesting: “If we are going to have any hope of replacing all the retiring baby boomers, we have to get women involved.”

Show Them the Money

In 2011 the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that people in manufacturing jobs made an average wage 28% higher than the average of all industries ($77,060 vs. $60,168). When you couple higher wages with available jobs, the case for pursuing a career in manufacturing becomes quite compelling. We just need to get the word out. There are jobs to be had. There is money to be made. And you don’t have to be a woman to help spread the news to young women.

Feel free to comment below and share your stories of inspiring women in manufacturing, or tell us what your company is doing to attract more female employees.

Julie Murphy is Marketing Manager, Okuma America Corporation.