The Ball Is Rolling, Now It Must Go Faster

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, there are currently around 12.1 million people working in manufacturing, making it the nation’s fifth largest employer. This represents a considerable bounce back after a prolonged period of decline in the early part of this century. And what’s particularly interesting is that 30% of those jobs are filled by women.

This isn’t quite a reason to break out the champagne. Currently, women account for around 47% of the general workforce, meaning the industry is still lagging behind many others. But it does, at least, provide a strong platform from which manufacturing companies can build a more gender-balanced future.

A whole new world

As for what’s driving this progress, there are several factors at play. Certainly, the perception of manufacturing as a dirty, dingy world is on the wane. Instead, word is spreading that the industry is now more about automation than perspiration. Meanwhile, the rigid technical jobs of the past have been replaced by more contemporary roles centered around innovation, problem-solving, adaptability and collaboration. These characteristics are, historically at least, more in line with what female workers look for in a career.

In its own way, COVID-19 helped too. Despite the disruption to operations and supply chains, the pandemic shone new light on the vital role manufacturers play in our daily lives — everything from putting food on the table to providing vital medicines and household goods. This, in turn, has made more people (both male and female) consider the industry as somewhere they can build a meaningful long-term career.

There are other positive changes as well. The growing focus on teaming, experimentation, attention to detail and hybrid working is making manufacturing feel like a more modern and inclusive place to work for all. In education, STEM subjects are not the male-dominated environment they used to be and, as a result, we’re seeing more women take on roles in engineering, quality control, product design and more. And while there is still work to do when it comes to creating more gender-balanced management teams — currently only one in four manufacturing leaders is female — these figures too are heading in the right direction.

Benefits for all

It’s not just employees who are feeling the benefits of a more mixed workforce. There is widespread recognition that diversity of perspectives, ideas, experience and skills is an important driver of a competitive edge for businesses, particularly when it comes to innovation in products and processes. Creating a more gender-diverse organization is therefore a key component in manufacturing firms’ long-term success.

The key is for them to go faster in opening the door for women to join the industry. This means ensuring every hiring process has a proper representation of female candidates on the slate — and in the interviewer’s seat. It means fostering a more flexible and family-centric culture that allows people of all genders to balance their professional and personal lives. And it means creating networks and cohorts, like the Society of Women Engineers, that bring together female workers to ensure they feel supported and empowered in their careers.

Now and next

Conversely, perhaps, a big part of accelerating toward future achievements involves celebrating past ones. Every year, the Manufacturing Institute’s MAKE awards recognize 100 emerging female leaders in the industry — all the way from the factory floor to the C-suite. Such initiatives are invaluable in showcasing the possibilities of modern manufacturing roles and inspiring other women to consider them.

What’s more, part of the award includes access to a professional training program, helping winners push forward more quickly in their own careers too. Similarly, the Manufacturing Institute’s 35×30 initiative, which aims to increase the percentage of female workers in manufacturing to 35% by 2030, underlines its commitment to building on the progress so far.

Yet, in truth, lasting transformation will come from looking beyond this generation, or indeed the next one. Instead, manufacturers must forge closer ties with educational institutions to help promote an interest in math and science among girls and young women all the way from elementary school through middle school and into high school. This should then extend greater opportunities for development and training as they pursue their adult manufacturing careers.

Boosting the long-term talent pipeline in this way is vital if manufacturing firms are to create a workforce with the breadth of technical and nontechnical capabilities required to reclaim their place as a leading power in the US economy and solve the widening skills gap at the same time. As these latest census figures show, there are reasons to believe a more gender-balanced workforce is within the industry’s grasp. The snowball is rolling. How fast it rolls and how big it gets depends on what manufacturers do next.

The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ernst & Young LLP or other members of the global EY organization.