During the world wars of the previous century women came to the rescue. They stepped up to take the manufacturing jobs in place of men who had been enlisted. Now, women could also come to the rescue and solve the increasingly critical labour crisis in manufacturing, according to an article in Gallup’s Workplace by Jennifer Robison.
Of course, there are already many women in manufacturing. However, they still only make up 29% of the manufacturing labour force and 7% in middle-skilled jobs. So what can we do to increase this?
According to a Manufacturing Institute Study, it is not that women don’t want to work in manufacturing. Far from it, 70% of those currently employed in manufacturing say that they would stay in the sector if they started their career today. 42% would also encourage their daughter or female family member to work in the sector.
Although these figures and research are from the US, they would still reflect similar patterns in Australia and Europe.
So what can we all do to encourage more women into manufacturing? Jennifer Robison’s article provides a few answers. Read the article here.