For women looking for a career in an industry with challenge, excitement and ample opportunities for professional growth, there has never been a better time to seek employment in the manufacturing industry.

Manufacturers have awakened to the value of operating an inclusive workplace where different viewpoints are accepted and encouraged. Not only are more women seeking jobs and careers in manufacturing, but employers are actively recruiting them. They are recognizing that diversity promotes a more dynamic and creative environment that improves employee morale, enhances retention and adds to the bottom line.

To attract more women to manufacturing jobs, the industry is engaging in a coordinated effort to prove to women they can succeed in a manufacturing career. For example, Manufacturing Institute's 35×30 campaign is striving to close the gender gap within the industry and build a more diverse workforce by empowering and inspiring women through recognition, research and leadership. This initiative aims to increase the percentage of women in the industry from 30 to 35 percent by 2030, which would add approximately 800,000 new female workers. Consequently, more women are envisioning a place for themselves in this increasingly complex and challenging industry.

Why Manufacturing Is Opening the Doors for Women

The industry continues to struggle due to a nationwide labor shortage, which has inflicted longer lead times, reduced output and lost revenue on manufacturers. According to a study conducted by Deloitte, the industry could face a painful shortfall of 2.4 million workers by the year 2028. Part of this is due to the “Great Retirement” sweeping the baby boomer generation. Another factor is the lack of skills needed for the more technical jobs created by artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, and other advanced technologies that are essential for meeting the demands of today’s manufacturing customers.

Demographic shifts and ongoing changes in the nature of manufacturing work also present challenges. To address these issues, industry leaders have launched a collaborative effort with businesses, policymakers and educators to attract more women to fill empty jobs. Initiatives inside and outside the industry include investing in training and education, offering competitive wages and benefits, improving working conditions, leveraging technology, partnering with community organizations, and advocating for policy changes. Industry leaders believe these steps can help ensure the long-term viability of the manufacturing industry and support economic growth in America.

There are other factors at stake that are creating demand for more employees.

• Modern manufacturing requires more high-tech jobs. Manufacturers are actively seeking women with a wide range of skills requiring advanced degrees, such as design, programming, administration, sales, finance and cybersecurity. With more women earning college degrees than men, the playing field is ripe for hiring women for these advanced positions.
• Increased demand for STEM skills. Manufacturing is no longer just about grinding, cutting, shaping and assembling materials. Increasingly, employees with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related skills are needed to help the industry keep up with new technologies and manufacturing processes. Women excel in this area and will find long-term, steady employment at manufacturers offering STEM-focused jobs.
• The value of a diverse workforce. With continuing advances in technology, software and automation, the next generation will need a broader set of skills and the ability to adapt to ongoing changes in the industry. A diverse workforce helps close skills gaps, attracts skilled workers, and improves productivity, among other things. In an industry of constant change, diversity plays a key role in encouraging workers to bring their whole selves to the workplace, fostering creativity and innovation.

With such a large talent pool to tap into, manufacturing can’t afford to ignore the abundant recruiting opportunities for women. Partnering with community organizations and advocating for policy changes will play an important role in changing the perception of the manufacturing industry and expanding ways to recruit more women.

One Woman’s Manufacturing Journey

In the past, landing a job in the manufacturing industry could have presented a challenge for women. Yet, those with the desire, fortitude and commitment to work their way up the ladder were able to find good jobs with manufacturing companies. Pamela Grady, a senior consultant for Global Shop Solutions, is one such woman.

“Manufacturing has always fascinated me,” says Grady. “After all these years I still enjoy walking into CNC machine shops and standing in awe of the ability to throw metal onto a machine, program and cut it, and make something useful out of it. I now work for an ERP software company that provides me the opportunity to help manufacturers with their processes and businesses every day. I love working with manufacturers and remain fascinated by what they do and how they do it.”

Prior to working with Global Shop Solutions, Grady plied her trade with three different manufacturers. Her first job started as an inventory clerk for a semiconductor firm. Her desire to learn and understand everything she could about business operations led to one promotion after another until she finally landed the position of master scheduler. She went on to work for an aerospace defense manufacturer and then a machining and fabrication job shop before joining Global Shop Solutions.

Throughout her 20 years with the three manufacturing businesses, Grady held a wide variety of positions, including purchasing agent, scheduler/production controller, planning manager, bill of materials (BOM) planning manager, quality manager, supply chain manager, and more. Along the way she earned a Six Sigma certification and an Associate of Applied Science degree.

She also received on-the-job ERP training and the more she interacted with the software, the more she wondered if that might be her next step. When the opportunity arose, Grady did not hesitate to make the career move.

“I knew for a long time that consulting is what I was meant to do,” says Grady. “Several times I had participated in the complex process of implementing ERP for manufacturers, and I always thought it would be fun to work for the ERP company helping customers rather than being one. When I came aboard it felt like home.”

For the past 12 years Grady has traveled throughout the United States helping manufacturers improve their ERP skills and simplify their processes. For example, she has taught many manufacturers how to drastically reduce the time and engineering costs required to build massive BOMs for large, complex projects. Besides training users to use the software to its full extent, Grady also specializes in engineer to order, forecasting, capacity planning and scheduling and quality. She has helped customers determine their proper capacity, how to manage their scheduling exceptions, and how to integrate third party software and applications, such as nesting for advanced mechanized metal cutting, EDI to automate and integrate B2B transactions, and many more.

Regardless of the problem or the need for improvement, Grady takes the time to review the customer’s processes and determine the best path to incorporate them into the ERP system. With the process data accurately loaded into their ERP, she removes what doesn’t add value, and works with the customer to implement new processes, reduce labor time, lower costs, improve quality and minimize defects.

Skills That Earn Respect and Advancement

The skills women bring to the manufacturing environment shouldn’t be overlooked in the recruiting process. Speaking from her experience, Grady considers the following skills valuable to all women wanting to establish a career in manufacturing.

• Experience vs. education. Many of today’s manufacturing jobs require a minimum of a college degree to qualify for employment, especially with technology, data processing, design and other related positions. Women who decide early on to seek a job that requires higher education should take advantage of the programs offered by universities, yet still learn what they can about manufacturing operations through hands-on experience. Although her Associate of Applied Science degree was helpful, Grady credits her move up the ladder to her on-the-job experience. Taking the initiative to learn as much as she could about the companies she worked for drove her continual advancement and led her to where she is today.
• Listening and hearing. Giving customers your undivided attention so you can hear what they’re saying is a big asset, not just for consultants but for anyone trying to help a manufacturing company resolve problems or simplify processes. Grady believes that active listening is an innate skill for most women, giving them an advantage in building relationships and making others feel heard and understood. If a colleague, vendor or customer isn’t responding well to you, it’s often a matter of not hearing what they said. Were you really listening to what they were trying to tell you? Are you able to reiterate what they’ve said? If not, don’t expect to build long-term business relationships with them.
• Find the right approach. In the manufacturing business you learn quickly what works and what doesn’t. Finding the right approach to work with a customer requires being patient and hearing what they have to say. In the beginning, building the relationship is more important than just getting stuff done. When manufacturers can communicate with others in an open and trusting manner it fosters a positive work atmosphere where people can reach agreement on what works and what doesn’t – an important starting point for resolving problems and making process changes.
• Ways to communicate effectively. Unfortunately, male bias remains alive throughout the industry. In Grady’s experience, others will often assume you don’t know what you’re doing regarding their business. Instead of being offended, put a smile on your face and express how you have helped to resolve this type of issue before.
• Show you know what you’re doing. Female consultants often receive “you have no idea what you’re doing in here” looks from the men in the room. Grady encourages women to respond by taking a tour of their operations, asking questions, and talking about what they’re doing. It won’t take long for them to realize you know their business and how they operate.
• Trust your instincts. Grady emphasizes the importance of trusting and going with your gut. In most cases your instincts and intuition will tell you exactly what you already know.

Manufacturing Stands Tall When We All Work Together

Women and men have the same capacity to contribute to manufacturing. Without the opportunity to prove it, manufacturing in the United States will never reach its full potential. Including more women in the industry brings a valuable infusion of new ideas, different perspectives, talent and innate skills into this vital sector of the American economy. Meeting the challenges of modern manufacturing relies on a diverse, multifaceted approach to problem solving, production and leadership, and that can’t be achieved unless women are welcomed into the industry. Manufacturing jobs are the kinds of jobs that make America strong, and we’re stronger when we all stand together.