Attracting and engaging women in Canadian manufacturing
By Greg Davis and Mark Giunta for Global News
The Canadian federal government is investing nearly $500,000 for a pilot project to increase women’s participation in the manufacturing sector.
At Steelworks Design in Peterborough on Thursday, Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef, the Minister of Status of Women, announced the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) will receive $498,000 in federal funding for a three-year pilot project aiming to “attract and inspire more women and youth to pursue a career in manufacturing.”
The project, entitled “Untapped Potential: Attracting and Engaging Women in Canadian Manufacturing,” will see CME create regional networks to work with a national working group to attract more women into manufacturing professions and create “more inclusive and diverse workplaces.”
A 2016 CME management issues survey indicated that nearly 40 per cent of respondents are currently facing labour and/or skills shortages. Moreover, 16 per cent of businesses stated that ongoing shortages may force them to shift production and investment outside of Canada.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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