The Manufacturing Institute and Colonial Life have partnered to produce a study examining the efforts manufacturers are taking to recruit and retain women at their facilities. The new report features survey responses and interviews with manufacturing executives on how they are working to close the gender gap.
In a recent quote, Manufacturing Institute President Carolyn Lee said, “Women represent the largest untapped talent pool that manufacturers cannot ignore; in fact, raising the number of women in the manufacturing sector by 6% would be enough to fill almost every one of the 746,000 open jobs in manufacturing as of October. Earlier this year, the MI launched our 35×30 campaign, which aims to do just that—increase the percentage of women among manufacturers from 29%, where we hover now, to 35% by 2030 by changing perceptions among women and girls about manufacturing as a career, attracting and retaining more female employees.”
According to the research, there are several obstacles that dissuade women from exploring manufacturing as a career, including an absence of childcare, an inflexible work schedule, and a lack of company-provided career development.