WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As one of his very first acts in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to stimulate manufacturing in the United States. This promises to be a great opportunity for American women: As we begin to rebuild from the COVID-ravaged economy, women especially could gain from the good pay and benefits offered by manufacturing jobs. And American industry could use more diversity to enhance its workforce.
Manufacturing isn’t what it once was: Today, the best jobs don’t entail lifting crates on a loading dock or pulling a truck through a warehouse. With increasing robotics, automation and digital technology, many workers use their brains, not their brawn. Industry increasingly depends on those workers, and they are in short supply. A 2018 Deloitte study projected that U.S. manufacturing will face a skills gap of 2.4 million unfilled jobs by 2028.
Women, who currently occupy only one out of three manufacturing jobs, can fill that need. With the right education and training, they are well-positioned to provide the know-how that factories and plants need to prosper in the coming years. The potential is enormous for young women looking ahead toward promising careers – as well as for women who currently work in manufacturing and who want to move up the ranks but are facing a stubborn glass ceiling. Research has repeatedly shown that a gender-diverse and racially diverse workforce is a smart investment that yields high returns for a company’s bottom line.
Unfortunately, the manufacturing world is still not a welcoming one for women.
According to a new research report from the American Association of University Women, women are more likely than men to leave jobs in manufacturing — and more likely to leave their jobs than women in other industries. Why? Sadly, it’s because they encounter sexual harassment, unequal pay and lack of opportunities to advance in a male-dominated workplace.
Kim Churches is CEO of the American Association of University Women. (AAUW photo)
Our research team surveyed 214 women who work in manufacturing. Their comments were eye-popping. Many described male-oriented environments that were unsupportive, patronizing and even abusive.
“They give us easier jobs because they silently believe we aren’t capable of doing as much as the men,” one woman told us. “It’s humiliating.” Another said she had to “work twice as hard” to earn the same recognition as the men she works with.
Some workplaces are more supportive than others, of course. But all manufacturers should take these concerns seriously and recognize their self-interest in doing so. Employers need to take firm steps to prohibit sexual harassment. This entails creating clearly defined sexual-harassment policies, instituting complaint procedures and doing a better job of training to prevent problems. Companies also must ensure equality in pay and promotions. Pay audits, greater transparency and setting current wages without regard to past salary history all will help. Manufacturers — like all employers — need to modify their workplaces to bring them more in line with the reality of how today’s families live. Paid parental and medical leave, flextime and other benefits that help employees balance their tasks at work with those at home can be especially helpful to women.
Beyond that, policies that help students pay for education and keep loans affordable will help more women attain marketable skills, while expanding the pipeline of skilled labor for manufacturers.
To achieve the best possible future, industrial employers will need the most skillful, productive workforce possible. Women are a critical part of the equation, and they need manufacturers to commit to their success. It’s an investment that will pay vast dividends – for women, their employers and the U.S. economy as a whole.
Kim Churches is CEO of the American Association of University Women. This was written for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.
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