Attracting More Women into Manufacturing

Manufacturing companies have been encouraged to be more proactive in their approach to attracting more women into senior positions.

This is despite a report published last year which revealed women now account for 23% of all board seats in FTSE 100 manufacturers – a rise of 21% compared to the previous year. The imbalance within the manufacturing sector between the number of women in executive and non-executive positions is considered a wider challenge.

Outdated and often inaccurate perceptions of manufacturing can impact negatively on a woman’s desire to seek out a career in manufacturing. If you are to ask a woman, who doesn’t currently work in manufacturing, you will most likely get a response which involves men in uniforms, assembly lines and heavy manual handling.

Ask the ladies who work here at Belmont Packaging, they would tell you that life in manufacturing is stimulating, diverse, creative and full of characters. This is perhaps why most of the ladies in the office have served over 10 years; no two days are ever the same.

Belmont Packaging is proud to promote the female aspect of the business. Owner/Director Kate Hulley said, “The concept is that we appear more women-friendly because half of the workforce are women. If it takes us to create a diverse, energetic workforce like this to set the standard, then so be it.”

It is true to say that manufacturing has always been a male-dominated industry, stemming from the Industrial Revolution. Ultimately manufacturers only need to make small positive changes to attract and retain female talent with the manufacturing industry.

Kate is a strong advocate for the female-lead businesses and is particularly proud of all the support she has received from her dedicated team. To read more of about women and views on women in manufacturing read this article on freshbusinessthinking.com