Celebrating women in manufacturing

In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups and historians lobbied for national recognition and in February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. Subsequent presidents continued this type of proclamation until 1987 when Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as Women’s History Month. Additionally, March 8 is known as International Women’s Day.

Yet long before having a day, week, or month to celebrate women and their impact on history, women have been an important part of working in manufacturing even as factory work was considered a man’s job.

While most people might conjure up an image of Rosie the Riveter from the campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense manufacturing during World War II, women in factory work had increased significantly during World War I. The women ran drill presses, did welding, and handled all types of metalworking equipment as well as working in production design, lab testing, warehouses, and truck driving. Sharing the same risks, doing the same work, and producing at the same rate as male counterparts, women were still paid less and then would be let go when men returned from war.

According to “A Push for Gender Diversity in Manufacturing” from Goodwin University, women make up less than 30% of the manufacturing workforce – out of the 11.9 million workers employed in manufacturing, less than 3.5 million are female. Not only are women under-represented in this sector, their pay continues to remain less. In a report produced by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) – “Factory Flaw: The Attrition and Retention of Women in Manufacturing” – the average hourly wage for those employed in manufacturing by income decile and sex, 2003 and 2019 (in 2019 dollars) shows the average for women was $24.60 while it was $30.69 for men.

Efforts are underway to close this gender gap – in pay and hiring – such as the Manufacturing Institute’s 35x30 initiative aimed at adding half a million women to the manufacturing industry, increasing women’s representation in manufacturing to 35% by 2030. Unveiled on International Women’s Day in 2022, the plan is for a nationwide movement offering more than 1,000 female mentors to connect with emerging leaders and students, drive the opportunity for the industry to break the glass and collaborate on strategies to attract and retain women, and broaden the pipeline by supporting women throughout their education.

Being a woman who’s covered this industry for many years, these initiatives to get more women to enter manufacturing are important to watch develop, especially when it includes reaching out to the younger generation to get them interested while in middle or high-school. I’d like to hear what your company is doing to recruit more women to the payroll. Drop me a line!