Many reasons have been cited as to why women are underrepresented in manufacturing businesses, from current recruitment practices to lack of racial equity. Among these reasons are: Companies have fewer commitments to racial equity, women are less likely to be hired into entry level jobs, and Companies tend to hire men more often. A solution that could help address the problem is paid parental leave for mothers.
Men are more likely to be hired into entry-level jobs
The manufacturing industry has long struggled to draw women into its workforce. According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, only 37 percent of manufacturing positions are held by women. The International Labour Organization also provides statistics on the number of women in manufacturing, by status and economic activity. The availability of data is growing, but it is still patchy.
One possible explanation for this disparity is the lack of opportunities for women in the industry. Women only hold 29% of leadership positions in manufacturing businesses. This gender imbalance can be rectified by providing more opportunities for upward mobility. The first step to do this is to educate the current workforce. It is important to note that manufacturing is largely a male-dominated industry, so it is important to educate the current workforce about the detrimental effects of toxic masculinity.
In an effort to increase the number of women in manufacturing, the International Labour Organization has created a tool to measure the number of women employed in the sector. The project, backed by the German development agency GIZ, uses an index of dissimilarity to measure female employment.
The manufacturing sector is increasingly focusing on high-skill jobs. The skills of employees in this field are more valuable than those of lower-skilled workers. This has made male employees in the manufacturing sector less desirable, especially prime-age men. As a result, men with a college degree or higher lost 7.4 percent of their annual work hours compared to their female counterparts.
These findings are also consistent with experiments that show that men and women have different preferences when it comes to salary negotiations. While women tend to avoid salary negotiations, men are more likely to negotiate their salaries. In addition, women tend to have less promotion potential. However, research shows that these preferences are malleable. Women can learn to negotiate and tolerate risk. For example, they can be taught to negotiate salaries.
Moreover, there are other factors that contribute to the lower number of women in manufacturing businesses. One of these is lack of work experience in family businesses. The lack of experience in family businesses limits women’s ability to develop specific human capital.
Companies are less likely to have a commitment to racial equity
While corporate America has made progress on racial equity in the workplace, it is far from sufficient. A number of notable reports have found that corporations have not lived up to their commitments. For instance, a McKinsey & Company study found that companies that committed to racial justice were less likely to make internal changes in hiring and procurement.
The history of slavery in America has led to a long legacy of racial disparities in health, education, and wealth. These disparities have a negative impact on communities of color. Furthermore, they are less likely to have access to financial services and participate in important R&D programs. To improve these outcomes, companies must rebuild trust with communities of color and address systemic racism. This requires intentionality and training.
Historically, companies avoid controversial topics. However, the murder of George Floyd caused protests across the country, making many companies uncomfortable. That led 55 global CEOs in Minnesota to commit to substantive changes. The companies also made commitments to increase diversity in the workplace.
As part of its commitment to racial equity, several community colleges and universities have developed and implemented racial equity strategies. For example, the Sierra College Hispanic-Serving Institution in California is working to close equity gaps in its manufacturing programs. It will use multilingual outreach strategies to attract more students of color to manufacturing careers.
While these efforts have had some positive impacts, they are still lagging behind other companies in making commitments to racial equity. Even if the pledge isn’t a guarantee of equity, it can help companies do their part in closing the gap. A pledge is a commitment for several years. A corporate pledge has an account director for each corporate pledge taker.
Companies can pursue place-based racial equity by creating networks of financial institutions and real estate developers that invest in businesses that benefit local communities. Some have successfully piloted a risk-free investment model, such as the Community Investment Trust (CIT) program, which allows working-class neighborhood residents to share in a retail development and benefit from its growth in value.
Current recruitment styles
Increasing the number of women in manufacturing is vital to its success. Women comprise a large and untapped talent pool. They comprise one-fourth of the US manufacturing workforce and hold over half of managerial and professional positions in the US economy. However, there is an ongoing challenge in the recruitment and retention of women in this sector.
The first step is to address the problem of unconscious bias. Many companies have begun to address unconscious biases by removing gender-related information from resumes. However, it is not enough for women to overcome unconscious biases on their own. Men must also be involved in strategic talent strategies and play meaningful roles in making the strategy successful.
The second step is to change the culture of the workplace. The 24/7 culture has resulted in a discontented work culture among both men and women. In the short-term, this has derailment of careers of women who otherwise would have achieved great success. Long-working hours have also been shown to decrease performance and increase sick leave costs.
At the entry level, women face the biggest barrier in their rise to management positions. Men hold 62% of management positions while women hold just 38 percent. This means that women will never catch up with men at these higher levels. In addition, women are less likely to advance past the supervisory level and move into more senior roles.
Companies must recognise the issues that contribute to this problem and take action. They should redesign their work cultures and create more flexible and sustainable opportunities for their female employees. In addition, companies must focus on the contribution of women to their organizations. They should also remove the pressures that are often placed on employees.
One of the biggest barriers is racial bias. Women from minority groups face more obstacles than White women. Moreover, they face steeper drop-offs at the executive level.
Paid parental leave is ideal solution for women in manufacturing
Paid parental leave is a great benefit for new mothers and dads. It allows new parents to focus on their children while still being paid for their work. Manufacturers should consider implementing a paid parental leave policy for employees so that their productivity is not affected by the absence of an employee. Extended absences can be costly for a company and its productivity may drop considerably if an employee is out of work for several weeks. Employers who don’t offer paid leave may discriminate against employees from the most vulnerable groups or provide them with lower wages.
The policy should also help women who want to stay at home with their children. While attitudes towards work and parenting are changing, it is still important to have equal opportunities. While more fathers are choosing to balance their time between family and work, there is still more work to be done to encourage working parents to take their leave entitlements. Companies must cultivate a culture that encourages employees to take their time off, and work towards removing the stigma associated with leave entitlements.
Employers must send a clear message to attract top talent, and a paid parental leave policy is one way to do that. Workers look for companies that can offer a work-life balance that meets their needs. If a company offers paid parental leave, women are more likely to choose it as a place to work.
Paid parental leave allows new parents to take up to 12 weeks off of work. It also extends to foster and adopted children. In addition to paid time off, some companies will ship breast milk for free, so that working mothers can return to their jobs quickly. Many employers now offer this benefit as a means to attract and retain top talent.
