February 2022 Volume 4

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Young Female Manufacturing Minds Are Looking for Mentors By Katie Dzierwa

The U.S. manufacturing industry, an essential sector of our nation’s economy, infrastructure, and development, has reached a critical point in workforce development. A shrinking labor force has led to an exponentially increasing demand for competent and committed workers. The U.S. Department of Commerce predicts that the Americanmanufacturing industry will face a shortage of 2.4million workers by 2028 [1]. Luckily, there is hope. The coming years will see a new generation of graduates entering the workforce—Gen Z. This generation of young people could be the answer to the growing deficit in the manufacturing workforce. Within that group is a record number of young women, eager to prove themselves while they also improve the world. Although there are more women found in most manufacturing businesses today than in years past, women only make up 30 percent of the 15.8millionmanufacturing employees in America, and only 1 in 4 leadership positions. The percentage of women in the room also varies widely from industry to industry within the manufacturing umbrella. For instance, in 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor provided data that show the percentage of women in metalworking fields ranges from 1.3 percent–5.2 percent [2]. Although there is hope that these numbers will grow, that only can be achieved by improving the retention rate of female employees. One key element to any effective employee retention strategy is mentorship. Veronica Braker, who is vice president of operations, performance materials, at BASF, emphasizes the importance of mentoring, stating “I always tell people to get a mentor and be a mentor. Mentorship is so important. I have had multiple mentors throughout my career, formal and informal. They provide feedback, coaching, encouragement, challenge, and support. They keep you stretching!” [3] Between January 2000 and January 2020, there was a 31 percent reduction in the number of women in the manufacturing industry, while the overall manufacturing workforce decreased by 26 percent. Although a good portion of this percentage could be because of circumstances other than unhappiness in the industry, it is well known that women who enter the manufacturing industry too often leave early in their career. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) did a study on the factors that play into the lack of retention of women inmanufacturing, including sexual harassment, the “glass maze” and parental-leave policies [4]. The findings of this study demonstrated not only the need for improved company policies for women but also the real need for real communication with all women inmanufacturing jobs.This kind of communication can be fostered by mentorship.

Strong mentorships not only help individual women in the manufacturing industry grow and strengthen their abilities but also encourage manufacturing organizations to collaborate in providing the resources, knowledge, policy changes and cultural changes that will lay the groundwork for generations of women to thrive. A study by Deloitte found many women agree with the potential positive impact of mentorships. Women who were surveyed ranked formal and informal mentorship programs to be the highest program of impact for women [5]. Mentorships help women to retain the desire to stay in manufacturing and help executives in manufacturing companies to understand the value and potential of professional women’s diverse insight and experience.

Open Communication The recommendations highlighted here, on how to get the most out of mentoring experiences, are centered around one general theme—communication. The most important thing in any human interaction, let alone a mentorship, is to have open and trusted communication. For a mentorship to be most effective, both the mentor and the mentee should share their thoughts with and listen to each other. It is important that the communication between a mentor and mentee is done mindfully. Each individual should consider not only the words that are spoken by the other person but the background and experience that each individual brings to the table.

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