APICS press clippings

293 Pages·2016·8.98 MB·English

APICS IN THE NEWS
2016 PRESS CLIPPINGS
WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING
!
!
Getting'Closure'on'the'Gender'Gap'
in'Manufacturing'
!
Jan!27,!2016!
By!Hailey!Lynne!McKeefry!
!
!
In!the!electronics!industry,!organizations!are!concerned!about!finding!workers!to!
fill!the!burgeoning!number!of!manufacturing!and!supply!chain!jobs.!One!great!
source!may!be!found!in!encouraging!and!supporting!women!to!pursue!careers!
and!advancement!in!manufacturing,!a!recent!study!found.!
!
"By!focusing!on!recruiting!and!retaining!female!talent,!organizations!can!lessen!
turnover,!decrease!workforce!costs!by!improving!employee!relations,!enhance!
shareholder!value,!and!improve!public!perception,"!said!APICS!CEO!Abe!
Eshkenazi.!
!
The!study,!which!was!released!by!APICS!Supply!Chain!Council,!Deloitte,!and!
The!Manufacturing!Institute,!is!titled!Minding&the&Manufacturing&Gender&Gap:&
How&manufacturers&can&get&their&fair&share&of&talented&women.!The!report!
compiled!feedback!from!more!than!600!women!across!manufacturing!roles!and!
explored!best!practices!for!attracting,!retaining,!and!advancing!women!in!
manufacturing!careers.!!
!
The!study!found!that!women!might!be!excited!about!finding!a!place!in!the!
manufacturing!industry.!Unfortunately,!most!organizations!are!doing!less!than!
they!might!to!support!and!woo!this!key!segment!of!workers.!Consider:!
!
•! 26%!of!those!surveyed!said!their!companies'!retention!efforts!are!poor!or!
very!poor.!
(cid:2)
!!
•! Two!thirds!of!those!surveyed!said!that!performance!standards!are!
different!for!men!and!women.!
•! Across!all!manufacturing!industries,!women!earn!on!average!82%!of!what!
men!do.!
•! 84%!of!those!surveyed!fear!a!talent!shortage!in!U.S.!manufacturing.!
!
Today,!most!manufacturing!organizations!understand!and!acknowledge!the!
problem!of!recruiting,!retaining,!and!promoting!women,!and!most!know!that!
getting!better!in!these!areas!will!have!demonstrable!benefits,!Eshkenazi!told!
EBN!in!an!interview.!"We!fall!short!in!knowing!what!to!do!about!it,"!he!added.!
"We!are!not!doing!a!good!job!of!addressing!and!executing!on!the!problem."!
!
!
Minding!the!Manufacturing!Gender!Gap:!How!manufacturers!can!get!their!fair!
share!of!talented!women!
!
Fortunately,!there!are!proactive!steps!that!organizations!can!do!to!enhance!their!
efforts!at!giving!women!a!fair!chance!of!finding!and!staying!in!a!manufacturing!
career.!"Prioritizing!continued!education!through!organizations!like!APICS!can!
support!the!professional!development!of!employees!and!by!doing!so,!help!
companies!retain!valuable!talent,"!said!Eshkenazi.!"We!are!seeing!positive!
changes!from!the!industry!regarding!recruitment!efforts,!but!it!will!take!a!
collective!effort!to!see!a!greater!number!of!women!applying!for!positions!in!
manufacturing!and!progressing!to!leadership!roles."!
!
Often,!companies!don't!know!where!to!start...!Clearly,!though,!to!succeed,!
electronics!OEMs!need!to!make!closing!the!gap!a!real!priority.!"It!has!to!be!an!
organization!wide!initiative,"!said!Eshkenazi.!"It!can't!be!the!flavor!of!the!month!or!
window!dressing."!!To!that!end,!the!push!for!fair!hiring!practices!for!women!has!
to!start!with!the!leadership!team!and!be!supported!by!human!resources!
initiatives,!he!added.!
!
Corporate!culture!and!hiring!practices!have!to!evolve!to!meet!the!needs!of!a!
more!diverse!work!force,!Eshkenazi!said.!"As!you!bring!in!different!
demographics,!including!religious,!gender,!or!other!groups!of!diverse!individuals,!
you!have!to!be!responsive!and!understand!that!certain!employment!practices!will!
resonate!with!different!individuals,"!he!added.!
!
According!to!the!survey,!women!have!several!clear!priorities!when!it!comes!to!
their!careers.!In!fact,!44%!pointed!to!challenging/interesting!assignments!as!a!
key!priority,!while!40%!wanted!an!attractive!salary!package.!With!26%!of!the!
mentions,!good!work/life!balance!was!also!a!clear!priority!for!many.l!
!
Similarly,!there!are!a!number!of!factors!that!make!women!flee!their!
manufacturing!jobs.!Half!of!those!surveyed!pointed!to!a!handful!of!concerns!that!
might!cause!them!to!consider!leaving!the!industry:!
!
•! Poor!working!relationships!
•! Work]life!balance!
•! Low!income/pay!
•! Lack!of!promotion!opportunities!
•! Lack!of!challenging!or!interesting!assignments!
!
Minding!the!Manufacturing!Gender!Gap:!How!manufacturers!can!get!their!fair!
share!of!talented!women!
!
Organizations!must!also!be!sure!to!highlight!successful!women!in!their!
organization.!"We!have!to!have!some!heroes,!women!who!have!made!it,"!
explained!Eshkenazi.!"We!have!to!have!more!of!those!examples!of!those!type!of!
individuals!so!people!can!see!that!it!is!possible!that!organizations!do!promote!
and!advance!women."!
!
Further,!manufacturing!and!related!jobs!should!be!highlighted!for!youngsters!
during!their!education,!at!the!high!school!level!and!even!earlier.!!Only!12%!of!
those!surveyed!reported!that!they!felt!that!students!were!actively!encouraged!to!
think!about!training!to!work!in!manufacturing!during!primary!school!and!high!
school.!"They!need!awareness!of!the!opportunities!that!lie!in!supply!chain!and!
manufacturing,"!Eshkenazi!said.!
!
Finally,!organizations!need!to!address!the!very!real!pay!gap!that!exists.!"As!
women!moves!up!in!the!organization,!the!pay!gap!actually!increases,"!said!
Eshkenazi.!"The!longer!they!stay!in!the!organization,!the!greater!the!pay!gap.!
There's!a!perception!that!women!won't!stay!in!the!organization!and!it!becomes!a!
self]fulfilling!prophecy."!
!
Individuals,!too,!can!have!a!great!impact!in!terms!of!raising!visibility!of!women!in!
manufacturing.!Most!women!surveyed!(780%)!said!that!they!would!still!choose!
manufacturing!if!they!had!it!to!do!over!again,!a!figure!that!illustrates!great!
commitment!to!the!industry.!"Workers!in!the!industry!have!a!responsibility!to!tell!
others!what!a!great!career!manufacturing!is,"!said!Eshkenazi.!"There's!a!great!
place!for!passion!and!evangelism!about!careers!in!manufacturing!and!the!supply!
chain."! !
It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Manufacturing
April 18, 2016
Jennifer McNelly, GE Reports
U.S. manufacturers today face a tremendous challenge finding quality talent to stay competitive in the global economy.
Over the next decade, nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs likely will need to be filled, and the skills gap is expected to
result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled.
Part of the solution is to attract an untapped but talented demographic of people who are already making significant
contributions to the field of manufacturing: women.
Women represent one-fourth (27 percent) of manufacturing employees, even though they make up nearly half (47 per-
cent) of the total U.S. labor force. They are underrepresented in nearly every manufacturing sector in the U.S. In order to
attract and retain women into this industry, manufacturers need to demonstrate that modern, 21st century manufactur-
ing is not your grandfather’s manufacturing.
Given the severity of the issue, The Manufacturing Institute, APICS Supply Chain Council and Deloitte worked together
to understand why manufacturing isn’t getting its fair share of talented women. We surveyed more than 600 women in
manufacturing, across all functional roles and levels, to get their gauge of how well companies are doing at attracting,
retaining and advancing women.
We found that what’s most important to women are opportunities for challenging and interesting assignments, attractive
pay and work-life balance. When asked to rank the most impactful programs their organization offers that help in attract-
ing and retaining women, flexible work practices, formal and informal mentorship programs and improving the visibility of
key leaders who serve as role models topped the list.
STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Production) Ahead was created to tackle this issue. STEP Ahead works to
promote women in manufacturing who improve our economy, increase our standards of living, and make America strong.
STEP Ahead Honorees and Emerging Leaders across the U.S. pledge to attract and retain women into manufacturing by:
•Advocating for the industry;
•Mentoring young women;
•Engaging with employee resource groups to generate ideas and share best practices;
•Encouraging STEM/manufacturing education and leading as ambassadors for the industry; and
•Sharing their stories to showcase the incredible opportunities manufacturing has to offer.
•Women, men, and manufacturers everywhere need to take a stand and STEP up to help advance and retain women i
•In manufacturing. Manufacturing needs women in order to succeed and prosper. By encouraging women to consider
careers in this industry, manufacturers are strengthening their business and one step closer to closing the skills gap.
Jennifer McNelly is Executive Director of The Manufacturing Institute.
Program Launched to Attract Women to Manufacturing Jobs
June 24, 2016
SupplyChainBrain
To increase awareness and create ambassadors for manufacturing careers for women, APICS and the Manufacturing
Institute have released LEAD: Becoming an Impactful Voice to the Next Generation of Talent.
Manufacturing has become a less popular career path in recent years, particularly for women. In fact, women make up
about 47 percent of the United States workforce, but only 27 percent of the manufacturing workforce.
The LEAD toolkit outlines ways for women in manufacturing to become ambassadors for their industry and ways for
companies and organizations to get involved and increase awareness around supply chain careers. It also provides infor-
mation for educators to encourage young girls to explore the professional possibilities offered in this field.
“There is a talent gap in the manufacturing industry that is inherently linked to the vast gender gap in the field. In order
to bring about real change, the industry as a whole must be collectively responsible for addressing these issues,” said
APICS CEO Abe Eshkenazi. “A single company, person or association cannot solve this problem alone. The LEAD toolkit
offers a path for everyone, from the individual to the corporation, to do their part in correcting course to include more
women in the industry. Together we can empower the next generation of manufacturing talent.”
APICS & Manufacturing Institute Partner to Attract More Women to
Manufacturing Careers
July 5, 2016
KAITLYN MCAVOY
The manufacturing industry needs workers. An estimated 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled in the next
decade. Some of these jobs will need to be filled by women, too. But attracting and, more so, retaining women has been
a challenge for the manufacturing industry. That’s why APICS and the Manufacturing Institute recently teamed up to
release a guide that current females in the industry can use to encourage other women to seek manufacturing jobs.
The tool kit of sorts is called “LEAD: Becoming an Impactful Voice to the Next Generation of Talent,” and outlines ways
women in manufacturing can serve as “ambassadors” for the industry and increase awareness about the opportunities for
women in the field. Currently, while women make up about 47% of the overall labor force, they make up just 27% of those
working in manufacturing. The problem, according to APICS CEO Abe Eshkenazi, isn’t so much that manufacturing
cannot attract females but that it struggles to retain women and promote them to higher-level positions.
“The challenge comes in as individuals stay longer, there becomes less women in management and within manufacturing
and there is less opportunities for women in senior management and manufacturing,” Eshkenazi said. “That was one
area we saw a significant gap in the marketplace.
Changes Needed
A 2015 report published by APICS, Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute identified the main reasons women leave
manufacturing jobs: poor working relationships, lack of promotion opportunities and low income or pay. The report also
showed that an industry bias toward men in leadership positions exists in the manufacturing, which is a main factor
contributing to underrepresentation of women in the industry. Other factors identified were organizational cultural norms,
a lack of mentorship and perception of manufacturing overall.
Changing these hindering factors is one of the goals of the LEAD tool kit. Many people, including women, may be staying
away from manufacturing jobs because of an outdated perception of the industry.
“It still is unfortunately a perspective of a manually led industry as opposed to a very exciting industry that does leverage
technology and robotics and a whole host of other opportunities,” Eshkenazi said.
Benefits for Manufacturing Firms
Companies, too, need to recognize they may need to change how they operate to attract women and raise awareness of
the opportunities that exist for the in the industry, Eshkenazi said. The 2015 report “Women in manufacturing study
Exploring the gender gap,” showed many companies do not have recruiting efforts to attract or retain women. Of the more
than 600 women in the manufacturing industry surveyed for the report, two-thirds said their companies do not have active
recruitment programs aimed at attracting female employees. Only one-third of women thought their companies did a good
job recruiting, retaining and developing women.
For companies, attracting more women to manufacturing is more than just “doing the right thing,” Eshkenazi said.
Research has shown companies that have a more diverse leadership teams financially outperform organizations without
such teams.
“This is good business,” he said. “There’s opportunity and there are more successful organizations when they have a
diverse workforce.”
APICS Debuts Toolkit for Supporting Women in Manufacturing
July 27, 2016
APICS, the professional association for supply-chain management, has created a new toolkit to support women in
manufacturing.
Entitled "LEAD: Becoming an Impactful Voice to the Next Generation of Talent," the resource outlines ways for women
who are currently in manufacturing to become ambassadors for the industry, and for companies and organizations to get
involved and boost awareness of supply-chain careers. It also provides information for educators to encourage young
girls to explore professional opportunities in the field. The LEAD toolkit is part of an ongoing effort by APICS to
encourage women in supply-chain jobs. In 2015, APICS partnered with Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute to study
ways to attract women to jobs in manufacturing.