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So here's something we all know - Manufacturing faces a serious skills gap.  Here's something else we all know - Part of this gap is the underrepresentation of women in the industry. While women make up approximately 50% of the labor force, that number is only about 24% in the manufacturing labor force. This data is one of the main motivators for our work here at WiM. Beyond our own efforts, we support the efforts of other organizations who seek to attract and retain women in the manufacturing sector.  One of those is the STEP Ahead initiative from The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte. As part of the STEP Ahead initiative, The Manufacturing Institute presents the Women in Manufacturing STEP Awards to honor women in the manufacturing industry who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory-floor to the C-suite. This year will be the 3rd annual STEP awards! Learn more about t...

A new article is up on the Control Engineering site.  The article, " One answer to the U.S. manufacturing skills gap: women " features WiM. Here's the first paragraph - According to Women in Manufacturing (WiM), women are underrepresented in manufacturing not because they are not able, but because they still believe the manufacturing field is a better fit for men. The biggest challenges women face when considering the manufacturing sector are the untrue stigmas that surround manufacturing today. Women in manufacturing are constantly fighting to show modern manufacturing for what it is - a high-tech field with many available jobs well-suited for both men and women workers. Read the rest here .

Check out the latest issue of PTC Magazine for a feature story on women and manufacturing jobs.  WiM and our director Allison Grealis are featured in the piece which cites several reasons women are reluctant to explore career options in the manufacturing sector. "Too often they think of it as their father's manufacturing; still un-modern, dirty, dark, dingy and not a place for women," Grealis says in the article.  "The main reason we hear from women why they love manufacturing is that it's exciting.  There's a lot of on-the-job problem solving. ... It's never a dull day." Read the full article - which includes a special spotlight on our Hear Her Story program - here .

A few weeks ago, we were contacted by the amazing women behind Womanthology , a UK-based digital magazine and web-based community with a goal of "energising and empowering women in their careers and beyond, with a view to inspiring confidence at work."  Impressed by their mission and their work, we were happy to help when they asked WiM Director Allison Grealis for an interview. Here's their Q&A with Allison : Allison Grealis is Executive Director of Women in Manufacturing™, a national group with an aim of attracting and retaining women in the industrial sector and Vice President of Membership and Association Services of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), a full-service trade association representing the $113-billion metalforming industry of North America. Allison earned her Bachelor of Arts in English with a certificate in Women’s Studies from Ohio University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Akron. Please could you tell us a li...

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We are really excited about our annual SUMMIT, coming soon on September 29- October 1, 2014 in Schaumburg, IL! Here on our blog, we've been highlighting various aspects of the upcoming SUMMIT.  We'll continue to post updates because there's so much to talk about! The SUMMIT is geared toward women in manufacturing careers, gathering together more than 200 professional women to share perspectives and network with others in the industry. SUMMIT 2014 will kick off its speaking panels bright and early on Tuesday the 30th with a welcome address, given by WiM Director Allison Grealis and remarks on the, "State of Women in Manufacturing," given by U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary of Manufacturing Chandra Brown. Brown manages a staff of over 70 international trade professionals, working to boost U.S. exports of manufactured products and helping to create and support jobs for America’s workers. We’re excited to hear what she has to say about the part w...

We issued a press release today announcing our inaugural Board of Directors.  We are excited to share this list of 12 impressive women with you, our blog readers.  We think that our Board members are role models for the success of women in the manufacturing sector and we are thrilled to have them working with us.  Check out our full press release below - Women in Manufacturing™ Announces 2014 Inaugural Board of Directors   CLEVELAND-- August 5, 2014 --Women in Manufacturing™ (WiM), a national organization dedicated to the attraction, retention and advancement of women in the manufacturing sector, today announced the election of 12 members to the group’s inaugural Board of Directors.      “I could not be more pleased to welcome this outstanding group of women leaders in the manufacturing sector to our inaugural WiM Board,” said Allison Grealis, president of WiM. “Now, more than ever, the American manufacturing se...

In this UT Dallas news post , we learned about an awesome new camp for girls, SMART College Camp , organized by Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas , Richland College and UT Dallas’ Science and Engineering Education Center (SEEC) . The two week long camp gave twenty Dallas-area teenage girls an exciting look into STEM careers. Campers started off  with a week at Richland College to explore the community college experience, followed by exposure to the four-year experience at UT Dallas during the second week. SMART aims to help with college readiness and broaden the horizons of young girls, showing them the many pathways available for them to succeed. “This camp gives the girls a flavor of STEM careers and introduces them to women who are successful scientists and engineers,” said Dr. Bernine Khan, director of SEEC and environmental engineer, in the article . “But integrated into it is how to get there, how to prepare for college, for both two-year and four-year institutions.” The ar...

A Tuesday afternoon reminder that "We Can Do It!" Source: Instagram User @Beyonce

Here's something cool for your Tuesday - WiM and Plante Moran are happy to announce the launch of a new survey to gain insight into the future of women in the manufacturing sector. The results of this survey will offer critical insight into retaining and advancing women in the manufacturing and will be unveiled at our 4th annual WiM SUMMIT on September 29-October 1 in Schaumburg, IL.. Some aspects of the survey include: the perceptions young women entering the workforce have about manufacturing, how today’s female career aspirations are aligned with the opportunities available in manufacturing, whether organizations are successfully integrating programs and strategies to advance and retain women, and more. Intellitrends, an independent market research firm, will conduct the survey and provide data analysis.  Data will be collected in July and August from three groups - young women ranging in age from 17-24, WiM members, and a larger audience of professionals in manufacturing compan...

One of the highlights of each WiM SUMMIT is the opportunity to visit area manufacturing plants.  We've got some great tours lined up for this year.  Space goes fast so check out the list below and register today ! This year's plant tours include: Bag Makers, Inc.  A leading imprinted bag supplier that specializes in non-woven polypropylene, paper, plastic and polyester bags. Founder Maribeth Sandford started the successful woman-owned business in 1980 to provide quality printing, fast service and lower minimum orders for imprinted bags. Motorola. The Schaumburg site is small, taking care of manufacturing required to be done in the US and primarily our ASTRO radio business. The ASTRO products are a public safety device, two way radio, used by Police, Firemen, full city and states for secure communications. S&C Electric Company.   One of the largest manufacturers located in Chicago. The 47-acre Chicago campus is S&C’s primary manufacturing and research cen...

In a new  U.S. News & World Report article , writer Delece Smith-Barron reports that colleges are working to engage women and minority students in STEM fields. The Association of American Colleges and Universities, she writes , has announced 20 schools for participation in their Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM program, ​known as TIDES . The article quotes Vice President for Undergraduate Education Kelly Mack saying that the program, “aims to increase the number of women and underrepresented minority students who are supported by faculty members that make them feel empowered.” In the article , Mack says, “when underrepresented minorities​ and women see people who resemble them teaching science, technology, engineering or math, the experience can be encouraging." Another great point in the piece comes from Penny Rheingans, the director for the Center for Women in Technology at the University of Maryland—Baltimore County.  She says that prospective STEM stud...

We know that women are underrepresented in manufacturing and many other industries. And we know that the first step to solving a problem is understanding how and why it exists.  So we're always reading articles with different theories to explain the gender gap in sectors. This week, we've got a "pipeline problem" explanation from Former Army Capitan Holly Mosack. Mosack writes in this Forbes article that a “pipeline problem” is the disconnect between potential female employees and companies. It stems from an inability to market an industry’s benefits, a failure to highlight the skills of those seeking employment, and preconceived attitudes society has of certain industries as “a boy’s world.” To Mosack, manufacturing, technology, and the military are the three industries most greatly affected by this problem - and, importantly, are three industries that could work together to solve it. Mosack, who joined the technology sector following military service, now forms rec...