The International Women’s Day campaign theme of 2019 is #BalanceforBetter. It is a call-to-action for driving gender balance across the world. As such, Pulsar Instruments is pleased to report that 75% of its workers are women, including those in key management roles. As a UK manufacturer, we recognise that this is unusual in our industry.
In many countries, women account for 40% or more of the total labour force, however the gender inequality across Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) roles is still very visible, for example in the UK it’s estimated that there will only be 1 million women working in core STEM roles by 2020[1].
Whilst there are now many vibrant women in industries which have long been seen as a ‘man’s world’ (at least in the eyes of the mainstream public), women still make up only:
- 23% of the manufacturing workforce (with 9% of being engineers and only 5% managers), and
- 7% of the apprenticeships in engineering and manufacturing[2].
“There are lots of exciting career opportunities in manufacturing, and it’s vital that younger people see both inspiring women and men in the careers that drive the nation’s economy.” Says Simon Rehill, General Manager of Pulsar Instruments.
“We’ve been working with the local schools here in North Yorkshire to encourage all young people into manufacturing and engineering and we are also part of Made In Yorkshire’s inclusivity working group which aims to address the UK engineering and productivity skills gap” continues Simon.
Pulsar also believes that to encourage more women into key roles in manufacturing and construction, for instance, companies need to better meet the needs of women in the workforce, such as providing access to PPE designed for women, and understanding that women’s exposure to hazards might be different to men and helping to design these out of their jobs; an example of this the effect that noise has on pregnant women and their unborn child.
Pulsar Instruments have been recognised as noise measurement experts for 50 years and provide a range of solutions for measuring and controlling workplace noise.
Find out more about International Women’s Day here.
[1] According to gender balance group WISE
[2] EEF, Women in Manufacturing Report
