Manufacturing myths
We've all heard the myths about why women shouldn't work in manufacturing which clearly are outdated, but what makes you work at a manufacturing company and why do you enjoy it? I come from a family where my mom has worked in manufacturing for 25+ years and most of the people in her factory are women.
I completed my first year at a manufacturing company! One of the myths that are outdated is the idea that women cannot occupy STEM roles in the manufacturing world, which is simply untrue. I enjoy working where I am because leadership supports the women in our organization in every capacity.
As to what I enjoy? Well I'm an engineer, so the problem solving, the working on exciting equipment, the dealing with a huge variety of tasks and people... it's exciting. OK there's pressure, but with a good team, the pressure is manageable. And nothing really beats seeing a line that's been down for no discernible reason back up and running and *knowing* you've done a good job :)
Sounds like you really enjoy what you do!
Well I have worked in manufacturing sites that I wouldn't recommend any other woman go to -this is mainly on the heavier end of industry (steel, oil & gas) and it's predominantly to do with bathrooms. I once worked for a year in a situation where the nearest toilet I could use was a half mile away, shared with the (male) janitor, with several other men having keys and I wasn't allowed put a bolt on the door to use it in peace. As in, the 5-10 bolts I did put up, the door got kicked in when I used them. Horrific. To this day, I always ask to use the bathroom when interviewing to see what the situation is....
In saying that, many of the myths I've come across are antiquated at best: women can't handle the swearing, the dirt, the noise, the muscle needed to do certain jobs. etc, etc, etc. Now, the only one of those that's really an issue to my mind is the muscle -and if the job needs that much muscle, you're not using the right tools! Ditto with noise, that's what hearing protection is for......
The lighter industries tend to be more women friendly in my experience. As I moved to pharma and med devices, and now to food, it's far more women friendly, possibly since these are newer industries as well, so issues like bathrooms had to be addressed.....
Wow, that sounds intense on the bathroom situation. Did you ever bring it up to HR/managers? What was their take? I have talked to women in a few different manufacturing industries and some have faced similar scenarios but after bringing it up, some have seen resolutions, others it took some time. I think things will only keep improving over time.
She works for a plastics manufacturer, mostly pet products, but at 66 shes lifting pallets and doing all the things the men do.
I love that most of the company is women. What do they produce/manufacture?