In collaboration with Women in Manufacturing, Thomas has established a benchmark for diversity and business best practices in the manufacturing sector. After surveying more than 400 manufacturing companies to better understand business compositions, company policies and common attitudes and behaviors, Thomas and WiM have released a joint report outlining a number of key insights regarding the advancement of and opportunities for women in the industrial sector.
Most notably, the report reveals that only one in three manufacturing professionals and one in four manufacturing business leaders are women. While the medical and healthcare sector has the highest level of female employee presence at 54%, the aerospace and defense sector have the lowest female employee representation at just 24%. Because female employee representation is strongly and positively related to female leadership presence, the report explains, a gender-balanced environment within manufacturing businesses would foster more diverse executive leadership teams.
Relatedly, professionals in the medical and healthcare industry shared that they are highly optimistic about the future opportunities for women in manufacturing, with 86% indicating a positive outlook. Similarly, 84% of professionals in the agricultural industry indicated that they were also optimistic about the advancement of women in the manufacturing sector.
