Women in Manufacturing

Untapped potential

In Canada, women account for 48 per cent of the labour force but only 29 per cent of the manufacturing workforce. For more than 30 years this job share rate has not changed. Attracting more women into manufacturing professions is not only critical to help companies grow and replace their aging workforce, it provides women with careers that are high value, high tech, highly skilled and high paying. To better understand the current realities of women in manufacturing CME released Untapped Potential, an action plan identifying five areas where action is needed in order to increase the number of women in manufacturing:

More female role models are needed to inspire and encourage young women
Access to modern manufacturing facilities to help change the perception of manufacturing
More efforts to encourage young girls to pursue an education in STEM and/or the skilled trades
Businesses need to adopt more inclusive workplaces
Business need to find creative ways to improve work-life balance for employees.

IF YOU CAN SEE ME, YOU CAN BE ME.

Be inspired – click here to learn about the many rewarding careers in manufacturing.

Margarita Simkin, Co-Founder and Chairwoman, INKAS® Group of Companies

"Margarita hopes her legacy will be defined by innovation, enhanced security, and an unwavering commitment to diversity. She envisions INKAS® as a hub of creativity and excellence, setting new standards in manufacturing."

Jo-Lynn Hoffmann, Topax Protektive Packaging

“Planning for the future and then having an interim plan to get there was exciting. It was very rewarding when we got the contract, and we were able to double the size of our operating facility. That was my stepping stone and realization that I like this industry and having control of our destiny.”

Perspectives from TMMC Leaders

Hear from six female leaders at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) as they share their perspectives on driving the automotive industry forward while championing inclusivity.

Karen Lai, KPM Power

"What I enjoy most is building a company from scratch and creating an environment that I want to work in, and hope others will want to as well."

We Can Do It!

CME’s Women in Manufacturing initiative aims to increase the number of women in manufacturing by 100,000 by 2030, bringing the total jobs held by women in manufacturing to 600,000 in 2030.

We need your support!

Become a Champion. Pledge your support to help increase the number of women in the manufacturing sector. Celebrate your success. Share on social media, within your community and supply chain the steps you are taking to lead a diverse workforce. Choose to challenge your peers. Together, we can do it!

See our current Champions.

Become a Champion - SIGN UP NOW TO PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT!

Champion Commitment

As a Champion of Women in Manufacturing, I commit to:

Take action towards achieving meaningful and substantive improvements in supporting inclusion and diversity within my organization; and,
Work towards increasing the number of women, aiming for diversity across our organization in accordance with the government’s 50-30 challenge.

Name*
First Last
Title
Company
City*
Email*
Has your organization set a goal for inclusion and diversity? Please share. (Optional)

Leverage CME’s Gender Inclusion and Diversity toolkit to achieve your goals. The toolkit is made for manufacturers, by manufacturers. It is open source and provides a suite of practical tools. The tools provide a set of individual learnings and actions that manufacturers can take to help make the workplace better for everyone.

As a Champion of women of manufacturing, you will receive:

Certificate of Commitment to share in your workplace and a downloadable badge/certificate to display on your website demonstrating your commitment to increasing female representation the workforce.
Be listed as a champion on CME’s Women in Manufacturing website.
Access to CME’s Women in Manufacturing events.

Get Involved today

Contact: Erin Epstein – Erin.Epstein@cme-mec.ca

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