PMPA is proud to announce and congratulate the 4 PMPA members to be awarded the 2014 STEP Award by the Manufacturing Institute. 
PMPA members named were Patricia Lewis, Berkley Screw Machine Products, Inc. Rochester Hills, Michigan; Tanya DiSalvo, Criterion Tool, Cleveland, Ohio; Kimberly Arrigoni, Haberman Machine, Oakdale, MN; and Janice Wiegand, Mercury Manufacturing Company, Wyandotte, Michigan.
The STEP Awards honor women 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.
“These women are the faces of exciting careers in manufacturing,” said Jennifer McNelly, president, The Manufacturing Institute. “These women were selected because they each made significant achievements in
manufacturing through positive impact on their company and the industry as a whole.“
The STEP Awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research, and best practices for attracting, advancing, and retaining strong female talent.
A recent survey from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute found that nearly 82 percent of American manufacturing companies have a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers. Contributing to 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.
On February 6, The Manufacturing Institute will recognize these 160 recipients from over 110 companies at the STEP Awards in Washington, D.C. The STEP Awards program will highlight each Honoree’s story, including their leadership and accomplishments in manufacturing. By telling the real stories of these women, we will inspire the next generation of talent to pursue careers in the industry and support current female talent within the manufacturing industry.
Official Press Release:
Tag: Women in Manufacturing
There is no reason that the vast majority of new manufacturing jobs have gone to men, but they have.
Why has womens’ representation in manufacturing dropped for two decades?
PMPA Vice President Darlene Miller testified before the Senate Joint Economic Committee last week on the topic of Women in Manufacturing.
As a shop owner, STEP Women in Manufacturing honoree, and member of the President’s Job Council, Darlene has some real world insight into the issue.
Here are her 4 Steps to Encourage Women in Manufacturing Careers
1) It is absolutely essential that businesses engage with local community colleges to assure relevant skills sets are being taught;
2) Equipment needs to be current, not old and outdated. We have high tech $400,000-$500,000 equipment per machine.
3) We really need really excellent math and problem solving skills; we need to tell the Schools what those are.
4) We need to get into middle schools to engage female students at a younger age to potential careers.
Watch the testimony:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN3JQkE3gng&w=420&h=315]
Read the report:
Women in Manufacturing PDF