The survey interviewed more than 870 women, which included experienced women already working in the manufacturing sector, and younger women embarking on careers and considering their options.
According to the group’s finding, what was most striking about the results was the fact that there is said to be a significant overlap between the top factors young women are seeking in careers and the factors that manufacturing careers can offer.
Compensation is young women's No 1 priority
Young women stated that their number one priority was compensation, closely followed by work that is both interesting and challenging, which compares favorably with the survey findings suggesting that 80% of women in manufacturing say they find their work interesting and challenging, while 50% said the compensation was the most significant benefit.
Likewise, the survey also showed that 74% women in manufacturing careers said they believed the position offered multiple career paths, while 50% of respondents said the sector was a leading industry for job growth for women and even more said they would recommend it as a career path for young women.
However, the survey results also revealed that there is still a lot of work to be done in order to get the message across that there are decent prospects for young women in manufacturing.
Young women not getting the message about manufacturing
Indeed, the survey showed that young women had a low awareness of the career prospects available to them in a manufacturing position, with less than half believing that manufacturing would be interesting and less than 10% of them placing manufacturing in their list of top five career paths.
“On the whole, these survey results should be seen as a call to action in a space where there is great opportunity,” said WiM director Allison Grealis.
“When we know what young women are looking for in careers, we are in a better position to demonstrate how manufacturing can help them meet their aspirations. We have long known that women are good for manufacturing; and these survey results go a long way to showing that manufacturing is good for women, too.”