SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With national Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) set for this Friday, October 3, 2014, a new survey shows that there is one group of potential employees that should not be overlooked – young women. Women in Manufacturing, (WiM), a group of nearly 500 women dedicated to attracting, retaining and advancing women in the manufacturing sector released the survey, co-produced with Plante Moran, today.
The survey of over 870 women - including both experienced women currently working in manufacturing and young women who are just beginning to consider their career options - offers several promising findings for the future of women in the manufacturing sector. Most importantly, the survey found that there is significant overlap between the top factors young women are seeking in careers and the factors manufacturing careers offer.
Young women ranked compensation as the most important factor they are seeking in a career, followed closely by work that is interesting and challenging. At the same time, more than 80% of women in manufacturing today say that their work is interesting and challenging and half of women in manufacturing say that compensation is the most significant benefit of the sector.
The survey also found that 74% of women working in manufacturing believe that the sector offers multiple career paths for women and that more than half of women in manufacturing today think that the sector is a leading industry for job growth for women. In addition, 64% of women working in manufacturing reported that they would recommend a career in manufacturing to a young woman.
But despite these high numbers, young women remain woefully unaware of the opportunities available to them in the manufacturing sector. Less than half of young women believe that manufacturing offers the interesting and challenging work they’re seeking and less than 10% of young women placed manufacturing among the top five career fields that they feel offer the most opportunity for young women today.
The survey results were presented today on the first day of the fourth annual WiM SUMMIT held in Schaumburg, IL.
Learn more about the WiM survey and its results:
