APRIL 2019 WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING
Julie Dorman,
solution owner, Adjuno
What does your role involve?
My role consists of ownership and defi nition of product
functionality within our software, ensuring we are delivering
quality products that are in line with our strategic vision. As a
subject matter expert, I work closely with other teams within
the wider business.
What route did you take to gain a higher position?
I signed up to the key associations, attended major trade
conferences and interacted with the people that were there.
Showing initiative and diving head fi rst into every opportunity
has helped me to both advance in the company and grow as
an individual.
What changes have you witnessed within the industry
throughout your career?
As little as two decades ago the landscape looked very
diff erent for women in logistics and
there was a distinct lack of diversity.
From the warehouse to the
offi ce headquarters, all areas of
businesses were typically very
male-orientated.
Fast forward to today,
however, and 40% of graduates
within logistics are female,
showing that there is a strong
movement towards closing the gender
gap and creating a balanced workforce.
I’ve seen this movement fi rst-hand. When I started in this
industry, I was one of the only women working in the offi ce.
Initially, this didn’t seem to change, but over the years, as the
sector progresses and perceptions continue to evolve, I am
now surrounded by a greater number of women. However,
there’s still room for improvement.
What obstacles have you faced as a woman in
manufacturing?
Getting your views heard has often been a problem for women
across every industry. The ability to speak up and have a say is
a really important aspect of working for a business.
So many people believe that women within the industry
don’t have this opportunity, with men dominating the
managerial roles. I therefore believe that success in this
industry is all about building confi dence in yourself, your
capabilities and your value. This comes from sharing and
gaining valuable knowledge at events, as well as building a
support network for the women in your company and across
the sector. It is crucial for women to understand how important
their presence is and, most importantly, how they can help to
champion other women.
Dr Jill Miscandlon
senior manufacturing engineer,
Advanced Forming Research Centre
What does your role entail?
My role at the AFRC is really varied
and I work with a number of
diff erent customers across various
industries. I have to focus on
various aspects such as managing
time, resources and budget, ordering
materials, designing the experiments
and dealing with the main technical
delivery of products.
What route did you take to gain a higher position?
I didn’t take the obvious engineering route as I studied
mathematics, which has been hugely benefi cial to my role
and how I approach projects, helping me to look at challenges
in a diff erent way.
It is often diffi cult for engineers to solve problems when
they’re up against time constraints, but my favourite part of the
role is looking at the big picture, considering what might work in
years to come and working back from that point.
Now I am moving on to a technical lead role within a highprofi
le collaborative research and development project.
What changes have you witnessed within the industry
throughout your career?
I have defi nitely noticed a shift in balance in terms of age and
gender since the start of my career. Our recent intake of interns
at the AFRC was split roughly 50/50 in terms of gender and we
have signifi cantly more female technicians than when I started.
In fact, 40% of the staff at the centre are under 35, and nearly
50% of them are female, with around 20% of those taking up
technical roles.
STEM work is making an impact and it is changing the culture
throughout industry. Now, there is a huge drive to get children
thinking about studying STEM subjects, while encouraging them
to follow a career path they enjoy, no matter their gender. As
an industry, we can learn to make things more effi ciently by
exploring new ideas, listening to young people starting out in
their careers and giving them support to progress.
What obstacles have you faced as a woman in manufacturing?
I would say that any obstacles I have faced in my career have
come from age. In my experience, the answer
to ‘Why do we do it like that?’ is far too
often, ‘Because that’s how it’s always
been done’. We need to be more
innovative in our approach, and I
think that young people can help
with that change as, often, they
see things in a more fl exible way.
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