The manufacturing industry has evolved greatly over the decades into a tech-forward, rapidly accelerating sector focused on efficiency, increased productivity, and digitalization through the adoption of automation. With these changing times, the old notions of manual labor fit for a male-dominant workforce have given way to a modern and diverse labor force ripe with opportunity. The industry now offers immense possibilities for women, with many distinguished individuals having blazed the path, offering valuable lessons and resources for the next generation.
Many jobs in manufacturing used to be dull, dirty, or dangerous — qualities not necessarily enticing to a wide audience and historically dominated by men. But times have truly changed with the rapid adoption of automation, and with it, so too, should the perception of manufacturing. “We always say, it’s not your father’s or grandfather’s manufacturing environment anymore,” says Suzy Teele, chief strategy officer at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. Instead, many plants today are automated, allowing workers to use your “brains more than your muscles,” she shares. “The great thing about that is that it really then does open up working in manufacturing for anybody. You just don’t have to be a man to be in manufacturing. You can be a woman. You can be somebody with a physical limitation and still find a rewarding career in manufacturing.”
