In the Name of Good Works

There are currently nine women serving as her state’s Attorney General (Harris-CA, Bondi-FL, Madigan-IL, Mills-ME, Coakley-MA, Swanson-MN, Masto-NV, Rosenblum-OR, and Kane-PA). However, if you listen to the news, you would not consider that 20% of the country's Attorneys General are female because when the AG title is spoken about in general terms, it has a male connotation. Even with adequate representation, there are still some job titles that are associated with men.

What's wrong in this picture?

I see a similar stigma in manufacturing. When speaking of a plant manager, engineering manager, director of operations, VP of product development, the person is always assumed to be a man. I was recently asked to share a funny story about an event in my career. A common theme for me: When people in other countries see my name written, they do not know if I am a man or a woman. Before the days of intranet bio's, I was once introduced on a global video conference as Mr. Latanyua Robinson from Germany, until the camera zoomed on me, revealing that I was an American female...from Stuttgart (AR)! Even in the picture shown, welcoming me to a plant in China, I was (innocently) referenced as a man. The most logical explanation is that people look at the job title or function and automatically assume that the person is a man. And while the examples I cited involved an international audience, the same holds true in the United States. Why are we still assigning gender roles to job titles and functions in 2013?

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (found at http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/DocServer/gendered_wording_JPSP.pdf?docID=16121) suggested that subtle biases exist in job listings for technical roles. For example, job titles for positions in engineering and other male-dominated professions used more masculine words, such as “leader,” “competitive” and “dominant.” Listings for jobs in female-dominated professions — such as office administration and human resources — did not include such words. Perhaps linguistics or culture play a role in why some jobs are more likely to be filled by a man, but I say it is still a numbers game.

Women represent 47% of the workforce, but fill less than 25% of the manufacturing workforce (http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/A07730B2A798437D98501E798C2E13AA.ashx). Advocacy groups like Women in Manufacturing are good associations for highlighting the accomplishments of women in the industry. As members, we have to do our parts at the grassroots level to educate young women about the career opportunities available. We have to share our stories about navigating through the ranks, bringing with us our rich experiences and diversity of thought. We have to be the driving force in the cultural shift that invites more women to want to become engaged in manufacturing so that 25 years from now, we no longer hear a job title and automatically assume that the role is filled by a man. We want a future state that assumes no gender biases, only that the role, any role in any industry, is filled with the most qualified person.