A panel at the 2020 Global Manufacturing and industrialisation Summit (GMIS) discussed the potential for a more gender-inclusive manufacturing sector, discussing ways to address the gender pay gap, potential policy measures and practices to further increase women's participation.
Women in STEM
Women are particularly vulnerable to being displaced by technology in industry and lack access to the digital skills needed to gain upward momentum. Evidence suggests that that the developments seen across the manufacturing sector disproportionally benefit men in comparison to women, primarily because the jobs women do are more densely populated in areas that are more susceptible to automation.
Despite this, important strides have been made in recent years to encourage women to pursue educations in STEM fields - which are becoming increasingly important at higher levels in the manufacturing sector.
Loubna Bouarfa, CEO, OKRA Technologies said: “In the new digital age, the rapid spread of under-developed AI models has resulted in the fragmentation of our society. Bias is ramping up, in both the physical and digital world. I am a firm believer in the value of diversity, from the way we build our teams to the way we test our algorithms. All stakeholders in society need to embrace diversity and learn to be comfortable addressing human and algorithmic biases.”
The objective of the first working group was to come up with an action plan of activities, programmes and outcomes to be realised. Initial discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities Industry 4.0 presents in tackling gender equality in the workplace.
Ismail Ali Abdulla, CEO, Strata Manufacturing, said: “At Strata we are immensely proud of the fact that women make up 90% of the Emirati workforce employed at the company and over half the overall workforce. By empowering women to play a significant role in the success and direction of the company, we are setting an example for manufacturing companies everywhere. However, clearly much more needs to be done globally to ensure a more equitable level of participation by women in the manufacturing sector and we fully support initiatives that aim to achieve this goal.”
The fourth industrial revolution has the potential to reinforce existing gender inequalities, therefore the working group explored avenues to ensure that technologies driving the next phase of globalisation are inclusive, sustainable and people-centred. It was agreed that the goal of gender parity will require a concerted effort on the part of governments, the private sector, civil society and multilateral institutions.
Ali Abdulla, added: “Women represent a vast talent pool that is underrepresented in manufacturing and many other economic sectors. However, gender diversity holds proven benefits for manufacturers, which is why we must devise strategies to address the gender gap and promote a greater role for women in the sector. This starts with education and skills, but we must also tackle outdated perceptions of the working environment in industry to make manufacturing more appealing to everyone. As the fourth industrial revolution gathers pace, we must shape the future of manufacturing in a way that is inclusive and ensures that no group gets left behind.”
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