FOCUS ON DIVERSITY
has got a long way to go as women are still severely outnumbered by men , but the time to start this change is now ,” concluded Precision People .
Dani Mata , site manager ( Vilafranca ), AkzoNobel .
Gender diversity success
AkzoNobel ’ s Vilafranca site in Spain has become one of its most gender-diverse manufacturing sites .
“ Vilafranca , Spain is a diverse site , as the numbers can attest ,” said Dani Mata , its site manager . “ Women currently make up 39 % of the site – that ’ s 39 % in operations , 36 % in management roles and 50 % in my direct team . For us , it ’ s more than clear that diversity benefits our productivity . Different perspectives bring creativity , problem solving and management thinking , all things that enhance the employee experience and our performance . While there is no handbook on achieving gender diversity – every company is different – there are a few important elements to getting it right .”
Six specific lessons can be learned from Vilafranca ’ s success in improving gender diversity at its manufacturing site .
■ Invest in better job conditions and HSE & S . “ Since jobs performed in manufacturing operations have traditionally been perceived as for men , in the past there some areas of our site made up exclusively of men ,” explained Dani Mata .
“ About seven years ago , we started to question the way we worked . We realized a few things . Due to a lot of investment by the company , job conditions had improved . Our focus on areas like health , safety , environment and security ( HSE & S ); process automation and equipment upgrades had also opened more doors to women in production . At the same time , women were starting to apply with the same amount of industry experience . This would come to fundamentally change the make-up of our site .”
■ Be more welcoming with proper workwear and facilities . The changes required to make manufacturing sites more welcoming to women aren ’ t always major . One example is properly fitted workwear . Previously , many sites would assign women a small-sized men ’ s outfit . Now , AkzoNobel advises its sites to provide women with outfits designed for them , as well as making sure that there are designated locker rooms for both men and women . Being open to flexible working arrangements is another easy way to make your working environment more attractive to all .
■ Educate people managers . Leaders like Dani play a pivotal role in shaping culture by role-modelling inspiring behaviours . That is why AkzoNobell created an inclusive leadership guide to spark ideas and give examples of how leaders can create an environment where everyone feels included . This has been translated into 16 different languages and includes ways for managers to share learnings with their teams .
“ Since we ’ ve also made training on unconscious bias mandatory for all employees as part of their onboarding , our people managers are encouraged to discuss these topics openly within their teams ,” explained Dani Mata .
■ Increase development and networking opportunities . “ One of our areas of focus at AkzoNobel is to increase the share of women across all levels of the organisation . Women are now proportionally represented in all our talent pools ( at least 35 %) and we support their advancement with additional development options such as personal branding and interview skills training or mentoring ,” added Dani Mata .
“ Employee networks , where people can make new connections , share experiences and grow talent together , are also a great way to provide much needed support and sense of belonging – especially in areas of the company that aren ’ t yet very gender-diverse .”
The company launched a global ‘ Women Inspired Network ’ which is growing rapidly , with local chapters across the UK ; the Netherlands ; Germany ; the U . S .; Brazil ; Argentina ; Dubai ; India ; China and Singapore .
■ Implement gender diversity targets throughout the organisation . As part of its long-term diversity and
50 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR April 2022