Why are Manufacturing Companies Focusing on Female Talent

Why are Manufacturing Companies Focusing on Female Talent?

Feb. 4, 2014
If International Paper's CEO gets his way the company’s payroll will be made up of 51% women.

When a company, such as International Paper (IW 500/46), is faced with having to replace more than 50% of its producton floor workforce within the next decade, a wide net must be cast to entice employees.

In an article on BloombergBusinessweek, Christopher Donville talked to the company’s CEO, John Faraci,  about their strategy. “It’s a war for talent,” Faraci told Donville. “If we can only compete for half the people that are on the planet, how are we going to get the best? You want to compete for everybody.”

Should Faraci get his way the company’s payroll will be made up of 51% women, reflecting the percent of women in the general U.S. population.

Across all manufacturing sectors in  the U.S., women are underrepresented in the workforce, with women comprising only 24.8% of the durable goods manufacturing workforce, according to the Manufacturing Institute's/Deloitte report, "Untapped resource: How manufacturers  can  attract, retain, and advance talented women."

However, International Paper has a good track record to stand on given that last year among the company’s five highest-paid executives three were women.

Read more about how International Paper is recruiting women.

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