The Manufacturers’ Alliance are delighted to share the appointment of our Founder and Managing Director, Gary Sheader as Industry Advisory Board Member of the Women In Manufacturing UK Association (WiM).
The Women in Manufacturing UK Initiative was founded by the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and Innovate UK Business Connect. Its purpose is to encourage more diversity and inclusivity in the manufacturing sector, and a more positive changes towards gender representation.
In joining the board, Gary will support the movement in accelerating action within the manufacturing sector to change perceptions of the industry to attract a new generation of female talent, further support women in manufacturing roles and increase the number of women and their visibility in senior positions.
Gary’s message to the manufacturing community has been, “I was honoured to be asked to join the board and am surrounded by an excellent mix of talented people that want to support changing perceptions around women in the UK manufacturing industry. I feel it is something I have been subconsciously supporting for a number of decades, and plan to utilise my skills and knowledge to help shape and drive the movement.”
“I would like to see more young women considering manufacturing and engineering as career option, and as a sector we have some work to do there. I would also like to see a more fair and equal landscape for women currently in the sector, where gender is not impacting someone’s opportunity to have a voice and progress in the business.”
Whilst there has been recent progress, women currently only represent around 26% of the UK’s manufacturing workforce, a statistic that Gary, alongside WiM aspire to change. By increasing female representation and creating an inclusive environment in which they can thrive, Gary is confident that the UK manufacturing industry and wider society will benefit from the diverse perspectives that women bring.
You can read the full Women in UK Manufacturing 2024: Addressing Labour Shortages and Bridging the Gender Gap report here.
