Men Versus Women in Factories

Are Women Breaking into the Male Dominated World of Industrial Maintenance? I think it's a good time to look at men versus women in the factory world of inustrial maintenance, don't you?

Let's start by going back thirty years. Baby One More Time by Britney Spears was on the radio and Friends and Seinfeld were the popular TV staples. Those were the days when the manufacturing industry overall employed roughly 60 to 70% men, with 30 to 40% women in the mix.

The ratio calculates to roughly 2:1 men to women. The numbers wer even more lop-sided in the heavy, labor intense industries like the steel and automotive sectors. These factories were often at 75 to 90% men. The skilled industrial maintenace positions were perfectly in-step with these numbers and the jobs seemed to attract men more easily.

What does an Industrial Maintenance technician Do?

Industrial maintenance techs are responsible for keeping factory equipment and machinery running around the clock safely and efficiently. Some of the more common tasks include troubleshooting equipment that has stopped working and periodic inspections of machinery for signs of wear or damage. Performing all the preventive maintenance, such as greasing/oiling bearings, replacing dirty filters, and tightening fan belts go with the territiory.

They are responsible for keeping maintenance logs and documenting any repairs along with ordering and inventorying spare parts. Maintenance technicians likely need skills in mechanical repair, electricity and electronic theory, hydraulics and pneumatics, maybe even welding, and the concepts of industrial automation and PLC programming.

Depending on the factory, they may specialize in mechanical maintenance, electrical maintenance, or a combination of the two. This can be somewhat daunting, and most often can take years to build experience.

But back to the male versus female aspect of maintenance. What we've found is somewhat alarming, however not completely unexpected. Industrial factories including the maintenance positions are still generally male-dominated.

These number can vary slightly based on the industry but as a whole, there hassn't been much change to the ratio of thirty years past. The approximate figures for factory employment sits at 65 to 75% men with 25 to 35% women. The ratio has slighlty changed to about 2.5 men for every 1 woman. And when it comes to the heavy duty industries like automotive and metalworking, the workforce remains at 75-90% men.

At this point it's safe to say that these jobs aren't growing in popularity with women. This is most likely due to the modern images and historical photos that depict men in these roles. Apparently, overall the industrial world hasn't seen a need to implement a marketing approach geared toward women. Only time will tell if that will change...

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