Women in UK Manufacturing report 2024

The Women in UK Manufacturing 2024: Addressing Labour Shortages and Bridging the Gender Gap report presents an overview of the progress and challenges encountered by women participating in UK manufacturing over the past year. This edition specifically addresses two of the most pressing challenges faced by the industry: labour shortages and the gender gap.

The report from Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy’s Jennifer Castañeda-Navarrete and Institute of Manufacturing, University of Cambridge’s Zoi Roupakia, Viktória Döme and Guendalina Anzolin aims to review the gender disparities in participation of women in manufacturing and provide actionable insights for industry and government. It was launched at the second Women in Manufacturing: Changing Perceptions conference, the flagship event for the Women in Manufacturing UK (WiM UK) initiative.

WiM UK was established in 2022 and is led by a dedicated network of academics, practitioners, and industry professionals. WiM UK’s mission encompasses networking opportunities, peer support, thought leadership, industry expertise, and policy advocacy to create a more inclusive manufacturing landscape.

The WiM UK Industry Advisory Board set the scene for the report: “The manufacturing sector is experiencing times of great uncertainty and challenge, driven by digitalisation, the skills shortage and the need to become a net-zero economy. Amidst these changes, the role of women in manufacturing presents a timely opportunity and solution.”

With the aim of presenting actionable insights for industry and government, the report brings together findings from an extensive international review and case studies of best practice from a diverse range of manufacturing organisations. These build a picture of how diversity and inclusion is already being tackled and set the backdrop for a proposed framework for fostering an inclusive manufacturing industry.

Co-author Jennifer Castañeda-Navarrete said: “The report features practical, real-life examples, guidance, and tools to help organisations enhance diversity and inclusion. The Women in Manufacturing initiative invites stakeholders to engage with this framework, offer feedback, develop and make public their own pledges to create a more equitable and inclusive sector.”

The report begins with an annual review on progress and setbacks, which inform the key themes of tackling labour shortages and employee retention, driving equality and diversity and inclusion.

“Gender disparities persist in the participation of women in manufacturing, with little change observed over the past year. Despite women making up approximately half of the UK’s workforce, they represent only 26.1% of the manufacturing workforce,” says Jennifer.

The annual review shares 5 key findings:

• Little progress has been made in women’s representation from 2022 to 2023.
• Progress by occupation is mixed, with small gains in managerial and office roles and significant decline in women’s representation in professional occupations.
• Rising part-time roles highlight a persistent gender divide in unpaid work.
• The gender pay gap has narrowed from 16.7% to 15.9% between men and women.
• The UK lags behind other leading manufacturing countries in women’s participation, ranking last in the top 15.

The framework itself provides principles for companies and industry associations and recommendations for a gender-responsive industrial strategy to aid in creating equal opportunities and a diverse workforce. The principles cover all aspects of business, from championing equality, diversity and inclusion in leadership to ensuring a diverse talent pool and inclusive recruitment. These are brought together by a set of key steps to ensure diversity and inclusion remains an integral part of business operations.

How to get involved:

Whether a small enterprise or multi-national corporation, WiM UK invites and encourages all manufacturing organisations to engage with the principles set out in the report. Involvement can range from providing feedback and thoughts on the framework to committing to action through pledges.

If you are interested in sharing feedback or working together to develop tailored pledges aligned with these principles, please scan the below QR code:

This report was funded by IfM Engage and Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy in support of the Women in Manufacturing UK initiative.