Girl Power on the 组装 Line
In 1813, a businessman named Francis Cabot Lowell formed the Boston 制造业 十大外围足彩网 and built a textile mill next to the Charles River. By 1840, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, and Lowell’s mills employed almost 8,000名工人, with women making up nearly three-quarters of the workforce.
“洛厄尔磨坊女孩”,他们后来被这样称呼, were daughters of New England and Canadian farmers, typically between the ages of 15 and 35. Working in mills gave these women their first opportunity in America for independence and a bit of financial freedom. 随着时间的推移, adult women in manufacturing displaced child labor, and women led the American labor movement for safer work environments and restricted labor hours.
Women in mills today can achieve the highest levels of education and leadership thanks to the Lowell Mill Girls who laid the groundwork centuries ago.
在STEM领域赋予女性权力
Bri Butchart, finished product business unit manager at the Bogalusa轧机, went into manufacturing because it met all three of her requirements for her career: to not be trapped at a desk, to work directly with people and to see the impact of her work in real time. 她并不是唯一一个.
下 Thriving People and Communities 愿景2030目标, IP aims to have 30% overall representation of women in all positions and 50% of women in salaried positions. 在Bogalusa, 50 percent of the mill’s lead team are women, serving in positions that include operations, 工程与EHS. As the Bogalusa mill demonstrates, increasing women representation is possible.
But being a woman in manufacturing leadership isn’t completely without its challenges, 即使是在21世纪. 布里说，首先, many men have an instinct to be gentlemanly, to volunteer to do tasks for women.
“当我年轻的时候, men were very protective of me, and I appreciated that they saw me as one of their daughters. But papermaking requires experiential learning, and it was important to me that I learn how to complete a task myself,”布莱说。, who holds a chemical engineering degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
李 Dillon, engineering manager at Bogalusa, faced challenges managing contractors in her career.
Fear will try to keep you from doing things. It’s when you push yourself past the fear that you improve.
“People often assumed I wasn’t qualified because they’d never seen a woman in that position,”她说。. “I overcame that by proving myself. I’ve always wanted to be the best at everything I did – sports, school, my career. That takes dedicated work and I’m willing to make that effort in order to be successful.”
她在Bogalusa的角色, 李 has managed some highly complex, multi-million-dollar projects like installing new drives on the #8 纸 Machine and a DCS system in the pulp mill.
李, who holds a mechanical engineering degree from Mississippi State University, says she is most proud of these accomplishments because complex electrical projects tend to be outside her comfort zone. “Fear will try to keep you from doing things. It’s when you push yourself past the fear that you improve,”她说。.
卓越的影响
在知识产权, we believe that more effective solutions can be found when people with diverse backgrounds and experiences bring different perspectives to the table. And diversity in leadership helps improve diversity in our workforce.
“People like to see themselves represented on our leadership teams,”布莱说。.
It’s one reason she has actively worked to bring mill participation to the Women in IP (WIP) Employee Networking Circle. “I made a commitment to provide space for women to participate in the WIP ENC, so they’ll know there’s a network of people who support them whenever they need it.”
All seven of the women on our mill lead team are also mothers. We represent that women can have both a career and a family. We don’t have to limit ourselves. 我们不必选择.
李 added that the women in leadership are role models to the younger women who are beginning their careers. “All seven of the women on our mill lead team are also mothers,” she pointed out. “We represent that women can have both a career and a family. We don’t have to limit ourselves. 我们不必选择.”
