Three pro tips for young women in manufacturing

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Three pro tips for young women in manufacturing

10 May 2023

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY — At interpack’s inaugural Women in Packaging event, female professionals from various facets of manufacturing joined together for a networking lunch and panel discussion featuring insight from leaders in the packaging industry.

Moderated by Nerida Kelton, VP of sustainability and Save Food at the World Packaging Organization, the panel included Afsaneh Nabifar, head of global market development for biopolymers at BASF; Nadia Taylor, co-founder and director of tna solutions; Marjo Halonen, VP of communications at Metsa Board, Valentina Aureli, CEO of Aetna Group; and Gabi Bauer, head of marketing and communication for Uhlmann Pac-Systeme.

“I started in this industry 25 years ago, and I when I attended tradeshows, there were no women,” Kelton said. “I used to think, ‘Where are all the women?’ And I soon realized it was no one’s fault. This was the legacy of career pathways. People in processing and packaging came from engineering and industrial design, and 25 years ago, those were predominantly male-driven careers.”

Fast forward to today, and there are significantly more women in the room, though many would argue there is still much work to be done.

During the panel discussion, topics revolved around insight on confidence, authenticity and choosing the right mentors. Knowing that many young professionals were in attendance, Kelton prioritized confidence early in the conversation.

“I remember early in my career I would walk into a room, and the first thing the engineers and designers would ask me was, ‘Do you have a degree in packaging?’” That was very overwhelming, but I would say, ‘No, I don’t. But I bring different skills to the table that you don’t have.’ That was hard when I was younger. But I learned to have the confidence to stand in my own truth and my own skills.”

The panel expressed the importance of differentiating between confidence and making mistakes. The speakers advised attendees that being confident doesn’t exempt them from making mistakes.

“We all make mistakes,” Bauer said. “But when you can believe in yourself and pick up on the topics around you and push forward, you can naturally generate that confidence.”

Confidence, she said, leads to opportunities.

“If there are two people with the same skillsets,” Halonen said, “the one with the most confidence will be more likely to succeed.”

And jumping on those opportunities requires authenticity, which is also an important leadership trait.

“Leading as a woman these days means to be real and to be whole,” Aureli said. “Being real means we are the same person at home as we are at work. And to be whole, our values have to structure our behavior. We have to be well prepared technically and in our principles.”

“Leading as a woman these days means to be real and to be whole.” Valentina Aureli | CEO | Aetna Group

As the packaging industry gains more women in the workforce and in leadership roles, mentorship is more important than ever.

Mentorship doesn’t have to be tied to gender, either. In fact, some of Kelton’s strongest mentors were men.

“I was surrounded by men who were supportive and wanted me to grow,” Kelton said. “I’ve had male mentors who always encouraged me, and that’s really important.”

Bauer also reflected on mentorship that focused more on professional development and improvement than gender.

“My mentors have been men and women,” she said. “They stood behind me and told me openly where I could improve.”

One important aspect for young professionals to understand is that mentorship works in all directions. It’s not necessarily up to the seasoned professionals to seek out their mentees.

“You have to ask for it,” Bauer advised. “Nobody is going to come around the corner and say, ‘Oh, it would be so great to mentor you!’”

In fact, Kelton was recently approached by a young professional — who happened to be male — asking for mentorship. Now, that person is on her radar.

“That’s a person I want to work with because he had the courage to reach out to me,” Kelton said.

The panel also pointed out that personal traits that are often associated with women should not be overlooked or discounted. Often, they can complement hard skills that can be found in manufacturing settings regardless of gender.

“I think we have the chance to use not only the rational part of our expertise but also the emotional side,” Aureli suggested. “We need to power up that part. The innovation that we can produce comes from the combination of the rational and emotional. Companies and decisions are the synthesis of relationships among people.”

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