Opportunities in industry for female talent
The fourth round table of the cycle “Leading economic sectors with female talent“, organized by Barcelona Activa and the association 50a50, focused on the industry, to offer a powerful portrait of the situation of women in this sector and analyze the opportunities offered for young women.
The speakers were the president of 50a50, Anna Mercadé; the consultant for the implementation of equality policies Mar Gaya; Carme Poveda, director of Economic Analysis of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona; Carol Daunert, consultant of DiverInvest, and Sofía Lluch, CEO of Lluch Essence.
Carme Poveda presented the study “Women in the industry in Catalonia“, which she elaborated last year for the Catalan Government and which shows that the industrial sector is very masculinised. The presence of women here is 29%, and they are mostly employed in the administrative departments. One of the reasons for this scarce presence of women refers to the difficulty of conciliation, because of the location of the factories in the polygons, the need to travel in companies that export (which are the majority), and the organization of work in shifts.
Even so, “the industry is contemplating the need to incorporate female talent in the design of the product, because the purchasing decisions are made by women,” explained Poveda. Moreover, it is a sector with great job opportunities, because it is where salaries are higher, where there is more job stability, where labor rights are more recognized and where innovation is higher.
Carol Daunert and Sofía Lluch agreed on the description of their experiences in relation to the lack of equal opportunities between women and men. Both explained that in their sectors it is difficult to find women in management positions and that in family businesses gender stereotypes still weigh heavily. However, they pointed to new technologies as the great opportunity to attract more women to the industry.
The cycle “Leading economic sectors with female talent” is jointly organized by Barcelona Activa and 50a50 with the aim of advancing towards the full and effective participation of women at all levels. The next session will be held on November 29 and will focus on the digital economy.