Women in Print Alliance Opens Long-Overdue Conversation
The printing industry is leaving talent on the table: Roughly half the global workforce is female, but women make up just 26 percent of the industry, according to research conducted at the 2016 SGIA Expo.
The Magazine
KATE ACHELPOHL SR MANAGER OF PUBLIC 18 RELATIONS, SGIA
SUMMER 2017
“As a result, we’re missing out on opportunities to tap into a diverse bank of experience and talent,”
said Marci Kinter, vice president, government and business information, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA). Kinter is a member of the Women in Print Alliance, which is focused on attracting, retaining, and advancing women in the printing workforce.
First on the Women in Print agenda: an industry-wide survey to compile a snapshot of women’s experiences, expectations, and priorities.
“Opening a dialogue is the first step to understanding the roles women play in today’s printing industry,” said Kinter. Women in Print will share survey results at its breakfast on Wednesday, October 11, in conjunction with the 2017 SGIA Expo. Results as of July 4 showed some interesting trends emerging.
What Brings Women to the Industry?
So far survey results show that 67.5 percent of respondents “use printing/imaging technologies to produce a product or contribute to a finished product” and 22.4 percent “provide equipment or consumables to the printing/imaging industry,” a ratio of about 3:1. The top three areas represented by our respondents are sales and marketing (23.3 percent); senior management and leadership (20.5 percent); and art and design (17.8 percent); and the most popular job functions are senior management (24.7 percent), business management (19.2 percent), and art/design personnel (16 percent).
As is often the case, more than a third (37.9 percent) of women in the industry came into it by happenstance. It’s worth noting that for each woman who fell into the industry, another has started her own business (19.2 percent) or joined intentionally, spurred by her passion for graphics (16.9 percent).
Women are staying with printing, no matter how they got there. To date, 36.8 percent of respondents report more than 20 years in printing.
“Our field is creative, dynamic, and exciting, and there’s a need for skills in all areas, from graphic design to administration and sales. Printing is a great place to grow,” said SGIA’s Maggie Stevens, vice president of marketing & communications. When asked to describe what makes printing an attractive career field, the most common responses included “creative/creativity, changing, and challenging.”
SPOTLIGHT
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