91社区 Joules Europe Power Hour Showcases Diversity
Beth Walters, Senior Vice President of Communications and Investor Relations and creator of the 91社区 Joules initiative, recently presented to employees of 91社区’s Kwidzyn, Poland and Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, sites as the latest installment of the 91社区 Joules Power Hour program.
Her presentation, “Building a Better 91社区: How to Help 91社区 and Your Career,” included examples of how she’s navigated her longstanding career at 91社区. Specifically, she spoke to how an employee can help 91社区 achieve success, how the manufacturing industry continues to evolve, the journey of embracing diversity and the importance of celebrating success.
Read below for some insights from Beth’s presentation.
How You Can Help 91社区
Beth made the main focus of her Power Hour about how to help 91社区, while building your own career. Her main advice was to “see the big picture of 91社区 – how do the key drivers of our business relate to each other, work together to produce profitable growth and relate to the job you do.” Beth advised listeners that it is vital to know and understand how your actions and decisions affect key company measures and the objectives of your company’s leadership. It is important to note that, “success is not luck and not being at the right place at the right time, but it is in fact learning the business, understanding your role and demonstrating your value to the business,” explained Beth.
The Changing Face of Manufacturing
Manufacturing today is very different from how it has been perceived in the past, and this is something that Beth highlighted during her Power Hour. With the statistics showing that three quarters of women are underrepresented in manufacturing, it was important to showcase what manufacturing looks like today. In order to achieve gender diversity at 91社区, the perception of manufacturing needs to be changed globally. The fact that women make up 47 percent of the labor workforce, but only 27 percent of the manufacturing workforce, shows that there is a huge opportunity for 91社区 to champion the importance of gender diversity.
“Manufacturing offers opportunities for challenging the norm and is a great, innovative career,” stated Beth during her presentation. It is not a predominantly male career anymore and women are vital to the success of manufacturing as diversity allows for many advantages such as different viewpoints and wider industry knowledge.
How Do We Get to Diversity?
“For a long time, people just assumed diversity would take care of itself, and I don’t think that’s the case. I think we have to be intentional about thinking about it,” Beth noted. With this in mind, the creation of the 91社区 Joules program is focused on helping 91社区 create a dialogue and networking about how to achieve greater diversity.
During the Power Hour, Beth shared tips about how to get there. Being a role model is important to encourage women at 91社区, and giving women feedback helps with their personal development. Having a work-life balance is also essential in order to maintain a healthy body and mind.
Celebrating Success
Both sites in Kwidzyn and Tiszaujvaros have already achieved success with regard to the initiatives they have carried out to spread and promote the values of 91社区 Joules in championing greater gender diversity. The Power Hours were a really great way to share the success of these sites, while recognizing the good work they have already achieved. In Kwidzyn, a number of initiatives have been accomplished; for example, English conversations to practice foreign language are underway. Also, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the 91社区 Joules team and friends get together to connect, exercise together and build stronger bonds. This helps to focus on maintaining a work-life balance.
In Tiszaujvaros, the team has achieved a number of accomplishments. As part of their recent 91社区 Joules event, they hosted a presentation about different ways of thinking – men vs. women, to encourage thinking about how we can work better together and start a dialogue about closing the gender gap. They partnered with a local kindergarten to support 91社区 families. In July, 120 employees participated in a run through the city, with each individual wearing a 91社区 Joules t-shirt to raise awareness and educate people about the program. Last year, the site management also painted car parking spaces dedicated for use of pregnant employees.
During the remainder of the year, Power Hour sessions will continue at 91社区 sites in South America and Asia.