Improving gender equality – a must for the metal industry

In order for the metal industry to meet the growing need for labour, continued efforts are needed to increase gender equality in the physical work environment and workplace culture. This is the conclusion in a report in Human Work Science from Luleå University of Technology. Women currently make up only a fifth of the workforce in the Swedish metal industry – to secure future relevant skills, many more are needed.

- Demand for metals is increasing sharply in the world and with it the need for labour. At the same time, significantly fewer women than men are employed in the metal industry in Sweden today. If the metal industry is to cope with the supply of skills, the industry must be able to attract the entire population, says Kristina Johansson, Assistant Professor of Human Work Science at Luleå University of Technology.

Focusing on the gender equality situation in today's metal industry, her research group has compiled and analysed Statistics Sweden's (SCB) gender-disaggregated employment statistics at industry level throughout the Swedish metal industry. The researchers have also interviewed women and men at eight companies in different parts of the metal industry about their experiences of gender equality and the work environment in their workplaces.

Based on the results, the researchers identify three gender equality challenges that seem to contribute to creating differences between men's and women's opportunities and conditions for working in the metal industry and thus the industry's ability to attract labour. These include segregation and division of labour, work and work environment, and culture and jargon.

In terms of the distribution of women and men in the metal industry, there are significant differences both at industry level and between occupational categories. Among senior support staff in jobs requiring higher education, such as HR, finance and marketing, women are well represented, sometimes significantly over-represented. In contrast, women are severely under-represented in production at all levels: in maintenance, women make up only a few percent, and among process and machine operators, the largest occupational category in the metal industry, the share of women is 17 percent.

Better physical working environment

The researchers' study shows that the physical work environment has generally improved as more and more physical tasks in the metal industry have been eliminated. However, there are still heavy tasks that also shape how work is distributed between men and women. This takes place both formally between departments and informally within work teams.

- On the one hand, there is reason to challenge socially constructed notions that equate men/manliness with physical strength, in ways that exclude women. On the other hand, there is a need for continued investment in the work environment to remove and reshape the tasks in the metal industry that still require physical strength and are strenuous for both men and women, says Kristina Johansson.

While the workplace culture in the metal industry has changed over time to a more open and inclusive direction, the researchers show that there are still traces of a more or less coarse jargon that characterises parts of the companies studied. This type of jargon often leads to conformity and an emphasis on 'sameness' that makes some feel at home and others uncomfortable and different.

- Deviating from the norm can lead to a form of visibility and invisibility paradox, where, for example, women become visible as deviant in relation to gender and at the same time invisible as competent professionals. We recommend that the continued gender equality work in the metal industry focuses on creating an inclusive workplace culture and a health-promoting work environment for everyone, says Kristina Johansson.

The researchers' report

• Gender and gender equality in the metal industry: A knowledge base for continued development work External link.

is part of the project Kompetensförsörjning för metallindustrin (KOMPLÄTT), which is coordinated by Jernkontoret with funding from the strategic innovation programme Metallic Materials (Metalliska Material), which is run by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. The report will form the basis for later scientific articles.