Sitting on a New Jersey Business & Industry Association panel titled Women in Manufacturing: Leading in a Male-Dominated Industry, Gail Friedberg Rottenstrich expressed hope that the name would soon change.
Rottenstrich, co-founder and CEO of ZAGO Manufacturing Company, said while it’s true that about 70% of the U.S manufacturing workforce is male, it doesn’t necessarily mean that men dominate the industry.
“I’d like to see it change to something more hopeful,” Rottenstrich said during the Women Business Leaders Forum in Atlantic City.
Technology has helped level the playing field, Rottenstrich said. With robots and automation handling more of the factory machinery, she has seen a shift in demand at her Parsippany company for employees educated in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“There is tremendous opportunity for women in manufacturing,” she said.
The panel was moderated by Laura Fisher, human resources director at the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program; and also included Mary Anne Lindholm, vice president at Falstrom Company in Passaic; and Sarah Switlik, president at Switlik Survival Products in Trenton.
Switlik, a fourth-generation member of the family business, said she has learned the value of communicating with inclusion. She initiated town halls with translators so all her 170 employees would understand the company’s goals, and provides training for workers at every level.
Rottenstrich said her workforce is very young, and her company pays for employees to pursue higher education.
“Whatever they want from their lives, we’re going to help them,” she said.
She also recalled a lesson she heard at the same forum a decade ago that stayed with her: If you stay where you are comfortable, you’ll stay where you are.
Lindholm urged the audience to adopt that mindset. Often when she was asked to take on new roles, she was scared but still raised her hand.
“Don’t be afraid, and you will persevere,” she said. “You will get there.”
