Talent

Top 10 Cities for Manufacturing Jobs for Women

March 22, 2018

Los Angeles takes the number one slot for women working in the manufacturing sector.

A recent survey by MagnifyMoney ranked the U.S. metro areas according to where the average working woman could have the ability to better or maintain her financial health. The group looked at the data from the perspective of how many women were employed in the manufacturing sector.

It might be a surprise to many that LA was at the top of the list, with about five times as many female workers than the other metro areas. LA also has the smallest gender wage gap of the 50 metro areas, at 10.1%.

New York ranked as the state with the highest gender equity among manufacturing workers, with 38.2% of workers being women. MagnifyMoney points out that this statistic is surprising given the fact that they fall well below the median for workers employed in manufacturing as well as women workers employed in manufacturing. Given the sheer size of the employed population, this translates to a very high absolute number of women in manufacturing in 2016: 213,376.

The city with the highest percentage of workers employed in manufacturing, Detroit, is also the lowest ranked city on the list for working women. It’s worth noting that even though a full 10% of women workers are in manufacturing – significantly higher than the average among 50 metros of 5.8% -- the percentage of manufacturing workers who are women (25.7%) is actually considerably lower than the average of 29%.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko | Senior Editor

Focus: Workforce, Talent

Follow Me on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Bio: Adrienne Selko has written about many topics over the 17 years she has been with the publication and currently focuses on workforce development strategies. Previously Adrienne was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck? which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics and EHS Today.

Editorial mission statement: Manufacturing is the enviable position of creating products, processes and policies that solve the world’s problems. When the industry stepped up to manufacture what was necessary to combat the pandemic, it revealed its true nature. My goal is to showcase the sector’s ability to address a broad range of workforce issues including technology, training, diversity & inclusion, with a goal of enticing future generations to join this amazing sector.

Why I find manufacturing interesting: On my first day working for a company that made medical equipment such as MRIs, I toured the plant floor. On every wall was a photo of a person, mostly children. I asked my supervisor why this was the case and he said that the work we do at this company has saved these people’s lives. “We never forget how important our work is and everyone’s contribution to that.” From that moment on I was hooked on manufacturing.

I have talked with many people in this field who have transformed their own career development to assist others. For example, companies are hiring those with disabilities, those previously incarcerated and other talent pools that have been underutilized. I have talked with leaders who have brought out the best in their workforce, as well as employees doing their best work while doing good for the world.