D&I initiatives critical as manufacturers seek to fill open roles

Employers in the manufacturing industry are expanding their diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs to make fundamental cultural changes and boost business performance, according to a new report issued by PwC and the Manufacturing Institute (MI), a social component of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The report said D&I program expansion is critical as industry firms struggle to attract talent. The report's authors talked best practices with D&I leaders from business segments including consumer and industrial manufacturing. Those conversations yielded advice for employers, including: get leadership buy-in and transmit an organization-wide message on D&I initiatives; make D&I integral to the daily business performance, and not a solitary HR program; master D&I metrics and create a D&I dashboard with recruiting, hiring, retention, leadership and promotion data; and tie in D&I achievements to overall performance/compensation. Authors concluded that successful D&I efforts are more important now than ever because of changing demographics. Citing U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the report points out that about 45 million people or 13.7% of the U.S. population are foreign-born, which is the highest number on record since 1910. The manufacturing sector could also stand to seek out more women candidates, the report said. Women make up just 29% of the industry's workforce despite comprising 57% of the total U.S. labor force.