[main] [L to R] Hannah, Amy, Rosie, Jo, Courtney, Anna, and Lorenne of Blue Print Direct Mail
Finding a balance
A 2018 study by the BPIF (British Printing Industries Federation) into gender within the printing industry found it to be made up of 63% men and 37% women. In production roles, this gap widened with the department made up of 72% men and 28% women.
Although there is a clear gender disparity in these figures, the research did show the gap to have closed slightly since 2013, and found the print sector to have a higher representation of women than the average for UK manufacturing. However, it’s clear more needs to be done to close the gap.
O Factoid: In 2018, the BPIF found the print industry to be made up of 63% men and 37% women O
As these statistics are from 2018, it’s important to note that they are likely to have changed, especially with the pandemic causing employment figures to fluctuate. However, they still give an idea of the demographic within our industry. In this feature, we hear from a number of women making their mark in the sphere about how we can work to balance these figures out.
Board-level balance
Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, and with offices around the world, Kyocera Document Solutions produces a portfolio of multifunction printers and inkjet technology.
Nicola Yates, head of channel sales; Anne Griffin, IT channel account manager (Consumables Distribution); Mandeep Jabble, IT channel account manager (Hardware Distribution); and Karen Harrison, IT channel account manager (IT Channel Sales), all employees of Kyocera, offer some suggestions on how to improve the gender imbalance within print.
The employees say that whilst the industry has been historically male dominated, this has changed in recent years. “Opportunities for women in this field have grown in recent years. This could be due in part to the fact that technology has changed, as well as the merging of many businesses in this industry, both of which affect culture. There are now so many career opportunities and paths within print.”
As a company, Kyocera requires female representation within the strategic committees responsible for making key decisions. “Having more women in senior positions enables better gender balance throughout the company and demonstrates to other prospective employees that we are a company where women can thrive,” the group says.
“Board-level balance is crucial to achieving real change. We have also taken important steps in the last couple of years to address the gender pay gap within the company, as an equal working environment is a more welcoming one.”
The group adds: “The sector needs to do more to explain that the industry isn’t just about ‘print’. The technology surrounding this industry is now transforming businesses with additional capabilities such as clever workflows and digital solutions. There is more to it than sending something to print or scanning a document, there is real opportunity to unlock innovation within businesses.”
A fresh perspective
Amy Guest, digital marketing executive of Blue Print Direct Mail joined the company aged 18 as a digital marketing apprentice. She echoes the point made that there is much more to the print industry than pressing a button to print something. She says: “There are so many types of roles in print, such as artwork and graphic design roles, marketing, sales, account handling, print finishing, HR, and accounts. There really is space for people of all kinds and so many opportunities. I think it would be fantastic for schools and sixth forms to get the word out about the print industry as there was little mentioned about this industry when I was getting careers advice.”
Courtney, creative account handler at Blue Print joined the company aged 17 as an apprentice. She says when she first started, she noticed the industry was a lot more male dominated. However, over the last four years, Courtney has seen the industry become more diverse. “There is a stereotype that men are more known for working in a productive, hands-on environment where machines are involved, however having said that, both men and women here are treated equally and given the same opportunities.”
[L to R) Amy Guest and Courtney both joined Blue Print as apprentices
An annual Women in Business Report found that women held only 34% of mid-market senior leadership roles in 2021. Reflecting on this, Blue Print marketing manager, Jo Widdowson says: “The print industry has traditionally been male dominated but the tide is definitely changing. I know women who actually wholly manage print businesses, not just work in them. It is going to take time for women to feed through from entering print to climbing the ladder, but we will see this percentage increase in the coming years.
“We need young females to see printing and the technical side of print machinery maintenance as a good career path. More and more employers are enthusiastic about employing females into traditionally male occupied roles. They have the ability and can bring a fresh perspective to the roles.”
Offering some suggestions on how to encourage and retain more women in the print industry, Guest lists flexible working, recruitment drives, encouraging more female apprentices, and being flexible with opportunities for women in print.
“Being able to see more women rise to senior roles in the print industry is imperative. Women need to be able to see themselves holding a position of influence. A diversity of voices and decision makers is only going to make the industry stronger,” Guest adds.
Making a mark
Back in January, Print Monthly reported that Print Scotland had appointed Susan Graham, managing director of FLB Group as its first ever female president in its 111-year history. Graham was voted unanimously for a two-year term with Richard McCombe, managing director of Matic Media being elected as vice president.
Susan Graham is the first female President of Print Scotland in its entire 111-year history
Graham entered the print industry by accident when applying for a personal assistant role. She recalls being asked at interview when she was “going to be having her babies”, but says she was fortunate to work with two directors who were professional and “could not care less” about her gender. Working within a predominately male team, Graham says, meant always having to prove your worth.
She says: “I did think I was going to have to learn to play golf in order to be included in some of the key networking events. But the key was actually gaining knowledge about the business, therefore I never refused an opportunity to progress or learn different areas of the business. Even if it took me way out of my comfort zone.”
I did think I was going to have to learn to play golf in order to be included in some of the key networking events”
Graham spent time at Glasgow Building & Print in order to gain a better understanding of print and binding and worked with the commercial team on costing. As her role evolved more towards the people side of business, she then studied for her Professional HR Qualification. Throughout her entire career, Graham has been involved with Print Scotland and has worked to promote Apprenticeship schemes, and to continually build her knowledge. Graham was headhunted by FLB Group 18 years ago as Group HR looking after the UK and overseas subs. “I progressed to HR director (Board position) in 2016 and latterly managing director in 2020. I am the first female MD in the company’s 250-year history as far as we are aware,” Graham explains.
Reflecting on her experience being a woman in a typically male-dominated industry, Graham says she was met with resistance in the early days from individuals along the way who questioned her expertise and knowledge. “Yes, there was a vibe from them that the reason was because I was female. I received comments like ‘she doesn’t know a print machine from a washing machine’.
I received comments like ‘she doesn’t know a print machine from a washing machine’. I always accepted that it was their issue not mine ”
“I always accepted that it was their issue not mine. Being in HR means that I also had to deal with issues of sexism against some of my colleagues at different levels. It can be subtle and hard to prove, but if I was there, I would always ensure it was dealt with on a no tolerance basis.”
In terms of what can be done to improve this, Graham suggests promoting the industry differently as it currently sits within the manufacturing bracket which she says isn’t appealing. As highlighted by Kyocera and Blue Print Direct Mail, the print industry needs to identify as part of the creative industry. This starts within schools and colleges to give a greater understanding of the varied and broad list of roles available.
Despite some of her experiences within the industry so far, Graham says that over the last 30 years she has seen a big shift. “Working with DYW (Developing the Young Workforce) has given me an insight into how we can better promote to females and young people in general, what they can achieve within an industry such as ours. I don’t believe the same view of women working in industry or print exists and it has evolved.”
More to be done
Encarna Luque, senior product manager for Inks and Textile at Roland DG first started her career over 30 years ago at Epson Ibérica where she spent 11 years in technical support, marketing, sales, and engineering. Luque later went on to become director of the Technical Department of BeDigital. Following this, she spent some time with HP before joining Roland DG as marketing director for Roland Ibérica. Now, her role revolves around business development in digital textile printing and the development of new inks both in EMEA and in southern Europe.
Encarna Luque, senior product manager for Inks and Textile at Roland DG first started her career in print over 30 years ago
Reflecting on whether she has experienced a disparity in gender within the print industry over her three-decade career, Luque says: “Yes, a little. At the start of my career, the presence of women in the industry was very low and mostly limited to family business. At one of my first trade fairs, some gentlemen came to the stand. I asked them if they needed anything, but they said they were just browsing. After ten minutes, a colleague brought them back, explaining that I was the technician and that I would answer any questions they had. They didn’t expect the technician to be a woman.
“It’s great to see more women entering positions of responsibility in the industry, thanks to the greater presence of women in professional degree studies specific to our sector, but there’s still more work to be done.”
Working in a technical position, Luque believes the lack of women in mid-market and senior leadership roles within print is due to the social and educational conditions historically not helping and supporting women. “For example, when I first entered the industry the rate of women in engineering careers did not exceed 10%. With more women entering the industry today, I hope to see women given many more opportunities to help this statistic balance out as they progress in their careers and reach senior level.”
On how to improve the issue, Luque suggests that businesses and the industry on a whole focus on embracing and encouraging women’s strengths. She adds: “To give just one example, I believe women have an excellent broad outlook and we have an alert and forward-thinking mindset that is very helpful in managing clients. Businesses should focus on harnessing and highlighting these unique qualities to encourage more diversity within the industry and create a company that truly reflects the audience it serves.”
Workplace flexibility
Jo Omrod, business unit sales director for Paper at Coveris, was inspired by a friend to join a local printing company and she says she loved it from day one. For Omrod, her “career break” came at this company when the sales director recognised something in her, and enlisted her support with a new project working inside a retail head office in Leeds. This role taught Omrod a lot and helped later in her career. Six years later, she joined Paragon Labels and worked her way up from sales manager to commercial director, becoming the first woman to sit on their board. The business was sold to Sun Capital (which owns Coveris) in 2012. Omrod has worked for the Group for 22 years and has seen it transition from an owner-managed company to a much larger global business.
Jo Omrod, business unit sales director for Paper at Coveris discovered a lack of women in the boardroom early on in her career
Something Omrod discovered early on in her career was a lack of women in the boardroom or in leadership positions. “I was sponsored early by a woman and have been fortunate to have had two very supportive managing directors throughout my career,” she says, adding: “The challenge that the print industry has is that it has historically been dominated by one gender. Unfortunately, when an industry is dominated by one gender, it is then typically slow to change.
“When there is a lack of high-profile female role models in the industry, then it is probably always going to sit under the radar, seeming less of an obviously attractive industry for women to enter. We need to create more visible female role models in the industry and promote networking events for women; this could be supported by the BPIF and other print organisations. This will start to send the message that there are senior roles available.”
Much like the suggestions of the other companies, Omrod suggests encouraging workplace flexibility and describes this as an “essential enabler” to encourage more women into the industry. “Organisations should seriously consider different ways of working to provide re-entry for woman that chose to take time out of the workplace, there can often be fewer women to promote in companies when the career ladder has been broken.”
With that being said, Omrod adds that she is delighted that in her division at Coveris, the team is well represented by women. “There is a female operations director, head of health & safety, and 50% of the sales team are women. We really see the benefit that having a diverse team brings to our organisation,” she adds.
This just goes to show that whilst there is definitely a long way to go, companies are making the move to encourage more women into the industry. There are a number of strong, successful women making their mark and paving the path for the next generation.
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