UN Day of Women in Science 2021: Packaging must embrace diversity or risk innovation stagnation

11 Feb 2021 --- Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore half of its potential.

However, UN data highlights women only held 28 percent of managerial positions globally in 2019. This gap is particularly evident in the packaging, environmental and engineering sectors.

“By not including [women] in qualified, managing positions, we miss out on a huge potential of diversity, a different way of thinking and creativity,” says Gundula Teichert, head of R&D at Teufelberger’s strapping division. 

“There is a clear challenge in packaging, which men alone have not been able to solve,” adds Willemijn Peeters, founder and director of Searious Business.

Teichert has a Bachelor of Chemistry from the Graz University of Technology and a Master of Advanced Material Science.“Combining environmental science with packaging expertise will be key, just like bringing in the female touch.”

PackagingInsights celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by spotlighting ten female professionals’ experiences in pushing for more inclusive representation.

Encouraging STEM education 
Data from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reports 35 percent of STEM students in higher education are women, compared to just 26 percent a few years ago. 

“As of 2019, we now have one million women working in STEM occupations – a superb milestone achievement,” says Joanna Stephenson, founder of Women in Packaging UK.

But why is the ratio of men and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) so unbalanced? 

For Teichert, the experience starts in childhood, where different types of role models can help open boys’ and girls’ minds to non-traditional professions. 

From there, encouraging adolescent women to pursue degrees and careers in historically male-dominated areas can lead to an increasingly more diverse STEM workforce.

Stephenson stresses the packaging sector is underrepresented at the college and university level, meaning a career choice in packaging may also not be entirely evident at this stage. 

Peeters obtained an MSc in Business from Nyenrode Business University. Her company Searious Business accelerates collaborative projects to reduce plastic waste.This is “despite it being a vibrant, diverse, stable and global industry, which is highly attractive from a career opportunity perspective.”

Diverse STEM workforce benefits
Female leadership can broaden the diversity of ideas, leading to a better understanding of consumers’ needs, resulting in better-designed solutions in the market. 

“But by not investing in women, the full potential of innovation and productivity is lost,” elaborates Shanar Tabrizi, chemical recycling and fuels policy officer at Zero Waste Europe.

Systems of oppression have further placed the burden of environmental inequities on Black, Brown and Indigenous women, and other women of color, says Yinka Bode-George, environmental health manager at the National Caucus for Environmental Legislators (NCEL).

“Our many experiences being subjected to these systems enables a critical understanding of their interconnections and a vision for just and equitable systems,” she details.

Tabrizi is an environmental engineer from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, specialized in industrial ecology and renewable energy systems.“This group of women, in particular, have been at the forefront of fights for justice and equity, from environmental matters to broader social issues. Packaging products have been included in these efforts for justice because of the hazardous substances found in many products.”

Examples of possible diversity promotions include avoiding gender-biased hirings, lacking flexible working arrangements and addressing the gender pay gap, says Tabrizi.

“Again, it is all about diversity. In the end, it shouldn’t matter if a qualified person is female or male,” says Teichert. 

“From my point of view, human beings differ, not necessarily depending on their gender. Therefore, a team always benefits from a mixture of characteristics, cultures and views.”

Packaging jargon and machinery hurdles
While there may be an increasing number of women active in environmental sciences, the link with packaging is often not made, says Peeters from Searious Business. 

“The industry is very male-dominated, technology-driven and generally closed off to outsiders. The amount of jargon used and the [reluctance] to change and accept different ideas typically prevents newcomers from getting through and rising through the ranks,” she explains.

Bode-George holds a Master of Health Science, working at the NCEL to create health equity, environmental justice, and sustainable development through public policy.Another major concern is aging equipment and facilities. “Investments in equipment and facilities will not only return better results, but also promote a safer work environment,” shares Misty Medlin, manager of continuous improvement at Huhtamaki North America.

“Fortunately, packaging companies are re-designing equipment so they are easier to operate and maintain without any heavy lifting,” Stephenson notes.

“Re-designing equipment is also a direct result of employing more women in packaging, since they offer alternative views to problem-solving and [companies] are now installing machinery that can be universally maintained.”

Promotion barriers residing within?
As more prominent roles in the industry are being filled with women, Huhtamaki expects to see the workplace culture become more welcoming to women in technical roles and remove the outdated image of what an engineer should look like.

“One challenge I think we need to continue to fight is that men tend to be promoted faster than women,” says Alex Doty, engineer, consumer goods R&D, Huhtamaki North America.

The consequences are younger generations’ difficulties relating with female mentors and seeing themselves progressing to a leadership role. 

“Part of the reason men move up in a company quicker may be because it is more natural for them to promote themselves and be assertive. This does not always come as naturally for women – and is not always as encouraged or accepted,” says Doty.

Stephenson gained a BSc in Textiles, Economic and Management from the University of Manchester. She is a board member of the European Flexographic Industry Association (EFIA).“Women have a harder time taking initiatives and suggesting ideas in a meeting, and applying to a job because they would feel they don’t tick all the requested boxes so they should not even try,” relates Anne-Charlotte Ducret, project leader packaging for Innova Market Insights. “A man does all this without thinking.” 

“When a woman applies, talks in public and takes initiatives, I will always respect and value her because I can relate and I know she comes from a long way.”

Peeters adds that because women are severely underrepresented in the packaging industry, every time she encounters a woman in a professional setting, “we already have a bond that sets us apart from the rest.”

“Overall, I believe barriers are lessening for women in industry and the progress is very encouraging,” notes Doty. 

“In all areas of life, you can always find someone with an old-fashioned mentality regarding women in the workforce, but it is an unpopular minority.”

Ducret has a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, with previous work experience in color aerospace at AkzoNobel.Climate change disproportionately affects women
Unpopular opinion or not, the hard facts still strike hard. According to the UN Development Programme, 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women. 

Since environmental justice is an issue that affects BIPOC communities most, Intersectional Environmentalist (IE) sees a need to prioritize industry solutions to reflect this. 

“Mainstream environmentalism has long solicited a surface-level narrative that willingly promotes a one-size-fits-all approach through the eyes of the white-affluent,” says IE co-founder Diandra Marizet.

“This silences the voices of those most impacted by the climate crisis, leaving lower-income and BIPOC communities to make do with what inadequate and residual benefits white-centered solutions can bring.”

With a background in fashion and community building, Marizet unpacks the importance of eco-feminism and cultural preservation as IE head of business development and operations.Better Planet 2050: A business imperative for change
Marizet adds that the resurgence of the Civil Rights Movement last year has driven many organizations to commit to increased diversity.

“It’s crucial they ensure BIPOC voices are deeply informing the way we frame sustainable goals and development,” she says.

One example of companies making efforts to diversify their workforces is Smurfit Kappa with its new Better Planet 2050 sustainability goal “Inclusion & Diversity.”

The packaging producer has committed to ensuring above 30 percent female gender representation across the group, with 25 percent of female employees holding a management position by 2024.

The company has also recently launched phase two of its Inclusion, Diversity and Equality program, which includes five “community” areas of focus: Gender, Race & Ethnicity, Disability, Family & Age and LGBTQ+.

Whitehead obtained a BSc in Food Science and Business with Honors from the Institute of Technology Carlow, with two decades’ HR & Business experience.“Each community has an executive sponsor, supported by a team spread across our global network, to ensure the plans we create helps us make progress and the initiatives we develop are executed well,” explains Sharon Whitehead, group vice president of human resources.

The company offers maternity and paternity leave, flexible working options and female leadership development programs.

In the next five years, Smurfit Kappa has further committed to donating €24 million (US$29.1 million) to support community initiatives, including female education projects empowering women and girls.

“As industry leaders, we all must drive the social agenda of inclusion and diversity. Today’s top talent has choices and expectations,” Whitehead says.

“Companies who do not embrace change will not remain attractive or relevant for the very talent they seek to attract or retain. There are no excuses; this is a business imperative for change.”

By Anni Schleicher