The manufacturing industry has historically been dominated by men, with only a small percentage of women employed in the field. In the UK, for example, the Office for National Statistics reports that only 22% of those employed in manufacturing are female, which equates to approximately 1 in 5 employees in the industry. This longstanding under-representation of women in manufacturing has been a challenge for many years.
To better understand this issue and to mark International Women’s Day, we met with women across Accrol’s sites. During these discussions, it became clear that the lack of visibility of women in manufacturing-related media and pictures has had a significant impact on the perception of the industry as a male-dominated field.
Accrol Group Holdings plc (LON:ACRL) is the UK’s leading independent tissue converter, producing toilet tissue, kitchen towel, facial tissue and biodegradable wet wipes. The UK soft tissue market is worth £1.6bn with private label products comprising circa 50%. Accrol is the leading supplier to the private label market, which is growing at over 8% year on year.
