The feminization of industry, a performance factor

Industry 4.0: A high-performance, competitive, and inclusive industry

Industry 4.0 is not only about performance and competitiveness, it is also about inclusivity, with greater fairness and gender equality.

Changing women's perception of industry is just as important as changing the industry's perception of women. To meet this major challenge, several approaches are being implemented: encouraging diversity in technical and engineering fields, offering training for women to work with industrial tools, and deploying automated and robotic equipment to reduce the physical strain of tasks.

How Does the Feminization of Production Roles Contribute to the Performance and Competitiveness of the Industrial Sector?

I / Few women in industry: just a matter of mindset?

According to INSEE, since 1990, only 30% of industry employees are women, with barely over 15% in leadership roles, and only 10% to 15% working in core areas such as production.

Sectors like metallurgy, automotive, and aerospace are among those with the lowest female representation.

Today, women working in the industrial sector are still often seen as pioneers, challenging stereotypes and breaking norms.

Feminizing the workforce means hiring trained and competent women for roles previously held exclusively by men traditionally seen as the only ones physically capable of performing certain tasks.

The physical demands and perceived hardship of these jobs especially in logistics or automotive industries remain a barrier. Women often avoid these roles due to:

• The physical strain (e.g., lifting heavy loads leading to musculoskeletal disorders),
• The fear of repetitive and monotonous work in a male-dominated and hazardous environment,
• And a lack of flexibility in terms of scheduling and task organization.
  

Men, having pursued technical and digital engineering studies in greater numbers, are more likely to hold positions in Industry 4.0 today.

As a result, the integration of women into this sector is progressing slowly. However, strong communication efforts by industrial companies and the deployment of high-tech solutions, such as robotics, are expected to improve gender diversity across all industrial fields a win-win for all.

II / Benefits of increasing female representation in industrial production roles

An inclusive corporate culture drives change and social progress

Beyond individual skills, a company’s performance is also measured by its effective processes, attractiveness, and resilience. On production lines, inclusion is a performance strategy that brings many benefits.

A complementary perspective

On the shop floor in warehouses, factories, and workshops gender diversity brings new perspectives, experiences, and balance.

Mixed teams refresh thinking patterns, identify flaws in processes from new angles, and introduce new ways of working, particularly in ergonomics and organization.

Addressing labor shortages

Training and recruiting women is becoming crucial to counteract labor shortages. Passionate and qualified women can expand and diversify the talent pool.

In addition, vacant roles due to a lack of skilled operators can be filled by trained women, thanks to intuitive automation and robotics solutions.

Feminization helps preserve skills and know-how, thus supporting the sustainability of industrial companies.

That’s why employing women has become essential to reindustrialization.

A positive brand image and enhanced attractiveness

Companies that embrace diversity are perceived more positively by clients and can use this to stand out from competitors.

They also become more attractive to talent, as candidates prefer to invest in organizations that value their skills over gender.

An inclusive workplace improves quality of life, making employees more committed and attached to the company.

Men and women both benefit from working together. Gender equality means shared progress: industrial diversity can improve working conditions for everyone, including career development and work-life balance.

III / Industrial tools as levers for gender equality and competitiveness

Automation and robotics eliminate physical strength barriers, enabling workers to focus on higher value-added tasks. This makes production lines more appealing and encourages women to apply for roles that have evolved.

These jobs now require technical knowledge, organizational skills, and adaptability.

Robotic and Electric solutions for handling loads

Collaborative robots can perform a wide range of tasks and are adaptable across nearly all industrial sectors.

• Grippers enable numerous applications in collaborative robotics.
  They equip robotic arms with ease. A wide variety of gripping and detection systems automate high-precision handling, particularly in machining workshops, or when lifting heavy loads reducing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
  
• In logistics, robotic arms with specialized grippers can manipulate, transfer, and move open or closed boxes, and load or unload pallets, adapting to workflow speeds.
  

They streamline order picking tasks through automated pick & place, recognizing objects by shape, number, and color. This also helps integrate women and seniors into more flexible logistics centers.

Replacing manual carts:

• SWD® safety motor wheels from ez-Wheel, autonomous and programmable, can motorize and customize industrial carts and rolling equipment, moving loads up to 1500 kg while reducing push/pull efforts.
  
• HD and LD mobile robots can autonomously transport loads up to 1500 kg across warehouses, enhancing safety.
  

Mechatronic solutions: lifting and lowering without effort

Easy-E-Line electric actuators, gas springs from Bansbach, and electric actuators and lifting columns from Jiecang assist technicians with pushing and pulling moving parts across industrial sectors.

These actuators are highly versatile and can customize various equipment, making tools more ergonomic by:

• Adjusting work surface heights
• Amplifying effort to lift or lower platforms
  

The slow progress in the feminization of production roles in France reflects both cultural shifts and the uneven adoption of automation solutions, which hampers the systematic recruitment of women.

Yet, by offering these innovative tools, companies like BIBUS France make inclusivity possible a strategic driver of performance and innovation for Industry 4.0.

Contact our experts to support your process transformation it will have a direct impact on your performance and company vision.