BASF Joins The Manufacturing Institute to Honor Outstanding Women in Manufacturing

BASF joins The Manufacturing Institute to recognize the importance of women in manufacturing through the fourth-annual STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead Awards. BASF sponsored this year’s awards ceremony on April 21 in Washington, D.C.

“BASF salutes The Manufacturing Institute for its role as a leading advocate of advancing women in the field,” said Tom Yura, BASF Senior Vice President of BASF’s Geismar site and Board Member of the National Association of Manufacturers. “BASF strives to expand opportunities for women and develop more female leaders in our industry.”

Two employees, Nicole McGlone-Santistevan, BASF Vice President of Operations Industrial Petrochemicals in Freeport, Texas, and  Christen Campbell, BASF Environmental Health and Safety Specialist in Geismar, Louisiana, received STEP Ahead awards, which honored 130 women nationally for their achievements in manufacturing.

In addition, The Manufacturing Institute named  Heidi Alderman, BASF Senior Vice President of Petrochemicals North America, as  STEP Ahead Chairwoman for 2016-2017. Alderman served on the advisory committee for the development of The Manufacturing Institute’ new toolkit,  LEAD: Becoming an Impactful Voice to the Next Generation of Talent. The toolkit is designed for women in manufacturing to reach the next generation of talent by being ambassadors for the industry.

A  2015 survey from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute found that 80 percent of American manufacturing companies have a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers. Contributing to this gap is the under-representation of women in the industry. Women make up nearly half of the nation’s labor pool, yet comprise just over a quarter of the manufacturing labor force.

“With a skills gap of two million unfilled jobs over the next decade, it is crucial to attract, retain and recruit women into the manufacturing workforce,” said Jennifer McNelly, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute. “Our work with BASF and other industry leaders has been instrumental to our STEP Ahead initiative and advancing female talent in the industry.”