2024-02-29 00:46:00
Too few women work in the manufacturing industry. That is a missed opportunity, because mixed teams perform better. Female engineers make more connections to other facets, such as sustainability; the male engineer mainly focuses on the details. “ My team of male engineers strives for perfection, but as CEO I think ʼhello, money must also come into the bank account‘”, says Nina Hoff, co-founder and CEO of yFlow.
Nina Hoff is one of the speakers during the Women in the Manufacturing Industry event during ESEF Manufacturing Industry, the supply fair in March. Nina Hoff mainly discusses how, as a woman, she expanded the tech startup byFlow into a full-fledged company. Eline van Uden, documentary maker and copywriter in the tech industry, opens the session in Utrecht and speaks regarding the importance of role models in the industry. The two know each other from the Eindhoven High Tech Campus where they met eight years ago in the queue for the only ladies’ toilet in the startup building.
Now that the industry is making the switch from tech-driven to multidisciplinary, the overarching view of women is an added value
A promise is a promise
Although Nina Hoff grew up surrounded by technology and physics and chemistry were her best subjects, she only started working in technology later. She comes from healthcare. Only when her brother Floris started byFlow, a manufacturer of 3D food printers, did Nina switch. “I promised him if you ever develop something cool, I will help you market the product.” She is now CEO of byFlow. Eline van Uden, a graduate in Gender Studies at the University of Utrecht, also ended up in the industry through 3D printing. She wanted to get a PhD but discovered that it wasn’t really her thing and looked for a job. “I helped out at Additive Industries for the first two years and that is where my interest in technology grew, especially in translating it so that it reaches a non-technical audience.” Eline helps if Self-employed tech companies to tell their story and is currently working on a documentary in which she follows a number of female technicians from TUe in their careers.
Are women taken seriously in the industry?
Is it different for women to work in the industry than for men? They don’t have to think long regarding the answer to that question: yes. Both think it is very positive that you see more and more women on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. But even following eight years as CEO of byFlow, Nina Hoff still notices that as a woman she is taken less seriously in technical consultations. Perhaps unconsciously by her male interlocutors, but when she makes a comment regarding the technique, the other person tries to validate this with another man. She also rarely meets women at the negotiating table. “In that respect, little has changed in eight years.” She admits that she sometimes brings a man with her to negotiations. “That will probably keep it going, but I want to get something done faster.” Even when it comes to financing the startup, she talks almost exclusively to men. “When I read that 1.6% of startup financing goes to female entrepreneurs, as a female startup you are already 1-0 behind. You really have to have a lot of perseverance and ambition.”
To be taken seriously, role models are really important
Why women belong in the industry right now
Eline and Nina think it is a shame that so few women work in technology. Not only do mixed teams achieve better results, Eline van Uden notes, referring to international studies (such as McKinsey in 2016 inclusive teams at 1000 businesses). The multidisciplinary approach in today’s industry might also benefit from the input of women. “I notice from the women I speak to for the documentary that they often take an overarching view, while the men tend to zoom in on the subject. Nowadays, products are no longer purely mechanical, they also involve electrical engineering, design and impact on sustainability. Now that we are making this switch from tech-driven to an increasingly interdisciplinary approach, technology may become more attractive to women from different backgrounds.” Nina Hoff recognizes the picture that Eline sketches from the practice of byFlow. The male engineers who work on the 3D food printers can completely lose themselves in the smallest details. She herself looks much more at the whole. “As a commercial company you have to bring a product to the market, so at some point you have to stop development. Then I shout ‘hello, money needs to be added to the account. Will it work? Have we listened carefully to the customer? Is the price right?’”
Typically Dutch
The culture in many technical companies is too dominantly male, both think. They think this is typically Dutch. In other countries you see more women in the industry. Why the Netherlands differs? Maybe it has to do with the part-time work of Dutch women, Nina suggests. “Then it certainly becomes more difficult in a startup.” It also has to do with the lack of female role models. Anyone can name the male role models, such as Elon Musk who positioned electric cars with Tesla. Or Jeff Bezos from Amazon. But which female tech entrepreneurs are facing this? A few years ago, Nina Hoff and Eline van Uden took the initiative to organize Women in Tech events. But they believe that women in the tech industry should be given even more of a platform. “To be taken seriously, role models are really important,” says Eline. “They can make a difference by showing what good things come from the industry. There needs to be more awareness in schools regarding the role women can play in the industry.”
What we want is to create more awareness regarding the opportunities that exist
Let the men come
They therefore welcome the initiative of ESEF Maakindustrie to give women a platform on the first day of the fair. Aren’t they afraid that they will soon be sitting in front of a room full of men? “That’s no problem, let them come,” Nina responds. The cultural change they are talking regarding cannot only be achieved by including more women in a team, men will also have to contribute to this. “If we get them in that room, we have already scored a point.” More visibility is the long-term solution to getting more women into technology; Quotas may help in the short term, but they do not ensure cultural change. Eline: “Women don’t need a savior. What we want is to create more awareness regarding the opportunities that exist. The creative mindset is really important.” Companies that pick up on this can even use it as a USP. They can appeal to new target groups now that all those manufacturing companies are crying out for professionals.
In addition to Nina Hoff and Eline van Uden, Aniek Averesch, director of Brink Staalbouw – Circulairstaal, will also speak during the Women in the Manufacturing Industry event, March 12 ESEF Manufacturing Industry in Jaarbeurs Utrecht.
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