Women wish above all in trades at an open work culture, recognition and flexible work models. A study of the specialized high school in Eastern Switzerland (OST) examined how technological and scientific companies can retain women in the long term.
In Switzerland, despite the support measures, the number of women exercising in the Mint trades – which bring together the disciplines of mathematics, IT, natural sciences and engineering – remains low compared to the European average. The Haute Sécole Specialized in Eastern Switzerland (OST), in collaboration with five Swiss technological and scientific companies, announces that it has looked at the means of attracting more women to these technical professions and to retain them.
The Institute for the Institute for Diversity and the new OST work environments (IDNA) has particularly emphasized the specific expectations of women concerning their working conditions in these companies.
What women expect from technoscientific professions
A central result of the study shows that women practicing in Mint trades especially want an open work culture, recognition as well as flexible work models that allow you to reconcile professional and family life. According to those questioned, an open working culture is characterized by an egalitarian communication, transparency, an opening to change as well as possibilities of professional development. Flexible work is particularly difficult to implement in production; As a possible solution, the IDNA offers, for example, better coordination of team working hours and half-days hours.
Based on the results of the survey, the project team identified several areas of action and deduced from it directly applicable measures. According to the press release, one of these measures was the organization of workshops aimed at raising awareness among employees of all hierarchical levels of respectful behavior. Following these workshops, one of the companies created a working group responsible for designing a guide intended to encourage these benevolent behaviors.
Other workshops have dealt with themes such as equal opportunities, power relations and the representation of inclusion in branding employer. In order to ensure the long -term effectiveness of the results, the IDNA now provides annual exchange meetings with participating companies. According to the press release, these must contribute to the sustainable implementation and the continuous development of measures.
The study is based on an online survey conducted on a Swiss scale with 475 participants. In addition, 26 women Mint specialists from the five partner companies of the project – Bühler, Inficon, Linde Kryotechnik, Liip and Ruag – shared their experiences during discussion groups.
