As we mark International Women’s Day this year on March 8, the theme for the 2024 global celebration is “Invest in Women; Accelerate Progress”. This theme represents the importance of companies shifting to a greener economic approach, while also recognizing that it’s critical to amplify the voices of women in these discussions.  

One woman who is very familiar with these themes is Carole Neyrinck, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for ARaymond, a global supplier of fastening systems for the automotive, energy, construction, agriculture, and healthcare industries. 

ARaymond is based in France but has a U.S. headquarters in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and a presence throughout the globe in more than two dozen countries. 

In this Q&A, Neyrinck shares her thoughts on her journey to her current leadership role at ARaymond, the overall state of women in the STEM industries, as well as how representation can be improved going forward:

Q: Tell us about your career journey, and how you got involved in sustainable development.

A: I spent three decades working as a biochemist engineer, after earning my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in this area. After a long career in the pharmaceutical industry, I joined ARaymond in my role as CSR manager starting in 2019. My job was always challenging, but I was able to raise my three children while working in production workshops and then implementing information systems. Soon after joining ARaymond to lead CSR, I began to focus on environmental goals, bringing clarity and structure in the approach so that the company acts in coordination for all projects in all departments. We work to limit our contributions to climate change, and with our partners to support them do the same. Some of them tried to push back, but I was strong and assertive, and trusted and encouraged by my management. I constantly develop my knowledge and skills, always learning and exploring new territories.

Q: Why is it important for companies to develop policies that recognize the impact of climate change?

A: When you think about climate change and the need to decarbonize, all companies are affected. We work to limit our contributions to climate change, and with our suppliers to help them do the same. Taking care of the environment consistently has become an increasingly strong emphasis each year, as it’s no longer an option to ignore it.

Q: As we mark International Women’s Day, how has being a woman impacted you in your career?

A:  I’m thankful that I was raised in a family with a mother who was very attentive to being independent, and not relying on anyone for your living condition. Having that as my background, I didn’t really feel different from a man in terms of my skills and competencies. I was raised with principles of equity and equality.

When I started working, in the team of my peers, I was the only woman. And my direct reports were only men. I was very young, only 25, and the men were sometimes 50 years old. Some of them tried to push back, but I was strong and assertive, and skilled and competent. For me, if you are competent and skilled, you will be recognized. I always tried to be as competent as possible, always learning. And now I’ve passed these important lessons from my mother onto my own children.

Q: What barriers or obstacles do women face in advancing their careers within the CSR field, and how can these challenges be addressed?

A: For women in industries where they are underrepresented, it's all about being confident in yourself. I’ve rarely felt differences between men and women in work, and in those rare cases, I would always stand up for myself when I felt disrespected. In those few instances, I would not let this pass, and was straightforward to tell the person not to do it again.

In terms of career advancement, mentoring is a key element that can help women advance in their careers, and can help build on the core skills you bring into a job. You must always be learning, and have programs in place to support that learning.

Having supportive bosses and mentoring programs — like I do in my current role at ARaymond — has been a key element of my ability to grow throughout my career, and I make sure we continue to offer that mentoring to young men and women today. A supportive male boss can help usher in a generation of confident new leaders that’s a strong mix of men and women. And in CSR, the number of women taking on key roles is quite encouraging.

A combination of solid roots, strong skills development and being in a group that empowers you will lead to the amplification of women’s voices in key roles both on the factory floor and in the boardroom.

Q: How important is it for companies in all industries to embrace CSR goals; and how important is it for women to have key roles in that implementation?

A: CSR goals are essential because the world is becoming more disrupted and complex, and our global success relies on diverse collaboration. We must anticipate risks and see opportunities to get better prepared, so we’ll be better positioned for sustainability. We recently joined a pact of 150 business leaders in France to commit to decarbonization, and our efforts in automotive, energy, construction, agriculture, and construction are all moving in an eco-friendly direction.

Women must be included in the conversations about this critical decarbonization planning. By nature, women are more focused on taking care of something for the long-term. Women are a key asset for CSR, and men are also needed there — a diversity of opinions is the key. Beyond gender diversity, we also need a mix of ages and cultures offering their input.

Q: As a female in a leadership role, what are the key changes you aspire to see for future generations? How can we attract more women to engineering and other STEM fields?

A: I see the role of the engineer developing to be more about the capacity to develop solutions that contribute to the common good, and not simply fulfilling customer expectation.

There is a role for women to play in that. Engineers need to develop solutions with a systemic approach, and consider the social implications of these solutions and how to make a positive contribution to the environment. The role of engineer is changing, and is more than just technical. People who can embrace this approach will succeed, including women from the current and future generations.

As we prepare to celebrate International Women’s day on March 8^th, it provides us the opportunity to assess how far women have come in various fields and professions.

In the world of engineering and fastener design, ARaymond is one global firm that recognizes the importance of female voices in their current and future endeavors. In addition to actively recruiting talented female team members, they also recognize the importance of listening to women’s voices at the highest levels of business development.  

Laurence Fayand, who serves as President and Managing Director of ARaymond’s Business Incubator and Accelerator, leads a team that is responsible for developing technologies of the future at ARaymond — including the latest advances in fastening, fluid handling portfolios, and data & digital service. ARaymond is based in France but has a U.S. headquarters in Michigan and a presence throughout the globe in more than two dozen countries. Fayand’s background prior to ARaymond includes serving as CFO at multiple technology companies including Kayentis and Tronics Microsystems, and a lengthy stint in key management roles at HP.

Fayand recently answered several questions about her role at the ARaymond Incubator, and why it’s important to grow the number of women in STEM roles as well as business/leadership positions. 

In view of the increasing shortage of skilled workers, women are an important target group when recruiting for many manufacturing and engineering companies. We spoke to Franziska Gempp (32), HR Manager, at the international automotive supplier ARaymond in Lörrach, Germany, and the trained technical draftswoman Yvonne Maschat (34) about how the specialist for fastening and assembly solutions is doing at its German locations Lörrach and Weil am Rhein, what support the company needs from politicians, what perspectives women have, and what makes a technical profession so exciting.

Ms. Gempp, how are you affected by the shortage of skilled workers and what kind of support would you like from education policy?

Franziska Gempp: The shortage of skilled workers is of particular concern to us in the area of ​​technical jobs. In many cases, we lack skilled workers here – such as a good electrician or a toolmaker. Against this background, the increasing academization worries us. For us, a good education is just as important as a good degree. We are currently noticing that a large number of young people immediately think in the direction of studying and that training is becoming less important. I wish that we would emphasize the value of our very good dual training system in Germany much more. One of our trainees told me that the career orientation at her high school was exclusively geared towards studying. I think schoolchildren should be aware that they can start an apprenticeship with a high school diploma and, based on that, develop further professionally. And they should be able to test whether they are more the type for scientific or practical work. For me, that would be important content that should be discussed in the career orientation phase.

What contribution does your company itself make to career orientation?

For example, we offer many internships, of course also for girls and young women. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, women are an important target group for us, as are career changers or somewhat older applicants. When it comes to women, I think the most important thing is to get them excited about technology at an early age. That's why we target girls at school and bring them into the company through campaigns such as Girls' Day or internships. We often get feedback like "Wow, I hadn't imagined it that way, that's really interesting." Or "I thought that was much more difficult." In addition to the exciting technique itself, this certainly has something to do with the fact that production conditions have changed significantly in recent years and the technical production jobs are no longer associated with heavy physical work. We have lifting aids, etc., so the jobs are suitable for everyone — men and women, but also older workers.

When the women are with you: How does, for example, a technical production job go together with the topic of children or caring for relatives — both topics in which women in particular continue to withdraw from their jobs?

We see to it that we get the best possible outcome for our employees and for us as an employer with flexible working time models – in other words, in production, for example, we talk about shift models that are suitable for childcare. In areas such as construction and development, mobile working is also possible for better compatibility. And then of course we have many part-time models, which are normal for us wherever they are feasible. We keep in touch during parental leave: Many employees come by regularly or, of course, are part of the team at events such as a Christmas party or a barbecue.

Ms. Maschat, as a trained technical draftswoman, you now work as a project manager assistant in the development of ARaymond. How did you get into this technical job?

Yvonne Maschat: I did my training as a technical draftswoman here at ARaymond (today that corresponds to the job profile of a technical product designer) and, with the support of the company, I went to evening classes to do further training to become a technical business administrator. As a result, I got my current job as a project manager assistant in construction. As a technical draftswoman, I was entrusted with developing fasteners for the automotive industry and deriving the drawings from them. As an assistant, I still design today, but I also do a lot of customer communication and know what customers want.

— Content provided by ARaymond