The women were asked a series of questions about their careers in packaging, how they started, what/who inspired them and what challenges they faced as women in a male-dominated industry and what advice they would give to young women considering a career in packaging.

 Early Careers

Many of the women started out studying courses that were not directly related to packaging, such as industrial engineering, law and science but ended up in packaging as their careers evolved. Each interviewee explains her particular career path to date and most women were ardent about a career in the packaging industry.

Motivation, Inspiration and Key Skills

Many of the women interviewed were passionate about sustainability and a large part of their work involved developing more sustainable packaging solutions. A lot of women felt that this made their job meaningful as they were are having a positive impact on the environment.

Each of the interviewees mentioned people who inspired them. In some cases, they were inspired by a parent or a trusted work mentor or colleague.

Many skills were listed as being important – being able to work well and collaborate with others was one of the most listed skills.

How the Packaging Industry Can Support Women

Various suggestions were put forward as to how the packaging industry could help support women in the industry. These included:

– Creating awareness and challenging unconscious biases

– Establishing diversity goals and accountability measures

– Flexible work/life arrangements

– Internships Opportunities

– Mentoring, Leadership and Networking Programs

– Fair and equitable pay

Advice for Women Considering a Career in Packaging

The interviews contained a lot of advice for other women. This is a list of the most popular pieces of advice:

– speak up and believe in yourself

– don’t be put off by other people’s misconceptions

– get a good mentor

– network

– keep learning