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Farewell to #PrintHerStory Month, but not to gender equity.
We love social media here at Catapult – not just because it’s a great way to share our news and insights and connect with customers, colleagues and partners; but also because it’s a fantastic way of keeping up to date with what’s happening in our sector and the wider business world.
Over the past month, we’ve not only shared our own International Women’s Day content, showcasing some of the extraordinary women on our team here at Catapult, we’ve also enjoyed seeing all the #PrintHerStory updates from businesses and individuals from across the US print sector. Coinciding with both International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, #PrintHerStory throughout March has highlighted how progressive and inclusive our industry is becoming. It has enabled our industry to recognize the talent and contribution of female professionals in the sector, as well as inspiring women and girls to be part of this dynamic environment.
Year-round commitment
But a focus on those goals and the need to keep driving inclusivity should not be confined to one month out of twelve. At Catapult, part of our disruptive approach to transforming the print industry is to challenge old-fashioned and outdated norms, which includes re-thinking the roles usually done by men or women, and potential routes into print sector careers. For us, roles, recruitment, and opportunities for career progression are not based on whether someone is male or female, but on whether they are the best person for the job, and if they share our passion for delivering the best possible quality and service.
It’s an approach that has resulted in a 50/50 male/female workforce throughout our team, with women working across a variety of departments, including plate making, rewinds, coater for linerless, sales, and client service.
With women accounting for 50% of the population, why shouldn’t they make up 50% of our team? They are just as capable, just as conscientious, and just as committed to delivering our customer-focused on-time, right-first-time approach. The fact is, however, that a gender balanced team is still unusual in our sector (and in many others!) – which is why #PrintHerStory Month is so important.
If she can see it, she can be it
They say that ‘if she can see it, she can be it’, and at Catapult we firmly believe that providing those role models plays a huge part in driving change. We have parents with daughters on our team; girls who can see that the print industry is a place where their career could thrive, thanks to Catapult’s inclusive approach to recruiting based on talent and can-do attitude, rather than gender and outdated attitudes. If we’re looking for someone to work in our print room, a candidate that is a great cultural fit for our business and eager to learn is much more valuable to us than an experienced candidate that has spent a decade delivering lackluster service and operating old machines.
We are a business that is appealing to female candidates because any women who joins us can see that they will have female as well as male colleagues. Moreover, they will have the opportunity to work in a clean environment, with the latest technology available in our sector and an efficient, industry-leading production model. All of that means that that every member of our team can be proud of what they do, where they work, and the difference they are making to our customers by delivering high quality print, with shorter lead times and lower prices.
Leading change
#PrintHerStory Month may be ending, but Catapult’s commitment to making female colleagues part of our success story is not. Our industry is changing – and we are at the vanguard of that change.