Women in Field Service

Diversity in the workplace is important. Far from being a simple PR exercise, we know that having a more diverse workforce made up of people from a range of backgrounds brings with it different ways of thinking and promotes innovation, better decision making, and higher levels of performance.

With International Women’s Day having recently passed [at time of writing] it seems an opportune time to focus on the number of women working in the field service space. According to careers experts, Zippia, of the more than 21,818 field service technicians currently employed in the US only 8.7% are women, compared to 88.1% which are men. On a slightly adjacent note, the gender pay gap is virtually non-existent in field service, with women actually earning slightly more [$1.01 for every dollar earned by men] than men on average.

The extremely skewed ratio of women to men in the industry indicates there is still much work to be done in attracting and recruiting women into field service.

Recruitment

There is, of course, a general worldwide push to encourage more women into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM] roles as these are fields which have historically been underrepresented by them.

However, it can be difficult to recruit people for jobs they aren’t aware even exist and field service brands seeking to employ more women in technician roles would do well to meet them where they are – in schools. Going to careers fairs at high schools and colleges are a wonderful way to demonstrate to women that your field service brand cares about improving diversity in the workplace.

Demonstrate why field service is a challenging and rewarding position and highlight progressive factors such as the aforementioned lack of a gender pay gap in the industry. Highlight potential and growth opportunities, engage with them about their aspirations and discuss the exciting parts of the business such as working with innovative technology. Offer defined career paths and training and development plans for junior technicians at the beginning of their careers.

Field service brands should also consider how their job descriptions are worded and make sure they are not skewed to appeal to men alone.

"In terms of attracting more women to field service, research shows that many job descriptions in traditionally male-dominated roles are written to appeal to men," said Global Service Strategy and Program Manager with Sensormatic Solutions, Cathy Klein. "While this is not intentional, it needs some review. As leaders, we need to work to ensure job descriptions are gender neutral. We also need to ensure we are marketing these jobs broadly and in non-traditional ways."

Fighting Bias

It’s not enough to simply make field service more visible as a career path to young women. Field service brands need to work to challenge the [often unconscious] biases which people hold when it comes to women working in the industry.

Engineering is still considered largely a male dominated industry – especially when it comes to seeking promotions. This means women can often struggle to get heard and break through barriers put up by people who have working in the industry since it really was "just for men" and demonstrating their effectiveness.

"It’s a male-dominated industry at the executive level," said Business Process Manager for Arbon Equipment Corporation, Mirian Herold-Young. "People, without realizing it, promote people that they identify with. It’s a natural human behavior. This can lead to a lack of diversity, not just in gender, but also in thought and experience. Breaking through that barrier and showing management that you are capable despite being different from them is one of the biggest challenges."

Making sure women are represented in management roles is just as important as in technician roles. Not only will this promote diversity of thought at the highest levels of your field service brand but will also provide terrific role models for young women considering the industry as a career path. If young women see people like themselves represented in executive positions at your company, it will hammer home the message of you being a brand which takes diversity seriously.

"The first step to fixing it is acknowledging there is a challenge," said Herold-Young. "This is definitely helping to bring more of that diversity of thought to management and that can only continue to grow! Mentorship can make a big difference as well. For the women who do breakthrough to leadership, if they can help build even more diverse leadership through mentoring, it will have a big impact."

Final Thoughts

Attracting more women to field service can only be a net good for the long-term health of the industry. Making field service more visible to young women starting out on their career paths and fighting to remove bias at every level of your business are fantastic ways to get started.

Women in field service is sure to be part of the conversation at Field Service Hilton Head 2022, taking place in August at the Marriott Hilton Head Resort & Spa, SC.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.