A Call to Women in Print

Thirty years ago this October, I joined the printing industry by accident. To paraphrase a line from the third Godfather film, each time I think it’s time to move on, this industry pulls me back in.

Being part of an international company makes work pretty dynamic. I participate in the industry on the supplier side, work from the corporate side, and I experience it from the female side. In my particular roles as a lawyer and a businesswoman over the years, I encountered few women in senior positions on a day to day basis. But when I make a point of attending meetings of women such as PIA Women in Print lunches, or Girls Who Print events, I am astounded by and proud of the numbers of women who show up.  When any number of accomplished women get together—their collective experience generally outshines that of men.

Many of the jobs that were created in the job recovery after 2008 were filled by women. In industries where there is a concentration of women (something that is just beginning in pockets of print), jobs are growing. The February 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 31.4 percent of the printing industry workers are female. By comparison, women are projected to account for 51 percent of the increase in total labor force growth between 2008 and 2018.

Women have taken a larger role in managerial positions overall according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but women in leadership or mentoring roles is much lower than their percentage of the workforce. Among the Printing Impressions ranking of the 400 largest printers, we now have 23 female printing company leaders, but only one in the top 50, Mary Lee Schneider at SG360. That means in 2016, less than 6 percent of our largest companies have entrusted the top spot to a woman.

In 1984, there were 6 women CEO’s in the top 400. And so it was, unbeknownst to me back to 1987, when I found myself as a professional woman entering the print industry for the first time.

I was in my twenties, already married and a mother, looking for a meaningful job as a lawyer without having to travel into Manhattan. I was a graduate of some great schools, determined to have a career – at least to pay back the loans – but also determined to be present as a wife and mother. I had experience at a large financial institution drafting contracts, handling a loan portfolio, and trying bankruptcy cases. I was looking for a job with opportunities for advancement so I answered an ad in the legal newspaper in New York City for an in-house lawyer position at an international company in Queens.  I was delighted to get the job with EAC, the Heidelberg distributor at the time. I have stayed all these years for many reasons. Although I was the only female professional in the building, my willingness to learn and interest in helping the business grow from my function was quickly recognized and appreciated by the older German and Danish male leadership. We have a lawyer who thinks like a businessman, they proudly said.

My responsibilities are varied and stimulating: from employee development to commercial litigation; from corporate strategy to safety and environmental law; and from salaries and benefits to corporate compliance. I have had a wonderful professional experience because of the work I have put in personally to knowing the business and meeting our customers, being the voice on our management team for our employees, and developing communication skills that allow me to interact, here and abroad, in teams and individually, at all levels of the company.

In 1992, while five months pregnant with my third child, I was invited to an executive seminar — three weeks in Denmark and Germany. That seminar was a tremendous growth experience that opened my eyes to the business world outside the United States and taught me that, to truly have meaning in your work, you must always keep yourself open to learning. We visited a meat packing plant in East Germany less than three years after the Wall came down—where the middle aged workers were getting their first lessons in capitalism—like, a cow must be worth more after it is processed, so don’t put the filet mignon in the sausage grinder. We visited factories already organized according to green manufacturing processing –from materials used in making mattresses to freeze-dried herbs. In the international group of executives there were women from Japan, Thailand, Kenya, and the United Kingdom.

More recently, I did extensive overseas travelling professionally and for Heidelberg — two trips to China and trips to Thailand, Egypt, Turkey, France, Italy, and many parts of Germany. In each location, I visited print shops and met with local printers. It is no surprise to me to see the growth in print in the developing world. It was fascinating to see how infrastructures are being built and re-built in these countries using both ancient and the newest methods of communication. For example, in China, I saw massive printing factories with new presses lined up on floor after floor printing for the populations of the world with cheap labor and little attention to quality and then sending the signatures to hand binderies staffed by rows of women and children. These printing companies provide dormitories and canteens for their workers as well. But I also saw ancient print shops using platen presses to produce gold foiled banners and intricate letterpress posters.

In the United States, we see an industry that is changing more rapidly than the old guard seems to know what to do about it. The industry faces an aging population, fewer inherited positions, and a dwindling supply of quality vocational education programs and an industry that does not understand the skills gap that is already here.

There is change in the way printing is marketed—it’s all about communication and connectivity. Printing is being influenced positively and perfectly by the influx of women into the industry. The majority of the students enrolled in California Polytechnic’s graphics communication program are women!  The first US representative to the WorldSkills student competition for printing was a woman. I recall her response in an interview to the question, “Are you looking for a job for when you graduate?” she said: “Sir, I am looking for a career.”

More opportunities are needed for women in our industry to network and learn from one another. Back at drupa 2008, Heidelberg hosted a women in print event that I attended. The quality and talent of the women at my table was incomparable. In addition to print shop owners, they included the head of printing for the World Bank, who as the former head of printing for the American Automobile Association decided that all the AAA maps should be one size. I also met the chief printer for the library at Alexandria in Egypt, and the director of the master’s program in graphic communications management and technology at New York University.

But as women, we struggle to create and sustain larger networks where we can find one another and talk as women talk about issues. We tend to carry the subtle isolation we may have lived with in male dominated environments to trade association and industry meetings (you know how it feels, the golfing and social gatherings with the wives, or meetings where you just wish they would either shut up or say something productive.) At these meetings I have seen accomplished women are more observers than drivers. Yet, in our own positions, we are super women who get it done and get it done right, and we can learn so much for one another’s experiences.   One group that is harnessing the energy and sharing it is the Girls Who Print community, a virtual sorority for women, which began on LinkedIn. Mary Beth Smith in Texas started the group in April of 2009 and it now has well over 9000 members worldwide sharing knowledge and experiences and even having virtual beach parties over the internet. At Graph Expo one year Heidelberg hosted the First Annual Pink Party – we had a cocktail party, accepted donations for Susan G. Komen, and drew for a door prize– women from schools, vendors, owners, and industry leaders attended.

But we women also need to support the future of the industry, not for the sake of the industry alone, but for our own businesses. If you are not already doing so, include some of the print advocacy organizations in your volunteer time – see what the Print Council is doing or check out the Consider Print movement. Support SkillsUSA. This organization is open to high school and college students in various trades and gives wonderful recognition to the talent and accomplishment of young people in graphic design. Find out if your local high school has a printing program and if they are preparing to compete in SkillsUSA. Encourage your local college graphic arts department to get accredited by the ACCGC. Support the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation.

Printing is more exciting today from a technological, application, and innovation point of view than ever before. What the schools are doing is amazing—check out TAGA and the Phoenix Challenge for examples of the creativity and knowledge of the students. Men and women who are coming up now do not have the gender assumptions that my generation knew, and women who are attracted to the opportunities in printing never even question their ability to enter this field. The opportunities for women are more exciting than ever. Women tend to be better at listening, prioritizing and fulfilling needs – the consultative and creative services required in printing today are perfectly suited to the intuitiveness, communication skills, and practicality women bring to the table.

Mary Hunter Austin was an author in the early 1900’s who wrote: “What women have to stand on squarely is not their ability to see the world in the way men see it, but the importance and validity of seeing it in some other way.”

As women continue to change the workplace, let’s make the printing industry a destination, and not a happy accident.