[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 113-56
WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 15, 2013
__________
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JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
[Created pursuant to Sec. 5(a) of Public Law 304, 79th Congress]
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SENATE
Kevin Brady, Texas, Chairman Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, Vice
John Campbell, California Chair
Sean P. Duffy, Wisconsin Robert P. Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania
Justin Amash, Michigan Mark R. Warner, Virginia
Erik Paulsen, Minnesota Bernard Sanders, Vermont
Richard L. Hanna, New York Christopher Murphy, Connecticut
Carolyn B. Maloney, New York Martin Heinrich, New Mexico
Loretta Sanchez, California Dan Coats, Indiana
Elijah E. Cummings, Maryland Mike Lee, Utah
John Delaney, Maryland Roger F. Wicker, Mississippi
Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania
Robert P. O'Quinn, Executive Director
Niles Godes, Democratic Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Opening Statements of Members
Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Vice Chair, a U.S. Senator from Minnesota.... 1
Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney, a U.S. Representative from New York..... 3
Hon. Kevin Brady, Chairman, a U.S. Representative from Texas..... 3
Witnesses
Ms. Jennifer M. McNelly, President, Manufacturing Institute,
Washington, DC................................................. 5
Ms. Darlene M. Miller, President and CEO, Permac Industries,
Burnsville, MN................................................. 7
Mrs. Amy Jolley, Vice President-Tax, Noble Energy, Inc., Houston,
TX............................................................. 9
Submissions for the Record
Prepared statement of Vice Chair Klobuchar....................... 24
Report: ``Women in Manufacturing''........................... 26
Prepared statement of Chairman Brady............................. 33
Prepared statement of Jennifer M. McNelly........................ 34
Prepared statement of Darlene M. Miller.......................... 35
Prepared statement of Amy Jolley................................. 37
WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013
Congress of the United States,
Joint Economic Committee,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:03 a.m. in Room
216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, the Honorable Amy
Klobuchar, Vice Chair, presiding, and the Honorable Kevin
Brady, Chair.
Representatives present: Brady, Paulsen, Maloney, and
Delaney.
Senators present: Klobuchar.
Staff present: Conor Carroll, Gail Cohen, Sarah Elkins,
Christina Forsberg, Connie Foster, Niles Godes, Colleen Healy,
and Robert O'Quinn.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, VICE CHAIR, A U.S.
SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Okay. We have some very friendly
witnesses, which is always good to hear. I love this. This is
what happens when we have women witnesses at a hearing.
So we are going to call this hearing to order. I want to
thank everyone for being here this morning to have this
important conversation on the role of women in manufacturing,
and to discuss the ways that women can play an even greater
role.
We are going to be looking at manufacturing's impact on the
economy, at the challenges facing manufacturers, and in states
like Congressman Paulsen and I have in the State of Minnesota
where we have a 5.4 percent unemployment rate, as Ms. Miller
knows, we are very much focused on how we can get more people
into manufacturing. And the fact that we have a smaller
percentage of women in manufacturing means that this is a great
recruiting group where we can try to talk about how we
encourage them to go into manufacturing.
We have with us, first of all, Ms. Jennifer McNelly, who is
the President of the Manufacturing Institute, which is the
nonprofit affiliate of the National Association of
Manufacturers. She has led the development of the Manufacturing
Skills Certification System which certifies a set of nationally
portable industry-recognized manufacturing skills.
Ms. Darlene Miller is the President and CEO of Permac
Industries in Burnsville, Minnesota. Permac is a precision
machining company that custom-manufactures parts for customers
around the globe in industries including aerospace, medical
technology, and transportation.
And then finally, Mrs. Amy Jolley is the Vice President of
Tax at Noble Energy, an exploration and production company with
domestic and international operations. And she is responsible
for all of the company's global tax matters.
I think we all know that for decades manufacturing has been
a pathway to the middle class for millions of families. It
remains central to the U.S. economy today, making up about one-
eighth of GDP. And manufacturing is also a major driver of
innovation, accounting for 70 percent of the research and
development carried out by U.S. industry, and generating 90
percent of patents. In fact, I was just talking to the CEO of
3M last evening. They are adding a number of jobs for research
and development in our State with an Innovation Center. And of
course they make the Post-It Note, and we like to say we have
everything from the Pacemaker to the Post-It Note. But it has
all been about manufacturing.
So what has been happening? Well I can tell you in my State
a recent poll of manufacturing companies, 60 percent of
respondents said it was hard for them to find workers with the
right skills. That is up from 40 percent in 2010.
We have issues with welders. We have issues with all kinds
of robotics jobs, things like that. And we see women as
integral to the solution.
Women are underrepresented in the manufacturing workforce.
They are losing ground. Women's share of manufacturing
employment has been falling steadily since 1990, and is now at
the lowest level since 1971. Women make up just 27 percent of
the manufacturing workforce.
In order to change that direction, and in order to help
manufacturers meet their hiring needs, we need to identify new
ways for women to be exposed to, trained for, and participate
in future opportunities in manufacturing.
The first of course is STEM education for boys and girls,
and making sure that they are getting those skills. Just
yesterday Senator Hatch and I got our amendment on the
immigration bill which increases the funding for STEM education
by adding a fee to the visa fees, something the business
community believes is very important.
Making sure that community colleges play a key role here is
also very important, as we look at how kids in high school and
in community college are getting the skills that they need.
Addressing the perception challenge to manufacturing. I
can't tell you how many--and Ms. Miller can probably talk about
this--how many people on the factory floors, the usually male
foremen, have said to me--pulled me aside and said: We need to
get more women here. We don't have enough people to fill the
jobs.
I remember at one plant when it was 10 degrees, I said to
them: Have you considered heat?
[Laughter.]
And he goes, well, you know, I don't know; I haven't
thought of that; everyone's fine.
When I got home, I put on my Facebook Page the company that
I visited that day, and two people wrote in: My brother worked
there, but it got too cold and he left.
[Laughter.]
We have already made a lot of steps in the right direction
to make sure people know this isn't your grandpa's factory
floor anymore. It is cleaner. It is safer. The skills are
higher. And we have to bring that message home to girls all
around the country.
I want to quickly recognize the leadership of Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney of New York on women's employment issues, and I
would like to recognize her just to speak here, yielding a
minute of my time for her remarks.
[The prepared statement of Vice Chair Klobuchar appears in
the Submissions for the Record on page 24.]
[The report titled ``Women in Manufacturing'' submitted by
Vice Chair Klobuchar appears in the Submissions for the Record
on page 26.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY, A U.S.
REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK
Representative Maloney. Well thank you, Madam Chair, and
congratulations on your leadership on this issue.
The JEC has historically played an important role in
highlighting how women have fared in earnings, education, and
jobs. In 1973 the JEC held an historical series of hearings
entitled ``The Economic Problems of Women'', and in 1983
Senator Olympia Snow held a number of hearings looking at the
changing role of women in the workforce.
When I concluded my time as Chair of the JEC at the end of
2010, I issued a report, ``Invest In Women, Invest In America:
A Comprehensive Review of Women in The U.S. Economy,'' to help
policymakers better understand how women can drive economic
growth.
Your hearing is tremendously important. It points out that
we are gaining manufacturing jobs, which is great, over 530,000
new jobs in manufacturing; yet, we are not sharing the
prosperity. We are growing the disparity because during that
time your report shows that 28,000 manufacturing jobs were lost
to women.
So we need to address how this can happen. I think this is
an important hearing on our economy, and also in advancing the
opportunities for women in the workforce.
So thank you very much, Madam Chair, or Vice Chair, for
holding this hearing and I am delighted to be here supporting
you.
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Well thank you so much, and thanks
for your leadership. I know Chairman Brady would like to speak,
as well, and has been a leader in this area.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. KEVIN BRADY, CHAIRMAN, A U.S.
REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS
Chairman Brady. Well I would like to thank Vice Chair
Klobuchar for choosing the topic of today's hearing, ``Women in
Manufacturing.''
As we have discussed with particular focus in this
Congress, the United States is suffering from an economic
growth gap, and manufacturing is no exception. This recovery
remains the weakest since World War II. We still have about
$1.2 trillion less in real GDP, and about 4.1 million fewer
private-sector jobs than in an average post-war recovery.
Every Member of Congress agrees on the importance of
manufacturing. Last year, manufacturing contributed $1.87
trillion to the economy. In April of last year, 12 million
Americans were directly employed in the manufacturing industry.
And according to the National Association of Manufacturers,
taken alone U.S. manufacturing would be the 10th largest
economy in the world.
After rising for several decades, the percent of women
employed in manufacturing peaked at 32.3 percent in the early
1990s. The percentage of women employed in manufacturing has
subsequently declined to 27.3 percent.
Notably, this decline has been seen for both genders.
Manufacturing jobs for women have declined to just 5 percent of
the total nonfarm payrolls for women, and to a mere 6 percent
of the same payrolls for men.
In context of the economy at large, manufacturing has been
shrinking as a portion of the economy both in terms of GDP and
employment, and yet labor productivity in this industry has
outpaced the rest of the economy.
American manufacturers are the most productive in the
world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other
major manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and higher
living standards. Manufacturers in the United States, as
Senator Klobuchar said, perform two-thirds of all private-
sector R&D in the Nation, driving more innovation than any
other sector.
So why has the percentage of women employed in
manufacturing declined? Is this a function of the changing
composition of goods manufactured in the United States? Or a
mismatch in skills versus available jobs? Or other factors? And
what role should the Federal Government play in addressing
these answers?
Going forward, most of manufacturing jobs require advanced
skills and higher education. Between 2000 and 2011,
manufacturing employment has increased by more than 10 percent
among workers with more than a bachelor's degree. This compares
to the approximate 25 percent decline in employment among
manufacturing workers overall.
Women are indeed surpassing men in attaining additional
skills and post-secondary education and beyond. The gender gap
in education has closed since 2000 in the manufacturing
workforce, and as of last year 28 percent of women in
manufacturing hold a four-year college degree or higher,
compared to 29 percent for men.
However, women remain currently underrepresented in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, representing
46.5 percent of the total employed in these fields. A study by
the American Association of University Women found that most
women in STEM fields are biological scientists, chemists, and
environmental scientists, rather than in other STEM fields that
directly relate to most forms of manufacturing.
Over time, increasing the number of women receiving degrees
in STEM fields that directly relate to manufacturing will
increase the number of women employed in manufacturing. We
should remove any obstacles that discourage women from majoring
as undergraduates and seeking advance degrees in these fields.
Furthermore, many high schools, universities, and
manufacturing firms are proactively encouraging women to pursue
education and training in manufacturing with high school
partnerships and internships, reaching out to women on campus,
and focusing on career training for women.
Final point: Critical to employing more women in
manufacturing is ensuring that the United States remains an
attractive place for manufacturers to do business.
The keys to a strong manufacturing sector include pro-
growth tax reform; balanced regulation; a sound dollar;
abundant, affordable energy distributed across the country,
with the help of the Keystone XL and other pipelines; and a
reduction of health care costs that impede employers from
hiring.
I hope the witnesses today can shed light on the trends of
women in manufacturing going forward, what's been working best
to attract women to high-skill manufacturing and other STEM
fields, as well as broadly identifying best practices for the
continued success of the manufacturing industry in America.
Ms. Jennifer McNelly, President of the Manufacturing
Institute, will tell us about the initiatives that her
organization is undertaking to help women pursue careers in
manufacturing.
Ms. Darlene Miller, the President and CEO of Permac, will
discuss ``Right Skills Now,'' a cooperative program with
community colleges to credential women with skills needed by
manufacturers. Also, she is part of the Minnesota mafia taking
over the JEC these days.
[Laughter.]
Finally, Mrs. Amy Jolley, Vice President of Tax for Noble
Energy, who is from my home State of Texas----
[Murmurs in the background.]
Thank you.
[Laughter.]
I will pause for applause--will inform us of the
opportunities for women in the booming energy production
manufacturing sector.
I look forward to hearing the testimony of all the
witnesses. I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Brady appears in the
Submissions for the Record on page 33.]
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. Well thank you very much,
Mr. Chairman.
Ms. McNelly, why don't you begin.
STATEMENT OF MS. JENNIFER M. McNELLY, PRESIDENT, MANUFACTURING
INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. McNelly. Chairman Brady, Vice Chairman Klobuchar, and
distinguished Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of
the Manufacturing Institute and Women in Manufacturing. I am
Jennifer McNelly, President of the Institute, and we are the
authority on the attraction, qualification, and development of
worldclass talent.
Vice Chairman Klobuchar, you noted in your opening remarks
the traditional perspective of manufacturing, and I like to say
historically we have been viewed as the 3Ds: Dark, Dirty, and
Dangerous. And when we think about advanced manufacturing in
this economy, and the steps that we have made forward in
pulling us out of the recession.
I like to think about the three Ps that make us
competitive. It is the Processes in our facilities that allow
for innovation. It is the Products that we create. And most
important, it is the People, the individuals that walk into our
facilities every single day.
In a survey of over 1,000 manufacturers from Deloitte and
the Manufacturing Institute, we found that over 80 percent of
our Nation's manufacturers could not find qualified, skilled
workers.
Manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 open
jobs today. There is one obvious source of human capital that
the manufacturing industry has not fully tapped: women.
Across the manufacturing sector, women are underrepresented
in the workforce. While women represent nearly half of the
total U.S. labor workforce, they comprise about a quarter of
durable goods manufacturing.
In a 2012 report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing
Institute, we set about to understand why manufacturing is not
attracting, retaining, and advancing their fair share of women.
The survey was conducted with 600 women across manufacturing,
including individual interviews.
Today I would like to highlight two of the most consistent
responses from women that we interviewed: Sponsorship and
Personal Development.
Sponsorship: Women who were successful in manufacturing
often looked at their career choices and credited a sponsor
undertaking responsibility for their development and
professional progression. Sponsorship extends beyond mentoring
and coaching to being a vocal advocate.
Recent research shows that individuals who have active
support from sponsors are more likely to advance in their
careers. Sponsorship can have a 30 percent benefit in terms of
stretch assignments, promotions, and pay increases.
To encourage this goal, this year the Manufacturing
Institute sponsored the First Annual Science, Technology,
Engineering and Production Awards, or the STEP Ahead
Initiative.
We celebrated and recognized 122 women from the front lines
to the C-suite for their contribution to the competitiveness of
their company and manufacturing in this economy, women who have
demonstrated exceptional leadership in their careers.
We were able to celebrate exciting careers and showcase the
impact that women have to our industry. The honorees are role
models to empower today's current manufacturing leaders, and
most important inspire the next generation.
We have one of our STEP honorees here with us today,
Darlene Miller. All of our honorees have contributed to their
company's success and the competitiveness of manufacturing in
this country.
For example, Natalie Genova, Senior Project Manager,
Integrated Supply Chain at Honeywell International. Natalie
created a best-in-class onboarding training and leadership
program for Honeywell. Natalie frequently attests her success
to the importance of a sponsor and her own relationship with
her sponsor, DonnaLee Scaggs. The impact this relationship had
on Natalie has in fact turned her into a sponsor and mentor
herself.
The second is Promoting Personal Development. In addition
to powerful mentors and role models, women also cited
professional development as a priority for success. Successful
manufacturing organizations today provide their workforce
talent with a clear understanding of the behaviors,
capabilities, and expectations required to advance, and help
individuals build out an experiential development plan. This
includes identifying the challenging assignments, roles and
experiences that help close that gap. A critical component of
development is enhancing skills and building individual value
in a company.
To that end, the Manufacturing Institute identified a
series of nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials
specifically to help grow workers in the manufacturing economy.
In fact, one of our STEP Honorees is one of the most certified
welders in industry.
Karen Gilgenbach, Weld Process Specialist for Airgas in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a Certified Welding Supervisor and a
Certified Robotic Arc Welding Technician, both offered through
the American Welding Society. Karen pursued additional training
and education to achieve these certifications and increase her
skill set. Much of this training can in fact be done in our
Nation's community and technical colleges.
For many years, post-secondary success was defined as a
four-year degree, whereas a valid, industry-based certification
can provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities for a solid,
middle-class family and a lifestyle. In conclusion,
manufacturers across the country are beginning to realize that
women are an untapped resource. Retaining, developing, and
advancing these skills can be a challenge in a traditionally
non-female environment. Our research shows that identifying
sponsors and clear career pathways supports this effort.
I hope that we can work together in the future to promote
these goals. Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I
look forward to working with you to build the next-generation
manufacturing workforce.
[The prepared statement of Jennifer M. McNelly appears in
the Submissions for the Record on page 34.]
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. And thank you for the work
you are doing nationally. It is really important. Thank you.
Ms. Miller.
STATEMENT OF MS. DARLENE MILLER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PERMAC
INDUSTRIES, BURNSVILLE, MN
Ms. Miller. Thank you, Congressman Brady, and Senator
Klobuchar, for inviting me here today and to share my views on
manufacturing and especially the importance of women in
manufacturing.
My personal story comes from owning a precision machining
company since 1994. I actually started there in 1992.
Manufacturing has been great, rewarding, and exciting for me.
And as Senator Klobuchar mentioned, we make really cool
products. And my company does have heat, and air conditioning,
and is clean.
When I started, we had 7 people, about 7,000 square feet,
and about $700,000 in sales. Today, we have 34 people, about
34,000 square feet, and almost $5 million in sales.
We believe a really good mix of men and women are necessary
in our company to utilize everyone's skill set so that the
maximum--can be achieved. Plus, we do not want to leave any
talent source untapped.
We at Permac have had difficulty hiring people for the last
21 years that I have been there. It doesn't matter if it's a
CNC machine programmer, it's a quality tech, or whatever
position we have in manufacturing--and there are many--we have
always had to search and search.
I have actually had to go two years looking for a CNC Swiss
Programmer before we found a person who was skilled and trained
to do that position. And unfortunately, this is something my
colleagues and I have experienced continuously. We have job
openings that go for months unfulfilled, which really adversely
affects our ability to grow and manufacture more products.
As Jennifer mentioned, I was the recipient of the Women In
Manufacturing Award, and we have also been fortunate to win
some other awards such as the SBA Small Business Person of The
Year, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the
Year for the entire U.S. And I think, due to these, I was given
the honor of being asked to serve on the President's Council
for Jobs and Competitiveness.
And then I was asked to co-chair the High Tech Education
Committee. Well, I could finally do something and make a change
for our industry. So along with NAM, and NIMS, and ACT, and two
colleges in Minnesota, we developed a program called ``Right
Skills Now.'' Very rightly named.
It is a 24-week, fast-tract, stackable credentialed program
with 16 weeks of classroom and lab, and 8 weeks paid internship
by the companies.
This is for men and for women. This is for 18-year-olds.
This is for 50-year-olds, people who are recareering, people
who lost their positions, people who left college, people who
are graduating from high school. And I am really proud to say
this program is expanding.
We are in approximately 30 schools at this point, and we
just started it, launched it in October of 2011. And RSN is in
8 different states. So it is progressing very nicely and we are
getting women involved in this program.
From this program, we also developed another one called
``Get Skills to Work,'' which is for the Military and their
families. That started in Ohio this January, and is going to
roll out in 9 other states this year. It is a direct offshoot
of ``Right Skills Now.''
It is just amazing that we can use this program to make
such a huge difference in people's lives, and to show them what
manufacturing is all about--especially to women.
Most of these men and women really have no concept of what
manufacturing is. They have no idea, other than there are job
openings. And as Jennifer said, 600,000 job openings today in
manufacturing.
As a woman leader in manufacturing, I feel it is very
important and I have a passion to encourage other women to get
into this industry. I recently spoke at a school in Wisconsin.
It was for high school seniors and there were many girls in the
audience. I explained to them how women can get into
manufacturing in all different levels.
And I told them we females actually have an advantage in
our industry. We think differently. We think critically. And
our asking, our asking why leads to improvements and
efficiencies in our processes. And our attention to detail
helps minimize mistakes. And our passion helps keep everyone
motivated and working towards the same goal.
And as Jennifer stated, I also explained our plants are not
dark, dirty, and dangerous, as everyone thinks they are. It is
really exciting to know that we now have more women graduating
from colleges than our male counterparts, but we need to start
earlier. We need the government's help, and we need the
schools' help to let them know about the STEM careers.
I also told the story of when I took ownership of my
company and the Quality Director at the time said, ``Well, I'm
going to leave this company because no woman could survive in
manufacturing running a company. This is a man's world.''
Well, I guess, I proved him wrong.
I also personally became involved in a program called
``Hope For Tomorrow.'' It is a mentoring program for young
women, and we are now in 13 schools. And again, it is a program
to teach young women and girls to know that their journey is
what they make of it; that they in fact can get into any career
they choose.
One of the girls I mentored, I took on a field trip to a
college. She didn't want to go. She only went because she did
it for me, as her mentor. She said, ``in our culture, we get
married after high school and we have babies, and I'm not going
to college.''
I just begged and begged her to go. So finally she went for
me. On the way back, sitting in the bus, she stared straight
ahead and she said, ``I can do this. I can go to college. And I
am.''
What a difference we women can make for other girls out
there in the world. So my goal is to continue to be a mentor,
to continue to push education: especially stackable,
credentialed education, and to get more and more for girls and
women into this industry. It only takes one person to make that
difference, and I pledge I will continue to do so.
I am happy to be here today, and thank you for listening.
[The prepared statement of Darlene Miller appears in the
Submissions for the Record on page 35.]
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you very, very much. I
appreciate that testimony.
Mrs. Jolley.
STATEMENT OF MRS. AMY JOLLEY, VICE PRESIDENT-TAX, NOBLE ENERGY,
INC., HOUSTON, TX
Mrs. Jolley. Good morning, Chairman Brady, Vice Chair, Ms.
Klobuchar, thank you for inviting me here today.
I am Amy Jolley with Noble Energy. Noble Energy is a
Houston-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and
production company, with approximately $20 billion in market
cap. We have about 2,500 employees.
In 2013, our capital spending program is expected to be
about $4 billion, nearly two-thirds of which will be invested
in the United States in our three primary domestic areas:
Colorado, the Marcellus Shale of West Virginia and
Pennsylvania; and Deep Water Gulf of Mexico.
I would like to speak to a couple of points today: The
similarities and overlap between the manufacturing and the
exploration and production energy sectors; and the challenges
we all face with respect to attracting and retaining top
talent, particularly with respect to women.
You may be curious about the connection of the upstream oil
and gas industry with the classic manufacturing model. We don't
necessarily convert raw materials into finished goods, but I
previously worked for an independent power producer, as well as
a global plastics and chemical manufacturer, each for several
years, and have noted many similarities in terms of the
challenges facing those industries in the financial,
operational, and human resources areas.
To access onshore hydrocarbons, we frequently follow
manufacturing concepts to drill and complete an increasing
number of wells. As manufacturing processes become more
homogenous, safety performance improves, efficiencies increase,
and costs become standardized. In the upstream oil and gas
business, we try and capture those same economic benefits.
We have research and development, which is comparable to
seismic data and drilling, and we have the same considerations
with respect to supply chain, inventory management, logistics,
even marketing.
So, for example, we purchase and store huge amounts of
pipe, casing, tubing, for our Gulf of Mexico, Colorado, and
Pennsylvania operations. The oil and gas field manufacturing
process itself consists of installation, development, and
production.
We face the same challenges as traditional manufacturing in
recruiting, hiring, and retaining highly skilled employees
needed to run cost-efficient businesses. Noble is growing
rapidly. Of our 2,500 employees, 400 were added in 2012 alone,
and we expect similar growth in 2013.
We are hiring both experienced individuals and new
collegiate and high school graduates throughout multiple
disciplines: technical, operational, information technology,
financial, and marketing. We are committed to attracting the
highest level of talent in the science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics fields to maintain and improve our
success.
This means hiring various types of engineers: petroleum,
mechanical, reservoir, and geoscientists, geophysicists,
geologists, petrophysicists, oil and gas economists, and land
administrators.
To further ensure enterprise-wise success, that same
caliber of employee must be in place in the support functions
required to run a successful business: legal, finance,
information technology. We also need field and well operators.
The number and percentage of females in managerial,
professional, and executive roles has been increasing at Noble
Energy over the past few years. Much can be attributed to the
larger number of females enrolled in the technical disciplines
at the universities and colleges where we recruit.
As Noble Energy continues its growth, it will continue to
focus on ensuring that the critical-level talent is met
regardless of gender. But as the number of females with
technical degrees continues to increase, we will have an
inherent increase in the number of females in those roles
within the company.
We tend to recruit at a small number of core schools, but
we are seeing a big shift in the number of female graduates
within the technical, geoscience, and engineering disciplines.
Noble Energy is very bimodal. And by that, I mean we have a
large number of employees who are either in the first few years
of their career, or in the last few years of their career. When
we compare those two groups, there is a significant difference
between the gender and ethnic diversity in that experienced
group nearing retirement and our new employees.
As an example, our summer interns are starting to arrive
for work this summer. This week's group of geoscience interns
consisted of two-thirds females, and we are really excited
about that.
As I think of my own role, which is financial, in the
company, I realize that 15 or 20 years ago it would have been
very unlikely for a female to hold this position. That being
said, last week I attended a Houston-area Chief Tax Officers
Forum, and of the attendees, females held the top tax position
within approximately 25 percent of Houston-area companies.
Just a few years ago, three or four, that number was in the
10 percent range. So you can see a shift within the Houston
energy corridor. For me, the key to increasing the gender mix
across the board in the manufacturing and ENP sectors is to
actively inform students at a younger and younger age to take
advantage of the great employment opportunities that we have.
I grew up in rural Iowa. My own parents led me to believe I
could do anything I wanted. But I don't think I even knew what
an engineer was, let alone the difference between a chemical, a
petroleum, or a mechanical engineer. That was an Internet age
ago. There is a lot more access to information out there. But
you have got to have people. You've got to have in K through 12
show and tell, job fairs, just get out in front of there and
tell people what they have.
I love Ms. McNelly's and Ms. Miller's references to
advocacy. We are involved in a couple of mentor and advocacy
programs within Noble where we are connected with, someone who
is a new hire coming into Noble. And it is just exciting to see
the number of geoscientists--female geoscientists coming in,
being excited about their job. But they chose that in college.
They need to know at a younger and younger age what
opportunities are out there.
So having companies actively participating in educational
outreach can demonstrate the range of careers and options
available so kids can pursue targeted educational
opportunities.
The more that we can get in front of them, the more that we
can show how they can bring productivity, economic success to
themselves, their families, and employers in the U.S.
I am the mom of two young kids, 5 and 3. I want them to
both understand the range of opportunities is nearly limitless,
but also to provide them concrete examples of what their
choices might be with the talents they have.
That concludes my remarks. Thank you again for asking me to
participate.
[The prepared statement of Amy Jolley appears in the
Submissions for the Record on page 37.]
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Well thank you, all of you. And thank
you for the passion you bring to this.
I am going to do my questions, and then Chairman Brady will
be taking over. I think Representative Maloney and
Representative Paulsen can stay, because we have seven votes
that just got called right now in the Senate.
But I wanted to, first of all, mention to Mrs. Jolley at
the end there, I actually went with Senator Hoeven over to
North Dakota to Williston and saw the incredible work going on.
And one of our focuses, in addition to talking about some of
the infrastructure they needed there, was also to talk about
women, and that they needed more women there. And the Mayor
asked me to say that they needed more women to move there.
[Laughter.]
So I was just remembering that rather hilarious moment. And
there was a woman geoscientist who was incredible.
But I did just want to start with you, Ms. McNelly, and ask
you about just how you see this in terms of you referenced the
changing factory floors, and it is no longer dirty, dark, and
dangerous. But what are the new needs? And what kind of jobs
could women look for if they went into this field?
Ms. McNelly. That is a great question, and I will come back
to product, process, and people.
In the end, we actually have seen a skill increase in the
requirements for individuals in the manufacturing economy,
skills grounded in science, technology, engineering, and math,
much of the STEM skills that we have talked about.
But more important, as I think of the leadership role that
women play in manufacturing today, manufacturing today really
operates in a team-based environment. Its focus is in the
diversity of our individuals with different perspectives that
creates the next generation innovation. So individuals not just
with strong STEM skills, but with leadership skills, with
critical thinking, and in fact with the ability to operate in a
team environment.
And that is really important to manufacturing today,
because innovation often happens at the front lines. And
increasing the diversity of our workforce in fact increases the
innovation in our workforce. So there are great opportunities
for women with strong technical skills, as well as women with
good critical thinking, the ability to operate on a team, and
the ability to lead.
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. I don't know if you have
read that Lean In book by Sheryl Sandberg. I just guessed you
did, Ms. Miller.
Ms. Miller. I have. And I gave it to all the women on my
staff.
Vice Chair Klobuchar. All right. Good. So anyway, she
points out in this book the numbers, and I was just seeing the
numbers for manufacturing where women hold only 17 percent of
board seats, 12 percent of executive officers, 6 percent of
CEOs. And as one of those CEOs, I would love to hear your views
of how we increase women on the front line, as you have talked
about doing the manufacturing, but then also in the board room
and as executive officers.
Ms. Miller. Well I think we have to be role models. As
business owners, I know myself it is easy to get engaged in my
day-to-day business and to really just focus on that, but I
feel it is critical that I go out and meet with other business
owners, and others in manufacturing, and explain to them how I
got to where I did. You know, I have a similar story. I grew up
in rural Minnesota on a farm, and in fact when I took over the
company my dad said he was worried that I couldn't even pound a
nail, so how could I possibly run a machining company?
But, I think it is just critical that we get out there and
we network. I belong to Women In Manufacturing. This year I am
going to be the first woman president in our Precision Machine
Products National Association. And again, I think that is
showing other women that we can, and we are good at it.
It is a team effort, but we bring different skill sets than
our male counterparts. It is just imperative we network.
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. Mrs. Jolley, you talked
about your own kids and how important it is to expose them to
science, technology, math, and see this as a possibility, as
Ms. Miller was discussing.
Do you want to talk about how we best ensure that girls are
going into these fields, and are prepared? Because it really
does start at a young age.
Mrs. Jolley. I have a three-year-old daughter. Her favorite
iPhone app is Math Magic. Now she doesn't know the answers,
right, but she knows her numbers. And she will sit--you know,
we are driving somewhere, and she will sit and she will say,
``Mom, what is 3 and 1?'' And we go through it. And she
memorizes it.
And my husband, he's a big tester, okay? He's like the
threshold is high, you've got to make it. And so I mean it's
things like that. But she is excited. That is fun for her. So
you have to make it fun. And I think--it's been awhile--science
fairs, or whatnot, where you are creating things, and you are
building things, and getting into the innovative aspects of
things, show that, show that, show that.
Even internally. Noble is hosting an innovation conference
week after next, and there's going to be a huge number of
people from all over Noble's global operations coming in to
show some of the creations that they have done within the
workplace.
So take that out. I mean, we just take that out into the
school. I think the 4th Grade teachers would love to have you
come do a show-and-tell for an hour. It's as easy as that. Push
it down. Push it down.
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Exactly. I was just remembering at
one of our suburban high schools I visited, and a company
Seagate had volunteers that would come in every week and work
with the shop class. And they had these kids making automatic
pool ball sorters. So that when the pool balls went out, they
would automatically sort in the right order. And I remember
asking these high school boys, ``Well what are you--who do you
think is going to buy this?''
And they said, ``People who have everything.''
[Laughter.]
Vice Chair Klobuchar. But the point of it was your point,
Ms. McNelly, about products, that to interest them they
actually have to see what they're making, and see how cool it
is, and see that as part of the desire to go back into
manufacturing. And we'll end with that.
Ms. McNelly. I was going to note, Vice Chairman Klobuchar,
one opportunity that does exist is National Manufacturing Day.
On October 4th, factories across the country will open their
doors and invite their communities in.
Last year, we had over 200 manufacturers across the
country. And we really think that in order to understand the
role you can play in manufacturing, you actually have to walk
through one of these high-tech facilities, see the computer
integrated machines, the design element. So I would encourage
all of you to consider visiting a facility on October 4th this
year.
Vice Chair Klobuchar. Well thank you. Thank you to all of
you. I am sorry I have to leave, but I leave this in able hands
with Chairman Brady. Thank you.
Ms. McNelly. Thank you.
Chairman Brady [presiding]. Thank you, Vice Chair. This is
terrific testimony on an important topic. It is frustrating to
think that there could be 600,000 jobs going unfilled these
days, and that is a topic, as well. How do we take that
mismatch and make it work together?
It was really interesting to hear about the importance of
sponsorships and advocacy in attracting skilled women into
manufacturing.
And, Mrs. Jolley, to your point. Energy is manufacturing.
It's manufacturing oil and natural gas. And to your point about
in the financial area, we work on tax reform a lot, and we meet
with tax leaders across the country. And you're right, the
growth of women in those top positions has changed
dramatically, and that is encouraging.
I want to ask this question: In manufacturing total, energy
included, our workforce is starting to age out. There is a real
concern going forward. You all sort of referenced this, but how
do we go about--how do firms go about obtaining a younger,
skilled workforce? Is this an opportunity for us to attract
more women into manufacturing?
Ms. McNelly. Chairman Brady, that is a great question. From
our perspective, the example Darlene Miller gave on the use of
our Nation's community colleges and industry-based credentials
as a clear career pathway for individuals to be successful,
from our perspective a good welding program in this country is
one that trains somebody to an American Welding Society
Standard.
A good machining program is an individual walks out with
not just their academic certificate, but equally a National
Institute of Metal Working Skills. And those opportunities can
start in a fast-track environment.
I'll use the example of our transitioning Veterans and our
work of Get Skills To Work, where we have so many transitioning
Veterans with strong technical skills and no clear career
pathway back into civilian--into the civilian world. So how can
we take advantage?
Someone may have machined a part but not be a machinist,
may have welded but not be a welder. How can we put those
individuals into short-term training programs grounded in an
industry credential and start their career in manufacturing?
That equally then speaks to the other pillar of not just
sponsorship but development, and how individuals then need
clear career pathways so that they always know they can go back
to a community college, get additional training, and advance
further in their company.
So we do think that the Nation's community and technical
colleges are a really important resource for our Nation's
employers. And the middle-skills' jobs that you see represented
here, because that really is what builds this Nation's middle
class.
Chairman Brady. Got it. Ms. Miller, you probably agree,
because you led out talking about the importance of the
community college tie-in.
Ms. Miller. Absolutely. I think it is really critical, that
the businesses engage directly with the college and get them to
come out to their facility, to see what we need because
sometimes they are teaching skill sets that are really not
relevant in our workplace, or are old and outdated.
Our equipment is very high tech. It's $400-$500,000 for a
machine. We really need really excellent math skills and
problem-solving skills. So it is absolutely imperative the
schools teach those math skills, and teach what we are looking
for. But if we do not go out there and tell them, they do not
know what that is.
Another thing, is to get into the middle schools. And
again, I think the businesses have to do this. The middle
schools, the high schools, and explain what manufacturing is
about.
I was just at Thaddeus Stevens last week and spoke about
``Right Skills Now,'' and they have a program called ``Adopt A
Kindergarten,'' where they have three female professors who
actually go to the kindergarten classes in their area. One used
to be a certified plumber and now is teaching plumbing at the
school. They are all in the non-typical female roles and they
mentor these girls from kindergarten through 12th Grade.
We need more programs like this so that we expose kids, and
especially women, at a young age.
Chairman Brady. Great.
Mrs. Jolley.
Mrs. Jolley. Noble engages in Junior Achievement in a
couple area Houston schools. And so again we have sort of the
repetitive presence of the same individuals throughout the
years. We are embarking I think on our 5th year with one
particular school. And that is down to the elementary through
the high school level. So I think that just goes to the--or
reinforces the point that is being made, that for people to
know what they can do, they have to know what is out there to
do. And I think that Noble takes it very seriously, and we try
and engage our employees in what is volunteer activity, but
because we can see that it adds down the road to valuable
employees that can only help our own businesses succeed.
Chairman Brady. Well thank you all very much, appreciate
it. Representative Maloney is recognized.
Representative Maloney. Thank you very much.
I would first thank all the panelists, and certainly Vice
Chair Klobuchar for her excellent report. And really the Chair,
too, for his sensitivity and devotion to what is a really
critical issue.
Too often women's issues are swept under the rug and not
seen, and this is an important hearing in my opinion primarily
because we are growing manufacturing jobs. Let's make it in
America. Let's grow our job base.
But during this time of growth, women lost jobs. They lost
roughly 28,000 jobs. And I would like to try to understand why
this happened.
Ms. Miller, I loved your story about your director saying
I'm leaving because obviously there's no way a woman could
succeed, and of course you have succeeded. All of you have
succeeded.
So I would like your insight, and all of the panelists,
really, on what we can do about the 77 cents to the dollar. We
seem to be stuck at 77 cents to the dollar for 20 years. It has
not moved. It has not budged.
What can government do, if anything, to help in that area?
Obviously education. We are moving ahead in education, yet it
is not translating itself into successful statistics.
And if you look at the glass ceiling, it is particularly
hard for anyone moving up, for a CEO. You are quite
extraordinary. Very few women are successful CEOs. And reports
have shown that the 77 cents to the dollar gets worse in most
job categories, with the exception of areas where women
dominate such as in health care and education.
In fact, I showed--did a report called ``A New Look At The
Glass Ceiling'' that showed that five years out the disparity
falls, sometimes 15, 20 percent.
So I would like to ask Ms. Miller, and then Ms. McNelly and
Mrs. Jolley to comment on that. What can we do to break that 77
cents to the dollar that seems to be cast in stone? And other
opportunities to move up the line. We all know the numbers. The
number of CEO women is, you know, minuscule compared to men--
although our educational capabilities and intellect are the
same.
Ms. Miller. Unfortunately, that is true, but I do feel that
we women act differently. Our male counterparts are the first
ones to come up and ask for that raise, or bring their skill
sets to the forefront and I hear so often where women do not do
the same. I get really frustrated because I do not feel there
is as much of a glass ceiling as we women make of it. So I
think again we women have to go out there and really encourage
and mentor other women to make sure that they realize their
talents and expose them to their employers.
It has been a challenge I know for years. It is not that
way in my company. And when I speak, I really try to encourage
people, women, to get out there and encourage other women. I
wish I had the answer. I don't. But I just do think we need to
toot our own horns a little bit louder and maybe we can make
that change.
Representative Maloney. Ms. McNelly, and then followed by
Mrs. Jolley.
Ms. McNelly. I am going to speak to the opportunities in
manufacturing. And in the end, manufacturing pays more than any
other sector.
So as we increase women's participation, we equally will
increase their wage gains proportionate to the U.S. economy.
And part of that comes back to exposing women to the
opportunities of these great family-sustaining careers in
manufacturing.
So from my perspective, by expanding the opportunities and
exposure to women in manufacturing, we will in fact have the
opportunity to grow them within this great family-sustaining
middle class jobs, middle-skills jobs environment in this
economy.
Mrs. Jolley. This is an area that I have a lot of passion
around, because again I have two young children. I think
companies need to focus on the fact that it is usually women
who take a break, right? Some of that disparity is because
women take a break.
So you need to make it much easier for them not to take a
break, right? So, for example, Noble is moving to a new
headquarters. We are partnering with the local YMCA that is
across the street for on-site extended day care. Flex time.
Things that can allow part-time work, or that make it easier
for somebody who when they have a child can come back much more
quicker or easier to integrate. Job sharing opportunities.
Noble is engaging in some of these activities, and more.
Representative Maloney. I only have 13 seconds left, and we
are on a tight time. I just want to hear any of your ideas of
manufacturing. We are losing jobs in manufacturing for women.
Why is that? Is it training we need? What do we need to address
to get more women in manufacturing?
Ms. Miller. It is the perception, mainly. But the other
thing is, we have to have credentialed programs. We have to
have certified programs in manufacturing so that it is rated as
high as a four-year college degree--instead of a second-class
citizen, or a second-class job.
So credentialling our manufacturing is really I think key
to making it a viable career.
Representative Maloney. Thank you. My time has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Brady. Thank you. Representative Paulsen.
Representative Paulsen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is great testimony on an important topic. I have had a
chance, Mr. Chairman, actually to spend time on the floor of
the operations of Ms. Miller at her company, and I can assure
you that she is a leader in her industry and is playing a key
role in Minnesota's economy in many, many ways.
I just want to mention, too, as the father of four
daughters it is great to see all of you here successful today,
but it is also awesome to know that women are rising to the top
of their fields, and they are breaking through these glass
ceilings in a whole variety of different industries.
These glass ceilings have stood in their way for a long
period of time. I guess my question is this: What can
government do, or what can Congress--what should Congress be
focusing on, now that women are rising through the ranks? They
are becoming more successful in breaking these ceilings, and
they are competing against what has been the status quo--you
know, men in different fields. And how can we harness that
opportunity? Because it is an opportunity when women are being
underrepresented in the area of manufacturing, as was pointed
out, so that we can continue America's leadership, and
innovation, and growth, and invention, and creating new things,
and making things, building stuff. I mean, what should our role
be?
Is it focusing on STEM education, knowing that there is
where more high-skilled work is going to be going down the
road? And what is that going to mean as the labor market shifts
in the need for high-skilled workers? Ms. McNelly?
Ms. McNelly. Darlene actually mentioned the importance of a
quality, skilled workforce and how you create transparency out
of the education system.
One opportunity that Congress has is the America Works Act,
which would in fact prioritize federal funding in job training
to programs of study that end in an industry-based credential.
So that programs across the country like the Right Skills Now
program could have the right federal resources and job
training, and that job seekers can understand what length of
training they needed; how long it was going to take; and what
their employment opportunities could be at the back end.
So we do think that legislation like America Works could in
fact support closing our Nation's skills gap.
Representative Paulsen. Ms. Miller, you have been involved
in advocacy, professional development, sponsorship, as was
mentioned earlier, but what else should we be focused on as a
part of helping this effort?
Ms. Miller. Well I think highlighting the manufacturing
stories and success stories, and really getting the word out
there that manufacturing is here to stay; that we produce over
21 percent of all manufactured products in the world. We really
need to get that message out.
The other thing is to really provide the scholarships and
the monies for training for STEM careers, to include machining,
or for manufacturing in any mode, like we do for the four-year
colleges. We do not contribute near as much, or have the
government funds available for people to go into those career
paths as we do the four-year degrees. If that was equal, we
would see more people in our industry. Thank you.
Representative Paulsen. Ms. Jolley.
Mrs. Jolley. So my background is finance and tax, and what
I really think is you have to have a focus on a business
friendly environment. You have to stimulate the growth. Make
sure the United States continues to be and improves upon its
location as a great place to do business.
I don't know much about the people aspect and how to
encourage job growth particularly for females, but I do know
that if you've got businesses here--I mean, in the energy
industry we have seen a renaissance over the last few years.
And those energy products go downstream. They are the inputs
for the manufacturing processes all along the way.
And so if you continue to focus on making the U.S. a great
place for Noble Energy and other companies like this, you make
it a great place for the manufacturing industries to increase
their own businesses here in the United States.
Representative Paulsen. Yes. Well again this has been great
testimony, Mr. Chairman. I just note that one of my four
daughters has an interest maybe in being a pediatrician some
day, and helping people, helping others, right, it's kind of in
her nature. She wants to do that.
And I said, well, maybe you should think about touring a
medical device company, which we have a lot of in Minnesota,
obviously, and then that would allow her to invent things,
create things to help improve life for lots of people rather
than just on an individual-patient basis. So I am trying to
generate those similar ideas and concepts with some of my young
girls.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Brady. You're welcome. I have met Congressman
Paulsen's girls. Soon four of the Fortune 100 companies will be
headed by Erik's kids.
[Laughter.]
I'm pretty certain of that.
Representative Delaney.
Representative Delaney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I just
realized my colleague from Minnesota and I have something in
common, because I have four daughters, as well. So you've got
the four-daughter club up here, which is why we probably both
mildly disagree with my colleague from New York's comments when
she said that men and women have identical intellects. I would
conclude pretty quickly that women have superior intellects, at
least based on my experience over the years. And that is not
just informed by my household.
This is great testimony. Thank you for being here. And it
really is important testimony particularly with regard to
energy. Because I think the comment was made about energy,
because it seems to me the energy revolution that is going on
in this country, which I actually think we underestimate and do
not talk about enough in terms of how utterly transformative
this is, is, together with technology, really a massive
opportunity for U.S. manufacturing to be perhaps more
competitive than it has ever been, depending upon the sector.
So it is a really, really good topic. The data that you all
went through in your testimony, I'm not going to go over that
again, it was great. It is a concerning topic when you consider
almost 60 percent of the college graduates are women, over half
the workforce is women. But last year when people were promoted
to vice presidents, only 25 percent of them were women. And
when they were promoted, promotions occurred in the C Suite, it
was only 15 percent women.
So that is a concerning trend. One of the things that has
always struck me is some data that I saw that said that when
young boys and girls, age 5 or 6, are polled about what they
want to do when they grow up, their answers are very similar.
In other words, the number of young boys and girls that want to
be presidents, astronauts, CEOs, go down the list, is very
similar.
When 15 or 16 comes along and they do the same poll, it
starts to diverge significantly. And I worry about kind of a
disempowering message that society is delivering to young women
in terms of a whole variety of things, but including their
opportunities in the corporate workforce.
Because the problem that we have with women progressing
across all of corporate America is obviously a multi-
dimensional problem, and there are a lot of components to it.
And I think you touched on some really good ones, particularly
the comments about making it a work-friendly environment.
Prior to being in Congress, I ran a company that I started
that was a public company, and it always was rated one of the
best places to work in the D.C. area. And it was all because of
those things. And it was a huge asset in attracting talent.
But I actually want my question to come back to this
somewhat disempowering message that I see. And, you know, I am
probably relatively insensitive to it as a man, but you
definitely see it in the media. You see it in society. That
women are still portrayed differently than men in their
careers, et cetera.
So I don't mean to lift up from a hard database
presentation, which this has been and it's been really
terrific, and ask a question that's a little more qualitative
in a way, but do you have any observations on that, how big of
an issue that is in terms of this problem? Anyone can start.
Ms. McNelly. I actually think one of our challenges in
manufacturing is marketing the opportunities. Because we do in
fact make jets fly. We make food taste better. We make life-
saving medical devices. Yet we are not very effective at how we
communicate.
And I often think that when you survey young children as to
what they want to be when they grow up, it is what they are
exposed to. So opportunities like National Manufacturing Day,
to open up the doors and to see the difference. Because I also
do think that women are often motivated by grand challenges on
the differences that women can make.
And when I think about the importance of manufacturing in a
global economy, it is manufacturing that will solve many of our
world's global challenges. Energy is a manufacturing process as
we build infrastructure.
So I do think a piece of that is the responsibility of
manufacturers to share what we do very openly to inspire the
next generation, because we do make great things.
Representative Delaney. Right.
Ms. Miller.
Ms. Miller. I think it is important to do these programs
like Hope For Tomorrow, also to expose these kids at a young
age that they can excel in any of these fields; and that they
can be involved in any career path they choose, rather than
just the stereotypical ones.
I think, in business it is really critical that we realize
I give men as much time off to go watch their kids' games, or
to go to their doctor appointments with their kids, or school
conferences, or whatever. So we need to get that out, that men
and women are treated equally in their time off, and that we
don't expect just women to go take on those roles. We expect
the men to do it also.
I think if companies could highlight this, it would also
help.
Representative Delaney. Mrs. Jolley.
Mrs. Jolley. Thank you. Yes, my 5-year-old boy and my 3-
year-old girl both want to be super heroes right now. But I
think it is important, everything in here is manufactured in
some way, right? So it is an easy call.
You know, how do you make this plastic bottle here? Where
does it come from? Where does this come from? Who makes it? And
it is very easy in a show-and-tell particularly with the young
kids to say this is important. This makes you happy, right?
This helps your life?
We sponsor a young child in El Salvador, and it was
incomprehensible to my 5-year-old that he wrote us a thank you
letter that they used some money we sent them for food, right?
And it was a question, well, can't we buy him a toy?
So it's important: Well, that toy is manufactured, right?
And where does all that come from? So at the young age, it is
just by example, by example, by example. And you can make that.
You can make that somewhere along the line.
Representative Delaney. Thank you.
Chairman Brady. Thank you, Representative. We are very
respectful of your time, as we wrap up.
Let me, on behalf of Vice Chair Klobuchar, thank you for
being here today. You three are really mythbusters. I mean, the
myth of America doesn't make anything anymore? Clearly we do.
You know, America can't compete anymore? Clearly we do,
becoming the most productive manufacturing sector in the world.
And women don't manufacture? They do, in a big way.
And we have got an opportunity with an aging workforce to
use the tools you identified that work, and to apply those into
a bigger space going forward.
So I again want to thank you all for being here. This
meeting is adjourned.
(Whereupon, at 11:05 a.m., Wednesday, May 15, 2013, the
hearing was adjourned.)
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Prepared Statement of Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Vice Chair, Joint Economic
Committee
I want to thank everyone for being here this morning to have this
important conversation on the role of women in manufacturing and to
discuss ways women can play an even greater role in the future.
Today's hearing will examine manufacturing's impact on the economy,
look at the challenges facing manufacturers and explore how--by
increasing women's participation in the sector--we can strengthen
manufacturing and bolster our economy. This hearing will cover many of
the same topics as the report I released yesterday on women in
manufacturing.
I'd especially like to thank our distinguished panel of witnesses:
Ms. Jennifer McNelly is President of The Manufacturing Institute,
the non-profit affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.
She has led the development of the Manufacturing Skills Certification
System, which certifies a set of nationally portable, industry-
recognized manufacturing skills.
Ms. Darlene Miller is the President and CEO of Permac Industries in
Burnsville, Minnesota. Permac is a precision machining company that
custom-manufactures parts for customers around the globe in industries
including aerospace, medical technology and transportation.
Mrs. Amy Jolley, is Vice President of Tax at Noble Energy,
Incorporated, an exploration and production company with domestic and
international operations. She is responsible for Noble's global tax
matters.
For decades, manufacturing has been a pathway to the middle class
for millions of families--offering good wages, good benefits and a shot
at home ownership.
Manufacturing remains central to the U.S. economy today, making up
about one-eighth of GDP. And, manufacturing is a major driver of
innovation, accounting for 70 percent of research and development
carried out by U.S. industry and generating 90 percent of patents. From
the pacemaker and the Post-It note in my state, to the hand-held
calculator in Texas, to air conditioning in New York, to a ``smart''
polymer that introduces medicine into the bloodstream in Maryland, to
the first nuclear submarine in Connecticut, manufacturing powers
innovation across our country.
While manufacturing employment has rebounded during the past three
years, there is a gap today between the skills employers want and the
experience workers have. In a recent poll of manufacturing companies in
my state, 60 percent of respondents said it was hard for them to find
workers with the right skills and experience, up from 40 percent in
2010.
When I travel around Minnesota, I hear from too many companies that
they want to grow, but can't fill open positions. They have vacancies
for welders and tool and die makers. I cannot tell you how many
managers of plants have told me that we just need someone who wants to
learn these skills, or who has these skills.
That's a serious challenge right now, and it is likely to become an
even bigger challenge: half of manufacturing workers are 45 years old
or older, which means that looming retirements will increase the
unfilled demand for skilled production workers.
There is an additional reason to get more women in manufacturing.
As described in a Mother's Day report that I released last week, nearly
half of mothers work full-time outside of the home and mothers are the
sole breadwinner in more than one-third of families.
Manufacturing jobs pay well, helping women contribute more to their
families' financial wellbeing.
Continuing to strengthen U.S. manufacturing is both an immediate
and long-term priority for our nation, and tapping the talents and
knowledge of women workers must be part of the solution.
Women are underrepresented in the manufacturing workforce--and are
losing ground. Women's share of manufacturing employment has been
falling steadily since 1990 and is now at its lowest level since 1971.
Women make up just 27 percent of the manufacturing workforce.
While the manufacturing sector has added more than half a million
jobs since February 2010, men have accounted for all of these gains.
During this period, women actually lost 28,000 manufacturing jobs.
In order to change that--and in order to help manufacturers meet
their hiring needs--we need to identify new ways for women to be
exposed to, trained for and participate in future opportunities in
manufacturing. Companies need the opportunity to better access the
talents, expertise and experience of women workers.
Here are a few important steps we can take.
First, we must strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
(STEM) education. I have a bill that would double the number of STEM
schools and we must ensure that girls and young women are encouraged to
take full advantage of these new opportunities. STEM skills are so
important for today's technology-driven manufacturing jobs.
Closing the achievement gap in math and science will ensure that
young women have the confidence and ability to pursue a degree or
training in math, science and engineering.
We also need to do a better job of matching the skills taught in
the classroom with the skills needed in the workforce.
Partnerships between employers and their local two- and four-year
colleges can ensure that course offerings align with what's going on in
the economy. These partnerships work: I've seen this in schools across
Minnesota.
I think of the ``Right Skills Now'' program at Dunwoody College of
Technology in Minneapolis, which is bringing local businesses to the
table to better match course offerings with employer needs. One of our
witnesses, Ms. Miller, is a founder of that program and I hope she will
be telling us more about the program's successes.
The Manufacturing Institute's work to create nationally portable,
industry-recognized manufacturing skills credentials can help us
address the skills gap. Integrating trade-specific credentials, such as
welding, into community college programs will help graduates get good-
paying jobs, help employers find the workers they need and enable women
to more fully participate in these occupations.
Part of the challenge in recruiting more women to manufacturing is
that the perception of manufacturing hasn't caught up with today's
reality. This is not your grandpa's factory floor anymore. Advanced
manufacturing techniques are reshaping the sector. Sophisticated robots
have joined the ranks of the wrench and hammer, and workers
increasingly depend on math and engineering skills.
Yet, not enough young women think of manufacturing as a career
path. High school girls should be exposed to manufacturing
opportunities so they can pursue education or training that prepares
them for a career in manufacturing.
Mentoring programs are great tools to expose girls and young women
to manufacturing careers and can also help employers attract and retain
women. They have been especially important in helping women rise in the
ranks of leadership in the industry. When women work in industries
where men have traditionally dominated the workforce, having a mentor
to turn to for advice, support and guidance can boost satisfaction and
retention.
Formal mentoring programs and informal networks are relatively
inexpensive to create and can pay huge dividends down the road by
helping women stay in the industry and achieve success.
Finally, I believe we need to be building an innovation agenda for
America--a competitive agenda that brings us back to brass tacks.
Manufacturing has always been at the heart of innovation in this
country. America must be a country that makes stuff again, that invents
things, that exports to the world, and to do that we need to do a
better job of harnessing the skills and talents of women in the
manufacturing industry.
I would like to recognize the leadership of Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney of New York on women's employment issues. I'll recognize
Chairman Brady in a moment, but first I would like to yield a minute of
my time to Congresswoman Maloney for her remarks.
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Prepared Statement of Hon. Kevin Brady, Chairman, Joint Economic
Committee
I would like to thank Vice Chair Klobuchar for choosing the topic
of today's hearing, ``Women in Manufacturing.''
As we have discussed with particular focus in this Congress, the
United States suffers from an economic growth gap, and manufacturing is
no exception. This recovery remains the weakest since World War II. We
still have $1.2 trillion less in real GDP and 4.1 million fewer private
sector jobs than in an average post-war recovery.
Every Member of Congress agrees on the importance of manufacturing.
In 2012, manufacturing contributed $1.87 trillion to the economy. In
April 2013, 12 million Americans were directly employed in the
manufacturing industry. According to the National Association of
Manufacturers, taken alone U.S. manufacturing would be the 10th largest
economy in the world.
After rising for several decades, the percent of women employed in
manufacturing peaked at 32.3 percent in the early 1990s. The percentage
of women employed in manufacturing has subsequently declined to 27.3
percent. Notably, this decline has been seen for both genders:
manufacturing jobs for women have declined to just 5 percent of total
nonfarm payrolls for women, and to a mere 6 percent of total nonfarm
payrolls for men.
In context of the economy at large, manufacturing has been
shrinking as a portion of the economy both in terms of GDP and
employment, and yet labor productivity in this industry has outpaced
the rest of the economy. American manufacturers are the most productive
in the world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major
manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and living standards.
Manufacturers in the United States perform two-thirds of all private-
sector R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other
sector.
So why has the percentage of women employed in manufacturing
declined? Is this a function of the changing composition of goods
manufactured in the United States or a mismatch in skills versus
available jobs, or other factors? And what role should the federal
government play in addressing these answers?
Going forward, most of manufacturing jobs require advanced skills
and higher education. Between 2000 and 2011, manufacturing employment
has increased by more than 10 percent among workers with more than a
bachelor's degree. This compares to the approximate 25 percent decline
in employment among manufacturing workers overall.
Women are indeed surpassing men in attaining additional skills and
post-secondary education and beyond. The gender gap in education has
closed since 2000 in the manufacturing workforce, and as of 2012, 28
percent of women in manufacturing hold a four-year college degree or
higher, compared to 29 percent of men.
However, women currently remain underrepresented in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics, representing 46.5 percent of
total employed in those fields. A study by the American Association of
University Women found that most women in STEM fields are biological
scientists, chemists, and environmental scientists rather than in other
STEM fields that directly relate to most forms of manufacturing.
Over time, increasing the number of women receiving degrees in STEM
fields that directly relate to manufacturing will increase the number
of women employed in manufacturing. We should remove any obstacles that
discourage women from majoring in as undergraduates and seeking advance
degrees in these fields.
Furthermore, many high schools, universities, and manufacturing
firms are proactively encouraging women to pursue education and
training in manufacturing with high school partnerships and
internships, reaching out to women on campus, and focusing on career
training for women.
Critical to employing more women in manufacturing is ensuring that
the United States remains an attractive place for manufacturers to do
business.
The keys to a strong manufacturing sector include pro-growth tax
reform; balanced regulation; a sound dollar; abundant, affordable
energy distributed across the country, with the help of the Keystone XL
and other pipelines; and a reduction of health care costs that impede
employers from hiring.
I hope the witnesses can shed light on the trends of women in
manufacturing going forward, what's been working best to attract women
to high-skill manufacturing and other STEM fields, as well as broadly
identifying best practices for the continued success of the
manufacturing industry in America.
Ms. Jennifer M. McNelly, President of the Manufacturing Institute,
will tell us about the initiatives that her organization is undertaking
to help women pursue careers in manufacturing.
Ms. Darlene M. Miller, the President and CEO of Permac Industries,
will discuss ``Right Skills Now,'' a cooperative program with community
colleges to credential women with skills needed by manufacturers.
Finally, Mrs. Amy Jolley, Vice President of Tax for Noble Energy,
who is from my home state of Texas, will inform us of the opportunities
for women in the booming energy production sector.
I look forward to hearing the testimony of the witnesses.
__________
Prepared Statement of Jennifer McNelly
Chairman Brady, Vice-Chair Klobuchar, and distinguished Members of
the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today to testify
on behalf of The Manufacturing Institute at this hearing on ``Women in
Manufacturing.''
My name is Jennifer McNelly, and I am the President of the
Manufacturing Institute. We are the non-profit affiliate of the
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and we are the authority on
the attraction, qualification, and development of world-class
manufacturing talent.
A recent survey from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute found
that over 80 percent of American manufacturing companies have a
moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers.
Manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 skilled
positions, even as unemployment numbers hover at historically high
levels. Meanwhile, there's one obvious source of human capital that the
manufacturing industry has not fully tapped: women. Across all
manufacturing sectors in the U.S., women are underrepresented in the
workforce. While women represent nearly half (46.6 percent) of the
total U.S. labor force, they only comprise a quarter (24.8 percent) of
the durable goods manufacturing workforce. The proportion of women in
leadership roles in manufacturing companies also lags behind other U.S.
industries.
In 2012, Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute set out to
understand why manufacturing isn't attracting, retaining, and advancing
its fair share of talented women. We surveyed more than 600 women in
manufacturing, across functional roles and levels, to gain their
perspectives on how effectively their companies recruit, retain, and
advance women. We conducted one-on-one interviews with more than a
dozen women in a range of roles from senior leadership to individual
contributors to gain their insights on human capital and talent
development in the manufacturing industry.
Today I would like to highlight two of the most consistent
responses given by the women interviewed: sponsorship and personal
development.
sponsorship
Women who were successful in manufacturing often looked at their
career choices and credited a sponsor for undertaking responsibility
for their development and professional progression. A sponsor extends
beyond mentoring and coaching to being a vocal advocate, thereby
enhancing their sponsor's presence in the organization. Recent research
shows that individuals who have the active support of sponsors within
their organization are more likely to advance in their careers.
Sponsorship confers a statistical benefit of up to 30 percent in terms
of more stretch assignments, promotions, and pay increases.
To encourage this goal, this year The Manufacturing Institute
sponsored the first annual Science, Technology, Engineering and
Production--STEP--awards to celebrate women in manufacturing. The STEP
initiative this year honored 122 women--from the front-line to the C-
suite from manufacturing companies of all sizes and all across the
country--who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their
manufacturing careers. We were able to celebrate exciting careers in
and continue to ensure new opportunities for women in the manufacturing
industry. Women in manufacturing need, and our Honorees are, successful
role models to empower today's current manufacturing leaders to help
inspire the next generation of leadership and talent.
We have one of our own STEP Honorees with us today to share her
story, Darlene Miller from Permac Industries, located in Minnesota.
Darlene is one of these impressive 122 Honorees. Many of our other STEP
Honorees, just like Darlene, have served as exceptional leaders in the
manufacturing industry.
For example, Natalie Genova, Senior Project Manager, Integrated
Supply Chain at Honeywell International, has not only served as a
leader in the manufacturing industry, creating a best-in-class
training, onboarding and leadership development program, but she
advocates for and participates in mentorship programs. Natalie
frequently attests to the importance of mentorship, supported by her
own mentoring relationship she had with her supervisor, DonnaLee
Scaggs. The impact this relationship had on Natalie has led her to
serve as a mentor herself, recognizing that it is a critical component
to building the company's talent pipeline.
promote personal development
In addition to powerful mentors and role models, women also cited
professional development as a priority for success. Successful
manufacturing organizations today provide potential talent with a clear
understanding of the behaviors, capabilities and experiences required
for roles and positions and help talent build out an experiential-based
development plan. This should include: identifying the challenging
assignments, roles and experiences that will help them close the gaps,
and providing them with the opportunity and backing to take on these
stretch assignments.
To that end, The Manufacturing Institute identified a series of
nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials based specifically
on employer-identified skills. These credentials, in use by companies
across the country, clearly lay out the training required to certify
that an individual possesses the basic skills necessary for a career in
manufacturing. By clearly identifying the next level of success through
a credential and training, employees are aware of exactly what is
necessary for advancement and success.
In fact, one of our own STEP Honorees is one of the most certified
welders in the industry today. Karen Gilgenbach, Weld Process
Specialist for Airgas USA, LLC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a Certified
Welding Supervisor and a Certified Robotic Arc Welding Technician, both
offered through the American Welding Society. Karen pursued additional
training and education to achieve these certifications to not only
increase her skill set, but to also validate her skill set.
Much of this training is done though community and technical
colleges--education platforms that are uniquely situated to provide
this type of training. This also supports more on and off ramps in
education, which facilitates an individual's ability to obtain
schooling when their professional career requires it and also positions
them to earn while they learn, applying what they learn in class at
night on the job the next day. For many years, postsecondary success
was defined as a four-year degree, whereas a valid, industry-based
credential can provide the knowledge and skills for a well-paying job
and a solid middle-class lifestyle, establishing a strong base with a
potential to grow.
conclusion
Manufacturers across the country are beginning to realize that
women are an untapped resource. However, retaining and nurturing that
skilled talent can be a challenge in a traditionally non-female work
environment. Our research has shown that identifying sponsors as well
as providing clear career training pathways vastly improves retention
and success opportunities for women in manufacturing, and I hope that
we can work with you in the future to promote these goals.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to
working with you to build the next manufacturing workforce generation.
__________
Prepared Statement of Darlene Miller
Thank you Congressman Brady and Senator Klobuchar for inviting me
here today and for giving me the opportunity to present my own views on
manufacturing to include the importance of encouraging more women into
this field.
My personal experience comes from owning a precision machining job
shop since 1993/94. I left the corporate world in 1992 based on a
handshake from the then current owner of Permac Industries to take the
position of outside sales. Was I scared--yes--but ready for a new
opportunity especially given the fact the current owner where I had
been employed for thirteen years had stated ``women'' do not need to
earn as much as men . . . What I didn't know at the time was Permac
Industries was in serious financial trouble with their bank. When this
was brought to my attention--I truly believed I could turn the company
around and therefore purchased 45% within nine months and the balance
less than nine months later.
I got great advice from my new bank--the president chose to mentor
me which was so helpful! He told me--``always surround yourself with
smarter than average people'' and ``pay them a little more than the
norm.'' Truly I believe without having this man as a mentor, I might
not have been nearly as successful. He helped me to believe I could. It
didn't matter to him I was a woman in a male-dominated field--it wasn't
about that--it was all about skill and talent and passion to learn. He
also helped me continuously to grow beyond my comfort zone. At his
retirement party, I found out I was one of many he helped. This support
and mentorship--be it from a man or a woman--I believe is truly needed
to help women become successful especially in male-dominated fields.
Manufacturing has been very rewarding and exciting for me. We at
Permac make very cool and difficult parts. These components go into
airplanes, medical devices, submarines, robots, food and beverage
items, and yes even on motorcycles--just to name a few industries we
serve!
My company started with 7 people, 7,000 square feet, $700,000 in
sales and today we are 34 people, 34,000 square feet and close to 5
million in sales. We continue to innovate and practice lean and stretch
beyond our original core skills by hiring women and men in positions
such as assemblers, clean room specialists, machinists, purchasing
managers, quality technicians and managers, human resource managers,
accounting managers, and inside and outside sales persons! We believe a
good mix of women and men in our company utilizes everyone's skill sets
to the maximum plus we do not want to leave any talent source untapped.
I have hired those ``smart'' women and men the bank president
suggested and together we have won numerous awards together such as the
SBA Small Business Person of the Year Award for the State of Minnesota,
2008 U.S. Chamber Small Business of the Year for the entire U.S. along
with many others! We are always ``pushing'' ourselves to be the best
and my employees deserve the credit and recognition for going above and
beyond every single day!
Due to these recognitions, I was chosen to serve on the Presidents
Council for Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011-2012. We at Permac had
difficulty filling CNC machinist's positions for the last 20 years and
in fact had actually searched for a CNC Swiss machinist for over two
years before finding a skilled candidate to fill the position.
Unfortunately, skilled positions in our company and in many of my
colleagues companies remain unfilled for months which adversely affect
our ability to grow and manufacture more products. I now had the
opportunity to help create a change. Having the honor of co-chairing
the High Tech Education sub-committee, I created a program properly
named Right Skills Now by partnering with NAM, NIMS, ACT, PMPA and two
colleges in Minnesota. RSN is a 24 week--fast track--stackable
credentialed program with 16 weeks classroom/lab and 8 weeks internship
to train men and woman to become CNC Machinists. I am proud to say this
program is constantly expanding--now in 8 states and approximately 15
schools and continues to grow weekly! Our success rate in Minnesota is
99% for continued employment after the 24 weeks and nationally it is
91% for job placement and/or continuing education! Permac employs three
of these students and will continue to hire them as they graduate RSN
and encourage continued education. A Get Skills to Work program was
developed based on RSN for returning veterans and their families with
plans to roll out in 10 cities in 2013. Amazing to think by working in
partnership with our trade associations such as PMPA and our colleges,
we can make such a huge difference in manufacturing as these men and
women in many cases had no concept of what a manufacturing job was all
about--other than the fact 600,000 jobs openings exist today.
As a woman leader in Manufacturing, I have a passion to encourage
others into the manufacturing field. Recently I spoke at an event where
high school seniors from several schools attended to learn about
manufacturing. I left them with this message. We females actually have
an advantage in our industry. We think differently. Critically. Our
asking why leads to improvements and efficiencies in our processes. Our
attention to detail helps minimize mistakes and our passion helps keep
everyone motivated and working towards the same goal. I also explained
how manufacturing is not dark, dirty and dangerous and how we all need
to change the perception that being an engineer or in manufacturing is
for girls too. It's exciting that we now have more women graduating
colleges than our male counterparts but we need to start earlier with
the introduction of these career paths. I also told the story of when I
took ownership of my company, our Quality Director decided to leave the
company as he stated ``a woman could never make it in this business.''
Well I guess I proved him wrong. I encouraged these young women to also
prove they could!
I feel it is critical that I help mentor women and girls to help
them realize they can excel in any career they choose and try to drive
away the stereotypical thoughts that some of the jobs are only for men!
I personally became involved in a mentoring program named Hope for
Tomorrow for 8th and 9th grade girls in 1998 and after a couple years
mentoring, determined we needed to expand into more schools to help
make a difference in additional girls' lives. Under my year as Board
Chair, we grew to 13 schools, obtained our 501C3 status and created a
defined curriculum and toolbox to help expand their horizons and to
help them to understand--their journey is what they make of it and they
are capable of any career. We explain our roles and careers and expose
them to many career choices they didn't even know exist. We encourage
them to believe they are more capable then they ever thought they were
and in encouraging and mentoring them--so they flourish! One young
woman I personally mentored had decided early in our sessions she would
not go on to higher education of any sort as her culture typically
dictates getting married right after high school. We were coming back
from a field trip after a college visit and she said staring straight
ahead and very positively--``I can do this--I can go to college--I can
be what I want to be and I am going to!'' The feeling of knowing I had
changed one person's life to a better path is experienced by many of
our mentors every year but every time it happens it feels more
wonderful than the last! This mentorship continues throughout high
school and the mentees come back to mentor others. Really it is simply
exposing girls to all opportunities to include manufacturing!
I will close with a quote I truly believe in by Margaret Mead--
``Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.'' It only
takes one person to make a difference in a person's life and I will
always try to make that difference!
__________
Prepared Statement of Amy Jolley
Good morning, I am Amy Jolley, Vice President of Tax for Noble
Energy, Inc. Thank you for the invitation to participate in this
discussion about the role of women in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
background on noble
Noble Energy is a Houston-based independent oil and natural gas
exploration and production company with a market capitalization of
approximately $20 billion. Last year we celebrated our 80th
anniversary. We have roughly 2,500 employees and produce approximately
250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from our operations around
the world. In 2012, our annual revenues totaled $4 billion.
At Noble Energy, we operate in five core areas. In the United
States, we operate in the Marcellus Shale of West Virginia and
Pennsylvania, the DJ Basin in Colorado, and the deepwater Gulf of
Mexico. Our international operations include offshore Israel and Cyprus
in the Eastern Mediterranean, where we have discovered approximately 37
trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources, which has the potential
to provide both Israel and Cyprus with energy independence for decades
to come; and offshore Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon in West Africa. We
have a very active exploration program; domestically we are exploring a
new region in Nevada as well as several international locations. In
2013 our capital spending program is expected be nearly $4 billion--
nearly two-thirds of which will be spent in the U.S.
the manufacturing sector
You may by curious about the connection of the upstream oil and gas
industry with a classic manufacturing model. Although the industry may
not be designated as manufacturing by virtue of converting raw
materials into finished goods, in some ways upstream exploration and
production activities do constitute a form of manufacturing, and in
other ways there is significant overlap between manufacturing and
extractive industries. Having worked in a manufacturing environment for
several years, I have noted many similarities in terms of the
challenges facing both the manufacturing and extractive industries in
the financial, operational, and human resources areas.
Significant technological advances have allowed the onshore oil and
gas industry, as a whole, to reinvest its capital and human resources
for the recovery of hydrocarbons from American basins. But to access
these hydrocarbons, oil and gas companies frequently follow
manufacturing, or assembly line, concepts to drill and complete an
increasing number of wells. As most are aware, a manufacturing
environment is conducive to a standardized costing approach. As
processes become more homogenous, safety performance improves,
efficiencies increase, and costs become standardized. In the upstream
oil and gas business, we try to capture the same benefits.
In the operational arena, domestic exploration and production
companies and manufacturing enterprises have several functions in
common. Research and development, or product development, is comparable
to gathering seismic data, and drilling exploration and appraisal
wells. The sectors share the same considerations with respect to
procurement, which involves inventory management, supply chain and
logistics. For example, we must purchase and store huge amounts of
pipe, casing, tubing and wellheads for our Gulf of Mexico, Colorado,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia operations. The oil and gas field
manufacturing process consists of installation, development, and
production. Logistics and distribution may comprise a separate
function, or may be contained with marketing, another function that
operates in a similar way in both sectors.
The exploration and production industry faces the same challenges
as traditional manufacturing in regards to recruiting, hiring and
retaining highly skilled employees needed to run cost-efficient
businesses. Earlier I mentioned Noble Energy's rapid growth. Of our
2,500 employees, nearly 400 were added in 2012 alone and we have a
similar growth profile anticipated for 2013. As we expand, we continue
to hire outstanding employees, including both experienced individuals
and new collegiate and high school graduates throughout multiple
disciplines--technical, operational, informational technology,
financial, and marketing. Because we are an exploration company, we
must attract the highest level of talent in the science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics in order to maintain our commitment to
excellence. For Noble, this means hiring various types of engineers
(petroleum, mechanical, reservoir) and geoscientists (geophysicists,
geologists, petrophysicists), oil and gas economists, and land
administrators. To further ensure enterprise-wide success, that same
caliber of employee must be in place in the support functions required
to run a successful business such as legal, finance and information
technology.
Within Noble Energy, our new employees interact with experienced
mentors and managers as well as with senior and executive management,
engaging in project assignments, on-the-job projects, and continuing
education through e-learning and virtual classroom training. Noble is
motivated by investing in its employees, and offers various development
programs both within and across disciplines, including a ``Learn,
Excel, Achieve, Develop'' (or LEAD) program, an accelerated leadership
track. I'm involved in the latter, and have a female mentee who has
entered the operational space. It is an amazing opportunity for both of
us to share multi-functional experiences and learn new facets of the
business.
attracting top talent
In order to maintain access to top talent, we have strong
recruiting and internship programs with key colleges and universities
in our domestic core areas. To capture the attention of these
individuals, the courtship must start early in their academic careers.
We involve ourselves in the K-12 curriculum to encourage students and
help them realize what opportunities are available. For example, we
have been involved at the high school level through the Junior
Achievement ``Company Program,'' which requires students to engage in
an entrepreneurial activity, and participate in ``Finance Park,'' which
is focused on teaching high school students career and life skills. We
are heavily involved with Junior Achievement in the Houston area. We
are in the fifth year of our partnership with Junior Achievement and
our Chief Operating Officer, Dave Stover, is on the Houston Board of
Directors.
The number and percentage of females in managerial and professional
roles has been increasing at Noble Energy over the past few years, and
much can be attributed to the larger number of females enrolled in the
technical disciplines at the universities and colleges where we
recruit. As Noble Energy continues its growth, it will continue to
focus on ensuring that the critical level of talent is met regardless
of gender, but as the number of females with technical degrees
continues to increase, there will be an inherent increase in the number
of females in such roles within the company. We tend to recruit at a
small number of core schools within each of our key disciplines, and we
are noticing a shift in the number of female graduates within the
technical geoscience and engineering disciplines. Noble Energy is
currently bimodal--that is, we have a large number of employees who are
either in the first few or last few years of their careers. When we
compare the groups, there is a significant difference between the
gender and ethnic diversity in the experienced group nearing retirement
and the new employees. As an example, our summer interns are starting
to arrive. This week's group of geoscience interns consisted of three
students, two of which are female.
As I think of my own role within the company I realize that 15 or
20 years ago, it would have been unlikely for a female to hold my
current position. That being said, last week I attended a Houston area
Chief Tax Officers Forum, and of the attendees, females held the top
tax position within approximately 25% of local companies. That number
was approximately 10% just 3-4 years ago, so progress is being made.
For me, the key to increasing the gender mix across the board in
the manufacturing sector is to actively inform students of skills
required to take advantage of great employment opportunities that exist
in these exciting job fields.
As a child growing up in rural Iowa, my own parents always led me
to believe I could do anything I wanted. However, I'm not sure I
necessarily knew what those choices actually looked like. For example,
I didn't know what an engineer was, let alone the differences between a
chemical engineer, a mechanical engineer, and a petroleum engineer.
That was an Internet age ago, but my own personal philosophy is that
there are still plenty of girls out there who do not have sufficient
exposure to the types of careers available and the skills needed in
order to qualify for those jobs.
As a mother, I want work options that make life easier for me and
my family and other two-career families. As a part of its growth
endeavor, Noble Energy is evaluating and implementing programs and
tools that will enhance employees' flexibility, which tends to enhance
productivity and job satisfaction. Many Noble Energy employees will be
moving to a new headquarters this summer. We are partnering with the
nearby YMCA to provide extended day care next door to the new facility,
and will also have onsite food service that will offer takeout options
for family meals--a great convenience for two-career families who are
often stretched by the end of the day. With these steps and others such
as flex time and a focus on work-life balance issues, Noble Energy is
making a positive difference in the lives and careers of all of its
employees.
Having companies actively participate in educational outreach can
demonstrate the range of careers options available so children can
pursue targeted educational opportunities. The more opportunities we
can get in front of our kids, the more we can show them how they can
bring productivity and economic success to themselves, their families,
their employers and the United States. I am the mother of two young
children--a five year old boy and a three year old girl. I want them
both to understand that the range of opportunities is nearly limitless,
but also to provide them concrete examples of what their choices might
be with the talents they have.
That concludes my remarks. Thank you again for the opportunity to
participate here today.