PPG joins the world in recognizing International Women in Engineering Day on June 23. It is a day that Ric Armour, director for the Architectural Coatings business in the UK and Ireland, is a strong advocate of. He is a firm believer in raising the profile of women engineers and encouraging more women to consider engineering as a profession.
Ric joined us over five years ago as plant manager for the Birstall and Morley sites after many varied roles in a wide range of industries, from manufacturing beds to printing. He enjoys the challenges he faces in improving his segment of the business and values the opportunities for personal development. But it’s the people that make PPG special for Ric.
Though we are a global business, it has a local feel. Colleagues around the world start interactions with a genuine wish to know how you are doing. We are truly ‘One PPG’.
Advocating Diversity to Make Teams Stronger
Ric is an active advocate of diversity in the workplace, always considering diverse points of view and ways of working crucial to getting the best results. He believes in the importance of women in the manufacturing and engineering industries. For him, it’s important that we all stand up for a diverse work environment.
Our individual experiences in life shape the way we think and interact. Which means diversity will give strength to the decision making of any team.
As manufacturing and engineering industries compete to attract the best people, there are many opportunities available for the full spectrum of diversity. For Ric, he expects to see half of technical science jobs taken by women and the greater diversity in STEM roles will help decrease any discrimination.
Ric with his colleagues during International Women's Day
Practicing What We Preach
The culture of diversity at the Birstall and Morley site means there are no gender-specific roles. Half of factory floor production and engineering management is female, as is half the management team in manufacturing and engineering. As Ric points out, “our discrimination policies are real – not just box-ticking.”
The site offers flexible working arrangements to help with childcare and gives priority in choosing shifts to colleagues with children.
We strive to do better today than yesterday, and no gender, race, religion, age, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation or other human difference is relevant in achieving this.
Ric with his colleagues during BCF Awards 2019 ceremony
Why Men Should Stand Up for Diversity
Ric believes in the importance of having males champion diversity to ensure positive action happens and there is a balanced and beneficial outcome.
Gender discrimination still exists in society and can only be dealt with by showing intolerance wherever it raises its head.
There are many studies that show having diverse employees improves engagement, well-being, and overall business performance. For the success of the business, we need to attract top talent regardless of human differences.
If we’re going to run it like we own it, then we want colleagues who are going to act in the best interests of our company, customers, shareholders and communities. Diversity is at the heart of
The PPG Way.
For this year’s International Women in Engineering Day, we applaud all our female engineering colleagues from around the globe. Get inspired by their stories.