Oregon Business Magazine's Manufacturing Issue Highlights Gender Gap

RapidMade CEO Renee Eaton

Kudos to Oregon Business Magazine for its feature, Women’s Work, which details the chronic gender gap that continues in manufacturing. The article is based on interviews with female professionals in trade organizations, manufacturing firms, and higher education.

Together they show how improving gender representation requires a concerted approach from across the industry to reshape an institutionalized culture of gender-based segregation and redefine archaic norms of what work women can and cannot do.

Strategies proposed include:

• Advising businesses that diversity will ease the labor shortage and improve the bottom line.

• Promoting manufacturing careers to female students and professionals.

• Providing supportive networks, like Women in Manufacturing and Oregon Tradeswomen, to help women secure employment and businesses find and retain female employees.

• Breaking down the “bro culture” prevalent in manufacturing.

RapidMade CEO Renee Eaton, a Women in Manufacturing chair of its Oregon chapter was among the women featured in the article. RapidMade is a Portland-based additive manufacturing (3D printing) and engineering services firm.

RapidMade CEO to Speak at University of Portland's Women in Leadership Forum

Renee Eaton, RapidMade’s co-founder and CEO, will speak at the Women in Leadership Forum next Wednesday, November 7 from 7 - 8 PM. The free event is being held at the University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business which is sponsoring the evening’s discussion.

The Women in Leadership Forum connects UP students with dynamic women who are leaders in the greater Portland community. The Forum is a place for sharing stories, building connections and supporting the development of women in leadership.

Prior to launching RapidMade, a 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) and Engineering Services firm, Renee Eaton was a university instructor at UP where she taught management classes for almost 8 years, so the engagement is a welcomed opportunity to return to campus.

RapidMade Selected One of Oregon's Top Manufacturers by Portland Business Journal

Come join us this Thursday to celebrate (details below)!

When: Thursday, October 29th | 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Where: Sentinel Hotel | 614 SW 11th Ave. | Grand Ballroom

#PBJManufacturing

The Oregon Manufacturing Awards are intended to recognize Oregon Manufacturers. This is one of the few public awards programs for manufacturers in the United States.  We're honoring manufacturing firms from all over our region for outstanding operations, products, facilities, and most importantly, the best manufacturing workforces in the world.

As part of the awards program, Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear will be joining us for a live Q&A with Publisher Craig Wessel. Tim is at the helm of the 70 year old sportswear apparel giant which his grandparents began in 1938. Although it is a public company today, Columbia remains a family affair. Boyle's 91-year-old mother Gertrude, aka "one tough mother" is chairman of the board, and both his son Joe and sister Sarah Bany are on the board. Tim started working at the company after his father passed away, helping his mother Gert run the fledgling retailer while he was finishing college. He took over as CEO in 1989.

Don't miss this conversation with this fascinating Oregon company, and discussion on where Columbia is headed in the future! 

Companies being recognized this year are:

• Beaverton Foods
• D.R. Johnson Lumber
• Energy Storage Systems
• Evo, Inc.
• FEI
• Indow
• Microchip Technology Inc.
• Pratt & Larson Ceramics
• Premier Press
• RapidMade
• Shwood
• Townshend's Tea Co.
• Valliscor