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DISCUSSION
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Packaging Horizons
Unique Perspectives
From industry pioneers to a current undergraduate student, women who have and will define the business of packaging offer their views on the increasingly important roles women perform in this once male-dominated industry.
By Jamie Heckelman
Imagine interviewing for a new job, and your prospective boss blatantly tells you that, in order to get the job, you must promise him that you won't have a baby in the next five years.
Or, you walk into a meeting and find that one of the chairs is broken. You pick it up and begin to fix it when you are chided, "Oh no, dear, you'd better let one of the engineers fix it." All of which are men.
Or even worse yet, closing a deal with a perspective buyer meant knowing he expected "something" in return.
Fortunately, these situations occurred years ago. And while we still don't live or work in a perfect world, today's business environment offers women many more opportunities than it did even a few years ago. In honor of Women in Packaging's fifth anniversary, we celebrate the women who have helped build the industry and the freshman class of women who will continue to grow the industry.
Uncharted waters
Thirty or 40 years ago, when businesses employed just a few token women, one of the biggest challenges was learning how to carve out a career path. Without other women as mentors, it was difficult to see which opportunities existed and how to achieve them. In addition, being someone different in the business meant having to be more professional and even better at what you did than anyone else in the organization in order to get ahead.
"It was tough without women role models," says Linda Barron, whose resume includes 30 years in the packaging industry. Barron, who started her career with International Paper in 1968, currently owns L. Barron & Associates, a consulting/manufacturers rep business in Cooper City, FL. "There was no way to plot where you were going," she adds. "Since the waters had not been charted by women, it was difficult to know what the next step in your career should be."
Barron, like many other women interviewed, believes hard work, humor, perseverance, product knowledge and getting the job done right, as well as a bit of luck, guided them through successful careers. One of the many good fortunes was the mentors these women chose to follow. All men, they played an important role in helping these few women develop their careers.
"My first mentor said to me, 'Get what needs to be done, done,'" says Lynn Goldblatt, head of North American Packaging and Graphic Arts for CIBA Vision, Duluth, GA. "He showed me the ropes technically and politically. It was a real learning experience. Sometimes it was more difficult gaining access to that kind of information 20 years ago, when there were not many women in the industry to be mentors," adds Goldblatt, who is a 20-year packaging industry veteran.
Thankfully, women mentors can be found in many organizations now. One obstacle that hasn't been able to transcend time, however, is a self-imposed lack of confidence. "When I started in the industry, I found my biggest obstacle was, first, my own perception of myself. Then, the next obstacle was everyone else's perception of what I was supposed to be doing," says Barron. "It is important for women to have self confidence, keep goals clear and don't ever compromise," she advises.
Madeleine Crawford, sales and marketing manager for Harper Machinery in Charlotte, NC, agrees. "I was my own biggest obstacle, lacking confidence in myself" says Crawford, who has been in the industry for 20 years. At first, Crawford says she was hesitant about knowing the information she needed for her job. "Even now, I'm hesitant about answering questions, even when I am 100 percent sure of the answers."
"I think all women need to look at and be acutely aware of their self and their abilities," says Nancy St. Laurent, president of St. Laurent Packaging Inc., in Omaha, NE. St. Laurent started in the industry in 1966 with American Home Products as the company's first female supervisor. Within just a few years, she became one of the first female managers in the organization. She believes common sense and the ability to balance outside activities with work and being a well-rounded individual helped her get ahead. "Know what traits to adopt and which traits not to adopt," she advises. "Drive and determination will make a difference."
"Being first is always tough," says Nina Tarley, technology principal in packaging research and development for Kraft Foods in Tarrytown, NY. Tarley was the first woman engineer hired by The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1974 and the first woman ever admitted into Georgia Tech's Graduate School of Mechanical Engineering in 1975, among many other firsts. "On top of that I had this funny accent, so I felt a few strikes against me," she says with a chuckle. This sense of humor, though, was instrumental in helping her achieve her goals. "Of course, I had to work harder and prove myself more than my male colleagues," she adds, "but I was always treated with respect, fairly and professionally."
Bumping the glass ceiling
Despite the advances women have made in the working world, there is ample room for continued progress. Many women continue to find it difficult to break through from middle management to upper management. "Yes, there still is a glass ceiling," says Tarley. "It would be naive to deny it. Maybe in 10 more years....", she adds, with hope.
Thirty or 40 years ago, walking into a meeting and finding a woman who actively participated may have stopped a few employees in their tracks. Slowly, though, the pipeline has opened for women in roles beyond traditional staff jobs to incorporate technical, management and marketing positions.
"Men recognize now that women can do the job, they just do it differently," says Norma Pace, who currently heads a consulting business, Paper Analytics Associates, out of New York and Florida.
Pace began her 43-year career as a consultant to the paper industry, then served as senior vice president of the American Paper Institute before starting Paper Analytics Associates in 1987. In addition, she sits on the board of Georgia Pacific and is a director of Catalyst, a non-profit organization that focuses on enabling women to achieve their full professional potential. She believes that for women, the business has improved over the years. "Opportunities are there, and the attitudes of males have improved, although they are not perfect yet," she adds.
As women demonstrate their capabilities, management's comfort level will continue to rise. More of the women entering today's workforce have college degrees under their belt, therefore technical positions such as plant managers, engineers and supervisors have become available. "When I entered the industry, there were no females in exempt positions," says Edythe Newton, president and owner of ECN Business Solutions in Greenville, SC. Slowly the industry has opened up to women, first in administrative positions. Technical positions have been slower to open, but it is happening, says Newton, who spent 32 years working for Cryovac before opening her own consulting firm a year ago.
In addition, the growth of women buyers also has helped build the numbers of women in the industry. "It's easier to build relationships with women buyers," says Barron. Twenty or 30 years ago, a buying office might consist of one women and 40 men. Today, the ratio is more equal.
The dynamics of change
The pace at which technology is changing the packaging industry is phenomenal. Not only does change relate to hardware and software, but it also relates to the dynamics of the industry as a whole. Mergers and acquisitions mean the number of buyers out there, for example, are fewer. Combine that with the fact that today's corporate culture of downsizing and cutbacks doesn't encourage life-long commitments to one company.
Changing jobs is commonly regarded as a way to build your career, develop your skills and strengthen your financial position. "Twenty years ago, it was negative to switch jobs," says Barron, who worked for International Paper for 20 years. She says she has learned more in the past 10 years by moving around than she her entire career combined. "It's important not to burn any bridges," she admits.
Technology also means that the need for more sophisticated and powerful marketing tools has created much more interesting jobs jobs that require skills typically attributed to women: attention to detail, creativity, the ability to juggle many different tasks at the same time, being aware of customers needs and the ability to communicate. "Marketing is a natural fit for women," says Pace.
According to some of the younger women in the industry, the ability to communicate with customers as well as with co-workers is a delicate skill that must be constantly honed. There still exists some of the stereotypical interpretation of a woman's sense of urgency as "bitchiness," whereas a man's sense of urgency is considered healthy aggression. Knowing how to communicate effectively is a fine line that shouldn't be crossed. "You have to learn a way to be aggressive that is acceptable to men," said one packaging professional, who preferred anonymity.
Mary Bicho, buyer of primary packaging components for Pharmaceutical Formulations in Edison, NJ, sees a bright future for women in areas where efficient management is needed, such as planning and materials management.
"It's a scientific fact that women have more efficiencies in their brains than do men," says Bicho, who has been working in the industry for three years. "Where you need more efficient operations, you need women," she contends.
Today's work force also needs more specialization than it did a few decades ago. In some ways, however, specialization can be limiting. Less cross-category/cross-industry knowledge means that it is more difficult to make a change in your career now than it was years ago. Molly Lynn, who has been working in the industry for just three years, has already learned that lesson.
A packaging engineer with Thomas Lighting, in Tupelo, MS, Lynn notes that packaging engineers tend to get labeled. She held two co-ops, both in industrial packaging, while in school and has discovered that it would be hard to break into a new industry. "Determine which area you want to begin in before you start," she advises.
Which is exactly what Amanda Kuchar is doing. A junior at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, Kuchar is studying for her BS in packaging engineering. Her enthusiasm and confidence are engaging. "Packaging is such a broad degree, it's hard to figure out where I want to go," she says. Kuchar is seeking an internship in research and development with either an automotive manufacturer or a pharmaceutical company to begin her search. She feels that even if she enters the automotive industry, typically a male-dominated industry, she will have the advantage of being a woman. "I'll provide another perspective," says Kuchar. "I feel lucky to be on my way. With a packaging degree, I feel I can work to a level that I will be happiest at. If I'm not happy in R&D, then I can try sales, or testing or design. I can move around to get the most satisfaction."
"The world is wide open," advises Crawford. "Go get it!"
FAST FACTS
The results of a recent survey indicate that the packaging industry needs some improvement when it comes to gender equality.
Of the women who responded to the survey, which, incidentally, was only one-quarter of total respondents, 75 percent of them worked in purchasing. Only 15 percent of women respondents were department managers; and only 7 percent of women respondents worked as engineers. Ironically, the percentage of both men and women who reported that they were satisfied with their jobs was comparable, 51 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
Source: Packaging World
Jamie Heckelman is managing editor of Packaging Horizons Magazine.
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