Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • March 19, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com T he Bartkowicz sisters, Lillian and Dorothy, bear a rare and distinguished mantle among Connecti- cut businesses: They are female owner-operators of a New- ington manufacturing company in a state that built its economy and reputation around technical innova- tion and production. Lillian Bartkowicz is chief execu- tive officer, Dorothy Bartkowicz We- ber sales vice president of Richards Machine Tool Co. Their late father started the firm and immersed both daughters at a young age in running lathes and computer-numerically controlled (CNC) equipment. Their mother handled the books. "He put us to work, all of us,'' said Dorothy Bartkowicz Weber. Women who own, lead or work in the C-Suite of Connecticut compa- nies that rely on workers' science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills to design, make and sell capital goods and equipment and technology remain a rare breed. But lately, signs are emerging that Connecticut employers and educators are making inroads enabling more females to crack the gender barrier in manufacturing and engineering. Along with women emerging as manufacturing-business owners, large manufacturing employers are seeding some of their most visible manage- ment and executive slots with females. Bloomfield aeroparts-industrial power-equipment maker Kaman Corp. announced recently the promotion of two women as assistant vice presi- dents in its internal audit and securi- ties-compliance operations. A third, Darlene Smith, on April 2 becomes vice president and general manager of Kaman's air vehicles and maintenance, repair, overhaul division — the first female divi- sion head within its aerospace segment, the company says. In a re- lated move, it launched "Wom- en Advocating Leadership At Kaman" (WALK), an initiative not only to hire and retain more females, but also, it says, to expose more women to manufacturing and leadership opportunities inside and outside Kaman. Meantime, Farmington conglom- erate United Technologies Corp. pledged last June to have women hold half its approximately 1,000 cor- porate leadership positions around the world by 2030, roughly doubling the number in senior roles today. Four months earlier, General Elec- tric, now Boston based but still with a sizable Connecticut presence, said it wants 20,000 women to fill STEM roles by 2020, with gender parity in all its technical entry-level programs. Fewer women in engineering and manufacturing fields has been a reality in the U.S. and Connecticut for genera- tions. The stereotype of manufactur- ing, in particular, as hot, dirty, smelly and unsafe has stifled men and women from considering careers there. That's on top of few manufacturing-job op- portunities for women, who some still see as too fragile for the work. Rebecca Karabin-Ahern, a second- generation co-owner and executive of her family's Acme Monaco Corp. in New Britain, admits she probably would not have chosen a manufac- turing career were it not for her parents involvement — and support. "When I was growing up, and even in more recent times, manufacturing just wasn't something a young female considered,'' Karabin-Ahern said. "I believe that is changing." "Both of my parents taught me at a young age that I could do anything that a man could do,'' she said. "My father said to me, 'You put your pants on the same way,' meaning I could do anything I set my mind to do." Untapped potential According to a 2015 study by accounting- consulting giant Deloitte, the U.S. manufacturing sector faces a labor shortfall estimated at 2 million workers and "women are manufacturing's largest pool of untapped talent." While women at the time repre- sented 47 percent of the total U.S. labor force, they made up only 27 percent of the manufacturing work- force, the Deloitte study said. Manu- facturers reported that six in 10 unfilled factory jobs were the result Gender diversity has ways to go in manufacturing Jonna Gerken of West Hartford is an engineering manager for Pratt & Whitney and 2018 president of the 38,000-member Society of Women Engineers, the world's largest peer organization advocating for and sup- porting women in the field. One of her aims during her tenure is increasing young women's expo- sure to, and interest in, STEM (sci- ence, technology, engineering, math) curricula and careers. Gerken shared her views with HBJ about the present and future of women in manufacturing and engineering. Q: Women in manufacturing are be- Breaking Barriers While still a rarity, more women are cracking manufacturing ownership, executive ranks Jonna Gerken is president of the Society of Women Engineers. PHOTO | HBJ FILE Mei Wei, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, UConn School of Engineering Kevin McLaughlin, Director, UConn Engineering Diversity & Outreach Center HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Lillian Bartkowicz (left) and Dorothy Bartkowicz Weber, of Richards Machine Tool Co. in Newington.

• Cover