Women Who Inspire in Additive Manufacturing

The Additive Manufacturing industry is a male-dominated industry, with 85.5% of professionals being male, according to the recently released 2019 Additive Manufacturing Salary Survey by Alexander Daniels Global. The report shows that females represent 13% of the AM professionals, and 1.5% prefer not to say. However seemingly low, the percentage of women in the AM industry has risen by 2% point since 2018, according to the report.

The amount of women in AM is likely to go up, and Alexander Daniels Global attributes this rise to a number of reasons;

Firstly, the AM industry is doing a joint effort to actively try and attract women into it with AM companies putting increasing focus on diversity and inclusion when hiring.

Secondly, additive manufacturing being a new and developing technology is likely attracting young female engineers; it is technology that span multiple verticals, disciplines and applications, making it possible for everyone to find a place within the industry.

Thirdly, but perhaps most importantly, inspirational women are key. In a male dominated industry like additive manufacturing, inspiring individuals and organisations are vital instruments to attracting more women into the industry. The concept of women helping other women is growing with more and more initiatives being set up, such as Women in 3D Printing, #3Dtalk and the Women in AM Summit, among other.

The Salary Survey highlights some of the inspirational women in the AM industry:

Stefanie Brickwede – Head of AM at Deutsche Bahn & Managing Director at Mobility Goes Additive

Ms. Brickwede has successfully headed up the additive manufacturing division of Deutsche Bahn, while setting up and managing the Mobility Goes Additive network, which has grown to become the leading international AM network. Ms. Brickwede has further filled the MGA network office team with additional inspirational women.

Kim Smith – VP / General Manager at Boeing Fabrication

Ms. Smith launched and is leading Boeing’s additive manufacturing division, focusing on integrating, leveraging and accelerating 3D printing capabilities across the company.

Valeria Tirelli – CEO of Aidro

Ms. Tirelli took over as the CEO of the family-owned company Aidro. Ms. Tirelli has been an invited speaker on multiple major AM occasions, including Formnext, the Additive Manufacturing European Conference, and at the “Women in AM Summit”.

Michelle Bockman – GM and Global Head of 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing at HP

Ms. Bockman is a highly prominent leader, not just within Additive Manufacturing but within the wider IT industry as well. Ms. Bockman has been an invited speaker and participant in multiple panel debates, summits and tradeshows, as well as being nominated for awards celebrating her leadership in IT.

Nora Touré – Founder of Women in 3D Printing and VP of Ivaldi Group

As founder of Women in 3D Printing, Ms. Touré has, since 2014, been one of the most proactive and influential women in the AM industry with her initiatives to bring more women into the industry. She also co-initiated #3DTalk, an event series featuring women in AM and related industries, as well as being the Board Advisor of 3D Africa. Her many initiatives and her vocation to contributing to the AM community, has had a major influence and been a big inspiration for women to enter the AM industry.

Roxanne Warren – Director Customer Operations at Link3D

Roxanne Warren has an impressive career with several leadership positions in prominent additive manufacturing companies, counting Arconic and Norsk Titanium. Ms. Warren is committed to promoting STEM education and careers for women through her involvement in Women in Titanium.

Marie Langer – CEO of EOS

With Marie Langer being appointed the CEO of German additive manufacturing leader EOS, she has quickly become one of the most influential people in the industry. In the short time of her leadership, Ms. Langer has already contributed and put significant topics on the agenda, such as environmental sustainability and social benefits of 3D printing.

Each of the women mentioned above are inspiration to other women; either through their impressive career and prevalence in the market, or through the steps they are taking to demonstrate how powerful women can be when they join forces. Professional support, inspiration and a sense of community, as these and more women provide, is crucial to making the additive manufacturing industry more balanced.

The 2019 Additive Manufacturing Salary Survey can be freely downloaded here.