Toyota is launching a new foundation to give women support and opportunities to build careers in manufacturing. Toyota Motor Corporation and nine other Toyota group companies are joining forces to set up the project in Japan.
The initiative represents a practical step to encourage more active participation by women in the workplace, a theme that is also being pursued in the UK. Toyota Manufacturing UK’s activities to promote the take-up by young people – particularly women –up STEM* studies and jobs was recently highlighted by the Government in its mission to improve opportunities for working parents.
Toyota recognises the valuable contributions women can make, and considers their greater participation in the field of technological development will be vital in the creation of ever-better cars and in achieving sustainable growth.
The Toyota Female Engineer Development Foundation will use the experiences of female tech workers to promote the rewards of this kind of work to high school students thinking about what university course to follow. The aim is help increase the number of female students who choose science and engineering disciplines. The foundation will also provide continued career development support in order to foster more science and engineering students and encourage more women to take active roles not only in the automotive industry, but also in the wider manufacturing sector.
(Chika Kako, Chief Engineer for CT, Lexus International)
Toyota Motor Corporation is joined in the project by Toyota Industries Corporation, Aichi Steel Corporation, JTEKT Corporation, Toyota Auto Body Co. Ltd., Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd., Toyota Boshoku Corporation, Toyota Central R&D Labs Inc., Toyoda Gosei Co.Ltd. and Toyota Housing Corporation.
*Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
See also:
George Osborne visits Toyota Manufacturing UK to promote workplace nurseries
Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes Toyota’s £100m investment in UK jobs and manufacturing
Budding Engineers visit Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK
Toyota European vehicle production passes nine million units
Will work life balance be considered too ?
Pleased to see this! When I was a production engineer in the early 70’s I was always the only female engineer in the factory!