Ten girls shaping the way forward for robotics in 2025. | Supply: IFR
To provide girls in robotics extra visibility and acknowledgment, the Worldwide Federation of Robotics, or IFR, this week named 10 girls who’re shaping the robotics business. The group stated it hopes the listing will encourage ladies and younger girls to pursue a profession in science, expertise, engineering, and arithmetic (STEM) or robotics and assist corporations to succeed in gender equality and overcome staffing shortages.
At present, girls make up 48% of the overall workforce and simply 34% of the STEM workforce, in keeping with the Nationwide Ladies Collaborative Challenge. In relation to engineering and robotics roles, the quantity is even smaller, with girls solely making up about 16% of the workforce.
In instances of demographic change and an growing lack of expert labor, economies across the globe can not ignore a sure share of it, stated the IFR. Furthermore, a extra numerous workforce has been confirmed to assist corporations enhance productiveness, competitiveness, and innovation, stated the group.
A examine from the Max Planck Institute for Clever Techniques, or MPI-IS, just lately discovered that educational plus workforce variety can drive extra creativity and innovation. The institute stated it brings extra productiveness and ends in techniques which are wide-reaching and higher at concentrating on bias.
The IFR stated that whereas the gender hole is narrowing down and the feminine labor-force participation charge is growing in lots of components of the world, there nonetheless is a major hole within the manufacturing sectors. That is particularly exacerbated with regards to feminine engineers and scientists. As an illustration, the feminine participation charge is simply half that of the service sector in Europe.
Meet the IFR’s 10 girls shaping robotics
The IFR’s 2025 awardees are:
- Albane Dersy, co-founder and chief working officer of Inbolt, France
- Ashlie Taivalkoski, director of gross sales at SCHUNK, U.S.
- Dr. Caren Dripke, head of improvement robotics at Lorch Schweißtechnik, Germany
- Julia Astrid Riemenschneider, CEO of Rethink Robotics, U.S.
- Kari DeSantis, normal supervisor, company advertising and marketing at FANUC America, U.S.
- Feng (Kate) Xu, bead of China analysis and improvement at ABB Robotics, China
- Kateryna Portmann, Senior Product Supervisor at ANYbotics, Switzerland
- Susanne Nördinger, UR+ ecosystem supervisor for EMEA and head of ecosystem success at Common Robots, Germany
- Yumie Kubota, government officer and supervisor of the AI Robotics Division at Yaskawa Electrical Corp./president of AI Dice, Japan
- Yunzhi (Amber) Qi, co-founder and normal supervisor of the Abroad Enterprise Division at YOUIBOT Robotics, China
Particularly, the IFR was in search of girls who’ve a confirmed observe report in robotics, stand out as business leaders, or have a confirmed exercise in encouraging younger individuals to enter STEM or assist females in robotics. It thought-about girls from all all over the world, a wide range of firm sizes, and completely different ranges of expertise.
“The European Fee’s new Competitiveness Compass highlights the mixing of robotics as a key expertise to spice up innovation,” said the IFR. “Inspiring girls to take up STEM topics and discover profession choices is vital: Numerous groups push innovation, and the robotics business gives nice financial alternatives for high-quality jobs.”
The Robotics Summit & Expo, which shall be on April 30 and Might 1 in Boston, will embody a ticketed Ladies in Robotics Breakfast on Day 2 of the occasion.
Register now so you do not miss out!
