SOCIAL CHALLENGES

Women make up half of the world population – and yet are severely underrepresented in the workplace. This is felt especially acutely in the STEM field, where women only make up 30% of the industry. The imbalance is manifested clearly in the lack of woman leadership. Empowering women in STEM goes beyond hiring practices and should include cultivating the next generation of woman leaders in STEM fields to incorporate new perspectives and encourage innovation.

PROJECT APPROACH

To combat this inequality, Linde China has created the “Woman Elite Engineer Club” in 2015, a project that sponsors six leading universities in China: Jiaotong University, East China University of Science & Technology, Nanjing

Technology University, Xi’an Jiao  Tong  University,  South China University of Science & Technology and Zhejiang University. The “Woman Elite Engineer Clubs” at these universities hold over 100 workshops focusing on leadership and presentation skills. These clubs also serve to connect students and Linde senior woman professionals and alumni. Hundreds of Linde employ- ees work as volunteers to share their perspectives about engineering and moti- vate students by telling their own career stories. Students in the club can visit the Linde office, R&D center, and plant to experience the workplace before graduation. The clubs encourage students to partic- ipate in competitions like “Air Talk” – a public speech com- petition focusing on ‘Action, Innovation, Responsibility’ that    empowers   woman students to present them- selves in public.

VALUE ADDED

Thousands of students benefit from the “Woman Elite Engineer Club.” The club sponsors inspiring and rewarding activities. It empowers woman students and helps them become more confident in expressing and executing their ideas in a male-dominated industry.

The club aims to make women aware of their leadership potential and encourages them to strive for greater career achievements. Through the Linde campus visits and career journey talks, students are inspired to be confident. Linde also offers internship and employ- ment opportunities for club members.

LESSONS LEARNED

Linde found that students are more interested in learn- ing practical career-oriented skills rather than classroom training. The club members are highly motivated to engage in corporate activities, like workshops, job shadow- ing, and internships. As the students participating in this project come from different parts of China, it is logistically complicated to learn and share experiences. Linde wants to find ways students and club members can meet and interact more frequently to enhance exchange.

IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE

The company plans to con- tinue the club and expand the scale to include more practical events, like custom- ized career consultations and interactive workshops. Linde hopes the club can continue to inspire career aspirations and develop capabilities in woman professionals. At the beginning of 2021, Linde ini- tiated a new activity named “All in Air,” aiming to break location barriers and share different perspectives either from Linde or students on their digital platform. The newly launched initiative has been a success, with  over 250 club members from six universities joining the plat- form. Linde plans to continue and develop the project. Furthermore, Linde will also hold its “Engineer Innovation Camp” to encourage stu- dents to translate theoretical knowledge into practice. The woman club members will gather in groups to work on a specific relevant topic and present their ideas to the business partners. These “pitches” will enhance their chance to gain practical experience.

Source: More Than A Market Booklet 2021