Encouraging girls and women to pursue scientific careers
On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we reaffirm Verallia’s commitment to gender diversity and inclusion in scientific and technical fields. This February 11, let’s celebrate the women who have embraced a scientific or technological career and capture the essence of this day to raise awareness and take action to bridge gender gaps in these fields.
This February 11, 2025, marks the 10th edition of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science promoted by the UN. Although women represent half of the world’s population, and therefore half of human skills, it is clear that young girls are turning away from the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These differences in career paths between girls and boys are visible from the choices of orientation, and stereotypes persist. As the gap continues to widen over the years, few girls engage in scientific fields and careers. Yet scientific studies are vectors of extraordinary professional opportunities. Thus, we deprive ourselves of an invaluable pool of talent!
In the glass industry, everything is science and technology
In the industry, and particularly in the glass industry, everything is science and technology. Among the 195 professions within the Verallia Group, most fall under science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Engineering skills are necessary for the construction of our furnaces. Chemistry and fluid mechanics are essential for understanding glass melting. Materials science helps understand the interactions of glass with refractories or metals (especially molds). The means of controlling the produced articles rely on optical principles. Mechanical skills are indispensable for properly designing our products. Not to mention the mathematics that prevail in computing and more broadly in Industry 4.0 and AI. The range of scientific and technical disciplines required throughout the glass process is extremely wide.
All these skills are at work in our factories but also in the technical departments to define standards, establish specifications, evaluate suppliers, and support breakthrough technologies. Further upstream, the Group’s R&D surrounds itself with engineers and doctors to identify alternative decarbonized raw materials, develop eco-design of products, and design more sustainable furnace technologies in support of our CSR strategy. Celebrating women in science is very important for an industrial company like ours!
Our professions are all accessible to women
Glass, a noble, durable, and infinitely recyclable material, is not or hardly taught in schools. This is why we are developing a very comprehensive program of technical and technological training, allowing our employees to acquire the specific skills to master the glass process. Training and the transmission of know-how mark our culture, and we are deploying a program to recognize our technical experts. Women with a scientific or technological background thus have every chance to evolve within the Group. In this reputedly male universe, no profession is actually inaccessible to women. Increasingly present in technical functions such as quality, operational excellence, or R&D, they also access very operational positions such as plant manager or furnace manager. Because in a passion-driven profession like glass, what matters is not so much gender as the appetite for human contact and technology!
© Franck DUNOUAU