Why more women are choosing steel

Changing this perception of a traditionally male industry

Over the last couple of decades, more and more women have been taking on roles in the steel industry - despite its reputation as a largely male domain. In fact, today roughly half the people who apply to work at our Hofors mill are women.

As we celebrated International Women's Day on March 8th, I wanted to highlight some of the women helping us challenge this perception, as well as some of the projects and initiatives Ovako has set up to pave the way for more women to join in the future.

My story with Ovako

I joined Ovako as a student in 1995. Since then I've held a range of roles across research, maintenance, quality, and more. I faced obstacles in the early days, but I have had wonderful support from my managers and my colleagues. I am far from the only one to benefit from this positivity, the result is that a lot more women have taken up senior management roles.

To build on this momentum, a key challenge is overcoming outdated views of steel as dirty, polluting, and just for men. Our remit doesn't start at the point where we're recruiting for new roles - it starts in schools. We need to show girls the variety of roles available to them, across engineering, metallurgy, operations and more.

Different voices, same passion

My experience is echoed by other women across Ovako:

Lena Magnusson, Raw Material Coordinator at Smedjebacken, emphasizes the importance of diversity: "I rarely think about the fact that I'm "a woman in the industry". What feels good is the knowledge that I can contribute in groups and share new thoughts and experiences."

Ines Sassi, Hot Straightening Operator at Boxholm, challenges stereotypes: "Many people think it's a heavy job with a lot of lifting and many risks. But it's not the case, as we undergo thorough safety training and learn the techniques of safe production. There's no difference between women and men at work, we all have equal responsibilities, and it's great fun."

Cultivating the next generation of female leaders

We're launching Women's Networks across the organisation, offering a chance for women to get together and discuss their own experiences, as well as hearing the personal stories of female leaders in the steel industry and beyond.

I found the first meeting, held at Hofors. hugely encouraging. We arranged it for a Friday evening in August, and were worried people might not turn up because it was outside work hours. But in the end 125 women came, and we had a great evening with a music quiz and a bar.

There's plenty more reasons for the women in Ovako’s team to be positive too:

Having support from top management is crucial. When leaders prioritise diversity, it filters through the whole organisation.

Looking ahead

We've made progress, but there's more work to do. The key is to keep working, keep pushing, keep encouraging more women to join the industry, and at some point, hopefully soon, we'll reach a tipping point where the barriers are all behind us, and women won't even think twice before applying for a job in steel.

And when we get there, we'll only become stronger as a company. Ovako is like an alloy. When we combine the strengths of both men and women, we build something far stronger.

This International Women's Day, we're celebrating all the women across our company who are helping forge a more robust, more diverse steel industry. Together, we'll keep challenging the stereotype of steel as a male vocation, and I'm excited to see how stronger female representation can take our company even further.

Women in steel

Once dominated by men, advancements in technology have transformed the field, creating new opportunities for inclusivity and innovation. Hear from the women leading this change and shaping the industry of tomorrow!

Explore the stories

Tania's breakthrough in bearing steel technology

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the groundbreaking work of Tania Loaiza Uribe (R&D), whose research at Ovako is transforming the future of bearing steel. With electrified heavy vehicles facing greater fatigue challenges, her work on Hybrid Steel® 60 is paving the way for stronger, longer lasting solutions.