Soo Jung Kim
Head, People Sustainability
9 March 2026
After more than 25 years in the steel industry, one thing is clear: steel has never stood still. We have reinvented processes, scaled globally, strengthened safety standards, and pushed the boundaries of efficiency. Today, we are transforming again — decarbonising production, digitalising operations, and redefining how value is created.
Yet one transformation appears to be moving more slowly than the rest.
Women represent approximately 11% of the global steel workforce, according to worldsteel’s recent industry-wide data collection in 2025, which 64 steel producers participated in. Representation varies significantly — from over 25% in some companies to as low as 0.14% in others. Data from previous years indicate a similarly low level of representation, pointing to a degree of stagnation in overall progress in increasing the representation of women in the steel industry.
When you step back and consider the scale of change facing our industry, the question becomes unavoidable:
Can the steel industry afford to leave half of the global talent pool largely untapped?
The talent imperative
Across regions and markets, two pressures are reshaping our workforce.
First, an aging workforce. Many experienced professionals — operators, engineers, technical experts, leaders — are approaching retirement. The knowledge and skills built over decades risks leaving with them unless we successfully renew and broaden the next generation.
Second, a shortage of talent. We now compete directly with technology companies, renewable energy firms, and advanced manufacturers for engineers, data scientists, digital specialists, and sustainability experts. Too often, steel is not their first choice. And it may not be the second or third.
These are not abstract ideas or forecasts. They are conversations happening in boardrooms and plant sites today.
Expanding the representation of women is not only about gender balance. It is about resilience and competitiveness. It is about ensuring the industry has the capability to compete and lead in a far more complex industrial landscape.
Steel today
When many people picture steel, they imagine heavy manual labour, smoke stacks, and physically demanding environments. That was once a larger part of the story.
Today’s steel plants are highly automated, digitally connected, increasingly data-centric and sustainability-driven.
Advanced systems manage operations. Predictive analytics optimise maintenance. Decarbonisation technologies are reshaping production routes.
The skills that matter now are:
- Advanced engineering and robotics
- Digital systems and analytics
- Environmental management and low-carbon technologies
- Cross-functional and adaptive leadership
These roles demand expertise, creativity, and education — not physical strength.
Around the world, more women are graduating in engineering, science, and technology disciplines. If we fail to attract them, we are not facing an inclusion problem alone — we are facing a sustainable talent pipeline problem.
The opportunity to tap into this talent pool has never been greater.
Inclusion Is strategy
Diverse teams challenge assumptions. They ask different questions. They approach challenges differently. In a capital-intensive, safety-critical, transformation-driven industry, this diversity of thought strengthens outcomes and paves the pathways for the future.
Inclusion is not peripheral to performance — it is central to innovation, efficiency, and long-term competitiveness.
Analysis from the World Economic Forum and others suggests that gender parity acts as a strategic economic lever, with narrower gender gaps linked to higher productivity, greater resilience, and stronger growth potential.
As we work to build a low-carbon future, advance digital operations, and modernise our business models, we must demonstrate the same level of ambition in strengthening and diversifying our workforce.
From intent to impact
Real change does not happen through statements alone. It requires systems:
- Clear executive and board-level accountability
- Transparent data and measurable objectives
- Strong engagement with STEM education pathways
- Visible role models across operational and leadership roles
- Employer branding that reflects the reality of modern steel
These five elements are not standalone initiatives — they form an integrated system. Together, they span the full talent life cycle: attracting future professionals, widening entry pathways, strengthening retention and development, and embedding accountability at the highest levels of leadership.
Just as operational excellence in steel depends on disciplined systems, so does meaningful inclusion. Without leadership ownership, measurable data, visible career pathways, and strong talent pipelines, progress remains uneven and fragile. With them, inclusion becomes embedded, sustained, and strategically aligned with the industry’s long-term competitiveness.
But systems must also translate into everyday experience. That means creating workplaces where women are not only recruited, but empowered to grow, thrive, and lead. It means fostering cultures grounded in respect and psychological safety, where contribution is fairly recognised and bias is actively addressed. It means ensuring equitable access to stretch assignments, operational exposure, and leadership opportunities. It means adopting flexible policies that recognise different life stages without constraining ambition. And it means investing in mentorship, sponsorship, and continuous professional development so that career progression is deliberate, not accidental.
Inclusion becomes tangible when talented women can see a credible future for themselves in steel — and have the opportunity, support, and confidence to build it.
Encouragingly, many steel producers and industry associations are already taking meaningful steps. Initiatives such as Women of Steel by UNESID and Women in Steel by AIST reflect sustained commitment and growing momentum across regions. Increasingly, steel companies are embedding inclusion into leadership agendas and long-term talent strategies.
Yet progress must accelerate. Inclusion is not a programme to be launched and concluded. It is a leadership choice — made deliberately and reinforced consistently over time.
A defining moment for steel
Steel underpins infrastructure, renewable energy, mobility, and global economic growth. It quite literally builds the foundations of a sustainable society and a low-carbon future.
To succeed sustainably, we must build a workforce that reflects the full breadth of available talent.
Women represent half of the global population but just over one-tenth of our workforce. Closing that gap is not simply about fairness. It is about competitiveness, innovation, and future readiness.
The industry stands at a pivotal moment — to renew its workforce, reframe its narrative, and broaden its talent base to secure a stronger and more resilient future.
As of 2025, worldsteel tracks and reports annually — through its Sustainability Indicators — on both the percentage of women in the industry workforce and the percentage of women serving on boards within member companies.
We have also recently launched World Women in Steel (WWIS) — a worldsteel global network designed to bring women and men together to foster a more inclusive steel industry. Its first initiative, Fireside Chat, is a series of open and candid conversations that create space to share experiences, insights, and leadership perspectives.
The next session, scheduled for 17 March, will feature Mark Vassella, former Managing Director and CEO at BlueScope, who will reflect on his leadership experience and the progress made in advancing women during his tenure.
Steel has always been defined by strength, adaptability and versatility. The next chapter will be defined not only by the qualities of our materials — but by the strength, diversity, and ambition of our people.