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Empowering women in manufacturing: inspiring stories

To celebrate women across our manufacturing sites, we brought together six outstanding BASF professionals to discuss female leadership in the industry and their challenges, experiences, and lessons.

To continue moving the needle towards gender equality in the workplace, on Women’s Equality Day, we brought together a few extraordinary BASF colleagues to discuss working in the manufacturing industry, their learnings and challenges:

• Regina Bergeron, Global Process Safety Manager for Performance Chemicals and Environmental, Health and Safety Manager for North America for the Performance Chemicals business, joined BASF 13 years ago.
• Celina Gilbert, Production Director for the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) value chain at BASF’s Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana. Has worked at BASF for 26 years.
• Shawntel Shilo, Customer Care Account Specialist at the BASF Houston office and part of the company for the past 17 years.
• Morgan Dart, Production Director for Super Absorbent Polymer plant at BASF’s other Verbund site in Freeport, Texas, and part of BASF for the past 12 years.
• Carol Easley, Operations Director for Polyol in North America at BASF’s Geismar site, and joined BASF in 2016.
• Bryanne Bellman, Operations Manager at the Converse, South Carolina, site for BASF’s Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS) carve-out division since 2021.

In this second part, we explore the joys of working in manufacturing, the power of mentoring and building a strong network, as well as key pieces of advice for new generations of women entering the manufacturing workforce.

People, the joy of manufacturing

For most of this outstanding female leadership group, the people are one of the biggest sources of joy when it comes to their work and a key reason why they continue to choose BASF every day. Shawntel echoes the feeling of the group, explaining, “The people here have kept me grounded in BASF, and they create a culture. They foster an environment that is highly inclusive. I'm on a call with a bunch of people who look like me, and I'm grateful to be able to show up and be my authentic self every day.”

Celina Gilbert reinforces this very same idea, highlighting that “The greatest joy comes from being able to develop somebody and just see how that development really helps them grow into the role that they want or something that's going to help us as BASF, but also supports them as a person.”

It is not simply a matter of enjoying working alongside talented colleagues, but the fact that BASF places mentorship, both formal and informal, as a priority, and every single woman in the group had the chance to experience this. Carol evokes this very same idea from her own experience. “When I first started in 1988, there were women who helped me out. You just felt a sense of empathy and support, of ‘I've been here. I got your back.’ There were key men and women who gave me a chance: they saw something in me, stood behind me and advocated for me. And now I pay it forward by being that support and advocate for others.”

They’ve all had their share of both male and female mentors and mentees within the company, and continue to foster these relationships to this day. One of the most recent experiences Regina had was with Beth Holland, Vice President & Project Execution Owner of the Geismar methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) 3 Project, as she explains, “Beth is an amazing mentor and really helped me to have a better understanding of what mentorship was. She really helped me see what I needed to do in my new role, had the experience and was able to impart that to me. Likewise, in the spirit of giving back, I also have mentored my successors. It is very rewarding to go back and see their success.”

Vance Castator, now retired production director of the Monomers business in North America, was another important mentor for many in the group, including Celina and Morgan. As Dart explains, “He just pushed you to be a better engineer and learn to ask the right questions. And that stuck with me through my career, but also in how I mentor my mentees. I really owe a lot of success in my career to him.”

Building a powerful network

The group agrees that mentoring is a key part of building your network. Not only does it expose you to people in different places in their careers, with unique experiences and perspectives, but it also helps you find support and people to speak on your behalf, even when you are not in the room. In Shawntel’s own words, “The best advice that I've received and what has helped me grow and got me to where I am and continues to keep me at BASF is ‘build your network and continue to develop yourself’. Somebody initially brought me in as their network added me to their group of people, made me part of their board of champions that I can do the same thing as new people come in.”

First conversations with others can be tricky, but as Bryanne Bellman explains, they’re all about opening that first line of communication and finding common interests. Above all, it’s about getting out of your comfort zone.

Discovering your voice at first and the courage to connect with others can also be challenging. This was something Celina experienced.  “When I first started at BASF, I was that quiet person that didn't really say much. I put away a part of myself, to be honest. And I realized years later that part of me was really important, that part of me of trying to get to know people. I'm all about cooperating and bringing people together, and I realized I need to be myself. When you lower the waterline, when you're willing to talk about you as a person, the struggles that you've had, just the daily things that everybody's dealing with, it helps other people to see, okay, it's not just me. And so it helps to develop that relationship. Being vulnerable is important.”

Regina has found other useful ways to build strong relationships, such as through Employee Resource Groups (ERG), “as they provide visibility to help propel your career and the opportunity get involved.” Another useful way for her to build a strong network is to help anyone who reaches out to her to ask for support: “I love when people call me with a question and I’m able to just jump in and help them. That is very rewarding, and it also builds our network. Then, the next time, I may need something. That person may be able to provide someone who can help,” she explains.

Holding the door

Starting a career in manufacturing can be daunting, especially for those like Morgan, who had never even been inside a chemical plant before getting her first job at BASF. After several years of holding positions in manufacturing and growing their careers, these women have a lot of knowledge to share:

Make sure to read Part 1 of this series to learn more useful insights from this outstanding group of female professionals.

Published on October 9, 2024, by Mariana Licio.

For media inquiries or to repurpose this article, please contact Lisa Brown.