PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips Professional Displays, has confirmed that it is seeing positive trends in the number of females pursuing a career in the AV industry, with the number of female employees operating in some of its biggest global sales regions now outnumbering those of males.
Recent official figures from ISE 2024, have shown a marginal increase in female attendees, but PPDS believes “more can and should be done”. ISE 2024 recorded attendance numbers of 73,891, of which 24,815 were first-time visitors. Figures show 81.5 per cent of those attendees were male, with 16.6 per cent female, and 1.9 per cent non-binary or preferring not to say.
By comparison, at ISE 2023, there were 58,107 attendees, of which 15, 255 were first-time visitors. Figures show 82.6 per cent of those were male, with 15 per cent female.
For International Women’s Day 2024 (March 8), PPDS team members have come together to share their views and experiences on how PPDS is embracing diversity in its global teams, and the positive impact being achieved.
“Working in the AV industry for nearly two decades, it has been a pleasure to see real positive changes and more inclusivity all around,” said Ellie East, key accounts manager, UK. “There is still a long way to go, of course, but seeing more women thriving in tech – and greater diversity in general – will be great inspiration for future generations entering the sector. I’m glad to be a part of it, here at PPDS.”
Martijn van der Woude, VP global marketing and business development, added: “As a global team, we have a huge range of different backgrounds, experiences and ways of thinking about business and life. At PPDS, everyone belongs. We thrive on their differences, using them to challenge boundaries and celebrating them for the unique advantages they bring. Together we are team PPDS: supportive, innovative and agile.”
Vicky Fox, head of global communications, believes that diversity in the workforce is happening “quite naturally”. She went on: “Fundamentally, it’s about bringing in the best people for the job. Their gender or how they choose to identify has no bearing on this process. We as a business work hard to ensure we attract the right candidates and offer the best possible career opportunities and, in a positive shift, increasingly we’re seeing more women applying to join our teams, which is great.
“For example, if you look at our UK sales managers today, we now have a 60/40 per cent split in favour of women, and we have similar ratios in Germany and France. And within our global marketing operation, for example, the split is 76 per cent women.”
PPDS continues to strengthen its ‘local for local’ strategy, which is seeing the company extend its manufacturing of displays to support local markets and communities. Not only fulfilling PPDS’ sustainability objectives and ambitions, the strategy is helping to promote careers in AV, with new job opportunities, together with qualified training.
“By choosing to have our displays manufactured more locally, it not only helps us from a sustainability perspective but helps to boost jobs in different communities,” Vicky continued. “This, as we are seeing, is helping to raise awareness, drive interest and enable a more diverse mix of people to pursue and begin a career in AV. The results are hugely pleasing. At PPDS, everyone is welcome.”
