Nguyen choosing to challenge male dominance
Nina Nguyen, founder and CEO of Qld packaging operation Pakko, will #ChooseToChallenge the role of women in male-dominated industries for International Women’s Day 2021 on Monday.
Since coming together to celebrate the first International Women’s Day in 1911, women around the globe have continued to champion the power of equality and inclusion. The tradition continues on Monday, when women and men are invited to #ChooseToChallenge.
Nguyen said, “Women are brilliant business leaders, compassionate world leaders and exceptional entrepreneurs, who have succeeded across a multitude of industries. For International Women’s Day 2021, I choose to challenge the role of gender and employment opportunities within male dominated industries, such as manufacturing in Australia."
Nguyen started Pakko four years ago. Its staff are 50/50 men and women. Pakko merged with folding and gluing specialist, Glue4U two years ago, with Nguyen and Glue4U director Tanya Watkins now running the enterprise. Nguyen said, "Our society and gender roles are evolving, yet in some areas we lag. Manufacturing roles where women are operating machines or on the factory floor are still perceived as male roles.”
Nguyen says she is profoundly dedicated to ethics and values that champion respect for each other and the customer; being truthful in business and transparent in all communication.
The merged business is “a collaboration of talent and teams aimed at allowing customers to reap the benefits, knowledge, and manufacturing experience of two high-profile women” weaving their way through the male-dominated world of manufacturing.
The two women, at the helm of manufacturing, say they are on a mission to innovate the industry, and deliver sustainable packaging solutions to the world at their one-stop production facility in Geebung.
The role of women at Pakko varies from managing partners, sales estimators, accounts to machine specialists. Nguyen said, “Our team at Pakko is incredibly supportive of each other. Each of us has a story to tell, whether we are from Australia or arrived here from another part of the world. For most of the team, English is a second language. And everything that makes us different, makes us special and keeps us together. Our diversity drives us to compete on a global scale as we strive to innovate the packaging industry here in Australia."