Women in 3D Printing appoints Sarah Goehrke as Director of DEI Initiatives
July 30, 2021
Women in 3D Printing (Wi3DP) has announced the appointment of Sarah Goehrke as the new Director of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Initiatives, creating a new organisational role designed to drive actionable initiatives and programming targeting DEI.
Goehrke, who has over seven years of experience reporting on the Additive Manufacturing industry, will lead the formation and operation of a variety of initiatives focussed on strengthening the workforce diversity of the Additive Manufacturing industry. She is the founder of editorial services company Additive Integrity and has worked at a number of AM-dedicated publications, including Fabbaloo as Managing Editor and 3DPrint.com as Editor-in-Chief.
She has contributed to publications including Forbes.com, 3D Printing Media Network, and All3DP, and worked with dozens of high-profile clients within the AM industry. Goehrke has also appeared on many international and virtual event stages as a keynote speaker, panellist and moderator.
Prior to being appointed Director of DEI Initiatives, Goehrke spearheaded the creation and authored the first editions of Wi3DP’s Diversity for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) reports. She has been on the Wi3DP Board of Directors since 2018 and is part of the executive team that developed the AM industry’s first-ever all-female conference programme, TIPE 3D Printing by Wi3DP, for which she was the People track leader.
In her new role as the Director of DEI Initiatives, Goehrke will be forming and leading volunteer teams to develop resources for the entire AM industry. Data collection, benchmark studies, analytical industry reports, corporate value statements, interviews, virtual panels, company workshops, speaker training, and other projects will offer companies in the AM industry access to information and actionable resources to shape the future of their workforces.
“We are thrilled to strengthen our collaboration with Sarah,” stated Nora Touré, Wi3DP founder. “Not only has she been a very vocal advocate for more gender-based diversity in the industry for years, she also has a very clear position in making the AM industry more inclusive of all diversity. We, at Women in 3D Printing, are aligned with Sarah as we believe our mission should go beyond gender diversity. Like every other Wi3DP initiative, the new DEI department we are building is aimed at being shaped and owned by the industry.”
Wi3DP DEI is working directly with new and existing Wi3DP corporate members to develop a new partnership structure for companies dedicated to enhancing their internal structures. This includes working with a select few pilot companies that are expected to pave the way for more widely available partnership opportunities in 2022.
Wi3DP explains that companies with more diverse workforces have been shown to generate higher revenues and more innovation while reporting higher employee satisfaction and retention. As the AM industry continues to see rising growth, including a quickly expanding workforce, those companies with DEI strategies in place will be poised for success with higher-performing, committed employees.
“DEI is a growing focus, with more companies across the AM industry establishing roles such as Chief Diversity Officers and internal DEI teams,” noted Goehrke. “At Women in 3D Printing, our vision has always been to promote, support, and inspire women interested in and working in the 3D printing industry. Through these new initiatives, we look forward to partnering directly with companies to help develop their ideas as well as to facilitate broader conversations and actionable initiatives. We’ll be looking beyond our foundational focus of gender parity — which remains a priority — to ensure that this industry continues to develop as a welcoming professional environment that celebrates the individuality and identity of everyone in the workforce.”
Goehrke concluded, “We’ll be working alongside existing Wi3DP initiatives like our Next Gen group and with our regional and local chapter ambassadors to bring together the AM workforce. Our corporate members have been incredibly supportive of our work, and we look forward to offering further benefits for these companies as well as the industry at large.”
To learn more about Women in 3D Printing, read ‘Why do we need Women in 3D Printing? The what, the who, and the why of the blog that became a movement’ article in the Spring 2021 issues of Metal AM magazine.
