Sometimes when we talk about Parker’s Purpose and creating a better tomorrow, we literally mean tomorrow. Many Parker technologies like the Low Drag D-Ring or the Leap Fuel Nozzle offer tangible and immediate benefits to our customers and the public right away. Other times we're looking ahead, searching for ways to positively impact society over years—and sometimes, over generations. This is one of those stories.

When Parker's Cylinder and Accumulator Division Europe decided to host a team of students for Germany’s Girls’ Day 2019, it was part of a long-term strategy. "In Cologne, there are very few women who work in the shop floor area,” explains Moritz Kinkel, a human resources team member for the Cologne plant who helped plan the day. “We know women are underrepresented in this field and want to help narrow the gap."

Girls' Day is the culmination of a nationwide campaign to transform attitudes about "vocational orientation" and open up new opportunities for the next generation. When production supervisor Markus Hamacher's 14-year-old daughter asked him to participate in Girls' Day, he raised the idea with the management team who enthusiastically enrolled, becoming one of more than 10,000 host sites to participate.

The team orchestrated a full workday for the girls, starting with a 7:30 a.m. orientation meeting to learn more about Parker before they geared up in personal protective equipment and worked one-on-one with mentors on the production floor across each step of the production process. They were able to take home the cylinder they made as a souvenir and a reminder of the opportunities that await in manufacturing.

"The girls presented what they learned at Parker in their own schools so hopefully the word is spreading to their classmates and their families," adds Kinkel. "We received very good feedback and I think many of the team members from the shop floor went home feeling very proud that day!"

And that is how we put Purpose into action. We seek out short and long-term opportunities to help break down barriers and to be there for our communities. And we strive to make the manufacturing industry and the world around us better—one generation, one girl at a time.