Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement - 31W

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11/3/2015

10:37 AM

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NOVEMBER 9, 2015 * 31W

L E A D I N G

W O M E N

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> IEEE Women in Engineering
ieee.org/women
@IEEEWIE
New York

> Women in Manufacturing
womeninmanufacturing.org
@WomeninMfg
Independence, Ohio
Who's in charge: President Allison
Grealis
How many members: About 600
History: The group was founded in
2010 to address what Grealis said was
an obvious need. "There wasn't really
a group out there for women in
manufacturing, generally speaking,"
she said.
Description: "Our aim is to inspire and
advance women who are already in the
field," Grealis said. The group does this
through monthly webinars, access to
programming, networking opportunities,
mentoring programs, a customized
employment tool and more.

Accomplishment: Grealis called WiM's
annual summit "transformative." More
than 300 women attended the most
recent summit. "These women who
attend feel like they're not alone," she
said.
Surprising fact: Grealis thought the
group would be focused primarily on
individuals, but she said she was
surprised by how many companies
wanted to get involved with WiM.
Grealis on why she's with WiM: "It's
rewarding to talk to women from such a
wide array of backgrounds." She also
said the opportunity to see women
advance in the industry is satisfying.

Who's in charge: WIE
Program Manager Keyana
Tennant
How many members:
About 16,000 members
of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers have added the
Women in Engineering affiliation to their
membership.
History: Women in Engineering was
founded in 1994, 110 years after the
founding of IEEE.
Description: WIE's "goal is to inspire,
engage and advance women in
technology," said Nita Patel, IEEE Women
in Engineering International Leadership
Conference chairwoman. "Historically, we
have focused heavily on the inspiration
component and pre-university outreach.
Recently, we have shifted some focus to
balance inspiration with advancement and
are focusing more initiatives to help

women become prominent leaders."
Accomplishment: WIE recently
launched an IEEE.TV WIE
channel that highlights
presentations from the group's
events. "I think the most
significant accomplishment is the
number of female students inspired
to pursue engineering," Patel said.
How the group is creating change: "We
have over 550 volunteer-led WIE affinity
groups in 160 countries," Patel said.
"They organize and execute over 900
programs each year, reaching over
100,000 students and professionals."
Surprising fact: About one-third of the
group's membership is male.
Patel on why she's with WIE: "I love the
passion of the members. Each person is
truly striving to make a difference, and
people give countless hours of their
personal time to advance women in
technology. How can this not be
motivating?"

> Michigan Council of Women in Technology
mcwt.org
@MCWT
Dearborn, Mich.
Who's in charge:
President Cindy
Warner
How many members: About 800
History: The group was founded in
2000 by women in the auto industry
who "looked around and said, 'Wow,
there aren't very many of us,'" Warner
said. She said the group was founded
as a support system.
Description: The MCWT "provides
leadership, mentoring, community
outreach, professional development
and networking to professional women
within the Michigan technology
community," the mission statement
says.
Accomplishment: Warner points to

the group's work in distributing
scholarships to young women, in
addition to its weeklong summer
technology camp, Camp
Infinity. The camp targets
girls in grades 4-7 and is
aimed at building their confidence with
robotics, computer game design and
other technology.
How the group is creating change:
MCWT is dedicated to reversing a
trend in technology in which women
are not able to keep up and advance
as much as they should, Warner said.
"We're heading in the wrong direction,
so we're doubling down," she said.
Warner on why she's with MCWT:
Warner said helping girls in poverty
and less fortunate situations learn
that they can succeed in technology
gives her satisfaction.

> Southern Automotive Women's Forum
southernautowomen.org
@SouthernAWF
Nashville
Who's in charge: Co-presidents
Cherie McCain and Emily
Lauder
How many members: More
than 200
History: The organization was founded in
2011 by a group led by Susan Brennan,
then the head of manufacturing at
Nissan's Smyrna, Tenn., plant. It was
based on similar groups in Detroit.
Description: Its mission is to "promote
women in automotive ... through
promoting professional development for
women in the industry, scholarships for
women pursuing degrees in STEM and
promoting STEM to middle school girls."

Accomplishment: The group
has awarded more than
$168,000 in scholarships, and
it holds events in Tennessee and
South Carolina to promote STEM
for middle school girls.
How the group is
creating change: "One
girl at a time," McCain said. "We realize
that we can't do everything, so we try to
focus on doing a few things well."
McCain on raising scholarship money:
"When I approach companies for
sponsorship or scholarship, I can speak
from my heart about SAWF's mission. The
encouragement that we give to these
young women will drive the female
automotive leaders of tomorrow and
beyond."

> Women in Automotive
womeninautomotive.com
@WomenInAutoCo
Maitland, Fla.
Who's in charge: Co-founder
Christy Roman
How many attended its August
conference: More than 300
History: Women in Automotive
held its first conference in
August in Orlando. The group was founded by six
female leaders, including Roman, to provide women
in the industry a chance to network and collaborate.
"It went so much better than we thought," Roman
said. "We were all sort of in shock and awe."
Description: The group is dedicated to bringing
women in the auto industry, particularly in

dealerships, together to mentor one another, train
and figure out ways to get more women in the
industry.
Accomplishment: Roman said the August
conference exceeded expectations and was a
national event. The goal, she said, is to get
1,000 attendees and do two conferences a year,
one on the East Coast and one on the West
Coast.
How the group is creating change: Roman said the
group is bringing women together to figure out why
40 percent of resumes for dealership positions are
from women, yet just one in four is hired.
Roman on how she got started with the group:
Roman said she went to a marketing event for
women in Chicago and got the idea for an
automotive women's conference.
http://www.ieee.org/women http://www.womeninmanufacturing.org http://www.mcwt.org http://www.southernautowomen.org http://www.womeninautomotive.com
Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement

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