Fleet Advantage has announced that it has joined the Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM), a national and international trade group that supports women who choose to work in manufacturing throughout the year. Women in Manufacturing, which represents more than 2,000 manufacturing businesses in several industries, now includes manufacturers of all stripes and from every job function, whether they are working in production or the C-Suite. The group is committed to creating a strong community and a diverse and inclusive manufacturing industry that provides everyone with fair opportunities and fulfilling professions.
Women make up over 47% of the workforce overall but just 30% of the 15.8 million employees working in manufacturing and only one in every four industrial executives, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. As a new affiliate of the Women in Trucking Association (WiT), Fleet Advantage is a prime example of a business that is actively promoting the progress of women in a number of traditionally male dominated fields, including manufacturing and transportation. Forty percent of the company’s employees are female, and 37% are professionals from underrepresented groups.
Katerina Jones, the vice president of advertising and corporate business development at Fleet Advantage, and Jackie Jacobs, who is the senior fleet transaction analyst and project coordinator at Fleet Advantage, were both chosen early this year by Women in Trucking to be included in the 2022 list of Top Women to Watch in Transportation. As members of Women in Manufacturing, Fleet Advantage announced that they are happy to assist women as they work to make the manufacturing industry more inclusive and gender equitable. Jones stated that through different conferences, activities, and social gatherings, they are looking forward to networking with the other member organizations and all the individuals involved in the effort to promote additional career options for women in such underrepresented fields.
Everyone working in the transportation, manufacturing and construction industry realizes the importance of networking with local contractors, equipment dealers and suppliers. But some people overlook how important it is to be inclusive when you are a part of such a male dominated industry. You can open new doors for your organization simply by being more receptive of gender diversity in the business. More trucking, manufacturing and construction businesses should also adopt similar policies and take measures to be more inclusive and gender diverse. This way we might be able to see the huge gender gap in the workforce reduce in the future.