Advancing Women in Manufacturing

Monzelle McWilliams has reasons both personal and professional driving his passion for encouraging more women to join Boeing’s manufacturing workforce.

As Manufacturing Hiring Manager with Commercial Airplanes in Everett, Washington, McWilliams is part of a recruiting team that constantly looks to uncover underutilized or hidden pools of talent in the workforce to help Boeing deliver on quality. One of those categories is talented women.

“I don’t have to look far to know women can excel in these roles,” McWilliams said. His wife, Shana, was a Boeing mechanic and electrician for 25 years. “She did all the hands-on work — removing struts, structure work, drilling through titanium, you name it,” he said.

Now retired, Shana McWilliams believes there is still work to do to change perceptions in society about women in manufacturing. 

“There is still bias and resistance that women can be mechanics,” she said. “Giving them opportunities can drive this issue forward. It is just about trusting the process and demonstrating they are as capable as anyone.”

In 2021, women comprised 14.7 percent of Boeing’s production and maintenance workforce in the U.S., an increase from 12.8 percent in 2020. But the statistics show huge opportunities for growth as Boeing continues to recruit talent in critical skill areas, including mechanics and other production employees.

Khaytlen Hahn, a fabrication manufacturing manager for Commercial Airplanes in Auburn, Washington, is committed to helping more women join Boeing’s manufacturing team. She regularly joins hiring panels for mechanic roles and participates in recruiting events in the Puget Sound area — where she often collaborates with McWilliams.

“Boeing understands the importance of having a diverse interview panel and candidate slate,” Hahn said. 

This year, Boeing added a performance metric to the 2022 Boeing annual incentive approach that is designed to reward open and equitable talent selections. The company set enterprise-wide targets to ensure at least 90 percent of its manager and executive interview slates are diverse, and that it reduces the percentage of direct placements for all manager and executive jobs.

“Often we think we know who the best candidate is, until we interview others,” Hahn said. “Traits like determination and growth mindset don’t come through on a resume, but are so important to being a successful manager.”  

Similarly, Hahn said, having women and minority teammates represent Boeing at recruiting events and greeting candidates has been successful. “I’ve observed how it has brought people in, and made to feel a sense of hope that they can transition into this company, by seeing someone that looks like them,” she said.

To further support the increase of women joining production teams, Boeing has joined the Women in Manufacturing (WiM) organization. Chapters are being set up across Boeing production sites, said Erica Witthaus, fulfillment senior leader for Commercial Airplanes Fabrication in Auburn, Washington, who is leading the effort.

Boeing is also working to empower women once they have joined the company.

Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL) is the largest of the company’s employee-led business resource groups, with 33 chapters worldwide. The organization helps position women to lead Boeing into its next century, and supports employees in strengthening gender partnerships and breaking down gender role stereotypes that hamper progress.

The company also established a return-ship program for experienced female engineering talent who have taken a career break — a result of the company’s engagement with the Society of Women Engineers Re-entry Task Force.

In addition, Boeing is improving the candidate experience and expediting the hiring process, and posting executive positions to create transparency and opportunity. As a result, Boeing has seen year-over-year improvements in the diversity of its internal executive hiring — with women making up 37 percent of the executives hired last year and underrepresented minorities 28 percent.

For McWilliams, promoting women into leadership roles again strikes a chord with him on a deeply personal level.

“I wouldn’t be here, were it not for women in leadership roles at Boeing,” he said. “They indicated some talent within me and pulled me up. It’s necessary, and we can’t move forward if this isn’t changed.”

Byline(s): Ivan Gale

Photos/Art

Caption: Nikki Then inspects a wire bundle on the 767 Tanker. (Photo Marian Lockhart)

Caption: 

Monzelle McWiliams, manufacturing hiring manager with Commercial Airplanes in Everett, Wash, describes himself on his LinkedIn account as an “advocate for women in aviation.”(Emazing Photo)

Caption: Erica Witthaus (left), fulfillment senior leader for commercial airplanes fabrication in Auburn, Washington, led the effort for Boeing to join the Women in Manufacturing organization. Here she is pictured at a Hispanic Heritage event at the Auburn site. (Khaytlen Hahn photo)

Caption: Khaytlen Hahn (second from left),a fabrication manufacturing manager for Commercial Airplanes in Auburn, Washington, regularly joins hiring panels for mechanic roles and participates in recruiting events in the Puget Sound area. She recently attended a Women in Manufacturing Summit in Atlanta, Georgia with teammates (from left) Thi Anh Ngo, Linda Sok, Lavelle Rogers and Jessica Gonzales.

About the author: 

Ivan Gale is a member of the Boeing communications team supporting the company’s manufacturing operations. He is based in Arlington, Virginia.