Women in Manufacturing (WiM) —Support. Promote. Inspire.

In 2010 an executive networking group for women in metal forming was established. They called themselves Women in Metalforming and they were powered by Precision Metalforming Association (PMA). When looking for additional resources, they discovered there were no national resources for women in manufacturing. So, to meet this important need, “Women in Metalforming” was transformed into “Women in Manufacturing” (WiM).

Allison Grealis is the woman with the vision. She’s also founder, and president of the Women in Manufacturing® Association and the president of the WiM Education Foundation, which provides effective, affordable educational opportunities for women in manufacturing.

In 2015 WiM received its 501(c)(6) designation and in 2016 received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation, creating the Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation (WiMEF).

The Women in Manufacturing Association works to empower women workers and strengthen the manufacturing sector. As a nonprofit trade association, WiM is dedicated to supporting, promoting, and inspiring women who have chosen careers in the manufacturing industry. Over the course of the last decade, WiM has grown to be the only national and global trade association dedicated to providing year-round support to career women.

Membership has surpassed 20,000
More than 3,000 individual manufacturing companies are associated with WiM
48 U.S. states and 47 countries are represented
32 chapters, with 200-plus volunteer chapter leaders, create events and powerful programs

WiM’s Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation (WiMEF) is committed to developing and supporting powerful programs and resources that further the advancement of women in the manufacturing workforce. WiMEF’s educational programs focus on leadership, career advancement, managerial training, development of production floor employees and other objectives that help participants succeed in manufacturing.

WiMEF offers three professional development programs: Leadership Institute for Women (STEM), Empowering Women in Production, and a Management Development Program.

The Virtual Learning Series, a monthly program, covers industry-related topics geared toward leadership, action-oriented and solution-driven objectives.

Signature Events support learning and strengthen WiM’s commitment to year-round support:

WiM Annual SUMMIT 2023. This was the 13th annual WiM SUMMIT. The theme, Explore New Horizons, punctuated how important it is to explore and expand our horizons. The Summit hosted a total of 1,741 attendees; 1,587 in-person and 154 virtual, reflecting a significant increase in attendees from 2022. Industry leaders — men and women, innovators, and first-timers — experienced the global expanse of our Women in Manufacturing network (16 countries and 338 companies).

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Virtual Career Fair, Working Parents Chat, and summer and winter Leadership Conferences.

Three-part regional conferences: WiM North with a focus on the Northern U.S. manufacturing trends and networks; WiM South; and WiM West working with manufacturing professionals navigating their career path.

Women in Manufacturing, Washington Chapter (WiM WA)

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Jessica Kinman,

Chair & Membership Director

WiM Washington (WiM WA)

Jessica is our talented and supportive leader to the WiM WA chapter. The chapter has an active presence and a good base of members in and around Washington.

WiM WA hosts some of the most amazing tours and events, which are integral to our Manufacturing FUNdamentals Series. Geared for our manufacturing community, the workshops and facility tours are extraordinary learning opportunities. We learn from the experts doing the day-to-day work. The benefit? Seeing manufacturing operations up close, gaining new insights, and understanding the major functional groups within a manufacturing firm.

These events provide outstanding openings to expand and connect with our local networks, build valuable business relationships, and enjoy industry-related programming.

On a New Member Quarterly call with Jessica this past March, WiM WA regional co-directors Diane Gibson and Mariann Miller both asked, “How do we get WiM events into the Spokane area?” Jessica’s reply was “volunteer.” We did! Jessica and the WiM WA team helped us do what we needed to do, to make events happen for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.