Sold-out events. Meteoric increases in online engagement. Participation by some of the state’s leading employers.

The metrics make it clear: When Indiana’s chapter of Women in Manufacturing (WiM) relaunched last year, female manufacturing workers leapt at the opportunity to engage with an organization focused on their achievements, careers and challenges.

This wasn’t a complete surprise. Indiana had a WiM chapter in the past, and even when that chapter was scuttled by the pandemic, roughly 900 Hoosier women remained affiliated with WiM. Still, the people who worked to revive the chapter were overwhelmed by the response.

“We had worried about recovering momentum for WiM,” said Sonya Snellenberger, the Conexus Indiana Senior Director of Industry Engagement who took on the responsibility of leading WiM Indiana into a new era as its chair. “Clearly, that wasn’t a problem. We found so much support across the state.”

Snellenberger is especially proud that support for WiM is found across all sectors of the industry. As evidence, she points to Indiana’s nine-member board, which includes representatives from a family-owned CNC shop in Fort Wayne as well as PepsiCo and Toyota Motor North America.

The national WiM organization supports women working in manufacturing by providing virtual programming – such as learning sessions, career fairs and networking groups – as well as in-person meetings, conferences and professional development programs addressing topics including AI, cybersecurity and industry advances.

With more than 150,000 women work in manufacturing, Indiana certainly has an audience for such a resource. But it likely could have even more: While women make up almost half of the overall workforce in Indiana, they represent only about 30% of manufacturing workers. That gap suggests that there is a pool of potential workers, much needed in a state with thousands of unfilled manufacturing jobs.

Meanwhile, women face unique challenges in the workplace, ranging from safety gear that often is geared toward men to pay disparities that see female manufacturing workers earning, on a national level, about 80% of what their male peers earn.

Still, Snellenberger is quick to note that women don’t turn to WiM for a place to air grievances. They’re much more interested in opportunities to connect with other women, learn about their industry and grow in their careers.

Hoosier Indiana have seized these opportunities with enthusiasm. In the past year, the state’s WiM chapter has hosted 10 events, ranging from panel discussions and networking opportunities to plant tours and social events. Every event has been a sell-out, and, while a number of women have attended more than one event, WiM saw 350 unique attendees in its first year of hosting events, with attendees – women and men – ranging from frontline workers to front-office executives and coming from massive global firms as well as hometown maker shops.

Meanwhile, the Indiana chapter’s LinkedIn page has jumped from 200 followers to more than 1,200, and it enjoys an engagement rate of as much as 20% (average U.S. LinkedIn engagement is about 5.3%, according to social media firm Agorapulse).

Snellenberger said all of WiM’s activities are fueled by three objectives:

That last bullet point is especially important to many members. “Every event includes an opportunity to put forwards ways to celebrate the women’s professional and personal highlights,” Snellenberger said.

As it has planned its initiatives, the chapter has worked to place programs in every part of the state to allow more women to be involved and also to combat the professional isolation that can be especially challenging for women working in smaller plants in smaller towns and rural areas.

“Moving the events around allows us to get more people involved,” Snellenberger said. “We want this to be available to everyone – women and men – as a place to connect, learn and celebrate.”