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When a fledgling group of women in the transportation industry began meeting in the late 1970s they called themselves the Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS, Washington, DC). National president Afsaneh (Sunnie) House, a senior VP and regional manager with municipal engineering, planning, and financial management firm Willdan (San Diego, CA), explains that this was because they weren't sure how their male employers would feel about the new group. They reasoned that if they said there was a seminar on, it would be easier to get the OK to go.
In its twenty-seven years, WTS has grown from an initial forty members to 3,400 nationwide, including men as well as women in all modes of transportation. Nearly half are in technical positions.
Getting involved
Some of the members are simply hoping to broaden their contacts in the transportation industry. "We are very welcoming," House says. "If folks are interested in getting in and meeting people, they'll be pleased by the reception they get."
With thirty-five chapters in the U.S. and one in Vancouver, BC, Canada, the group has become a powerhouse of industry networking that can give its members access to leaders in the transportation industry. Its members include Mary Peters, who heads up the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Jennifer Dorn, head of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Men represent about 25 percent of the organization; many are top-level execs and "employers who see the benefit of the organization," House says.
Helping women succeed in transportation is the mission of WTS. The greatest benefit of the organization, House says, is the networking for women and men, employees, employers and recruiters. A national appointments committee actively supports the nomination of women for top-level positions in government and on private-sector corporate boards.
The organization also offers management training and a two-day program on leadership for chapter officers. Some thirty undergraduate and graduate scholarships are offered each year by chapters and the national organization.
Mentoring is provided by a number of chapters. And, through a program for emerging professionals, a different member each year spends time in Washington, DC meeting with lawmakers and learning how transportation policy comes about.
In another program, fourteen women in management are selected each year for three days of leadership training at Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ).
Encouraging diversity
It's been fifteen years sinceWTS established its first diversity committee. National diversity committee co-chair Gloria Dixon notes that the group undertook a study four years ago, and found that there was still work to do.
In response, an awards program is starting up to honor employers who promote diversity in the workplace. The committee has also updated a handbook for local chapters on ways to encourage diversity.
In her day job, Dixon is VP of diversity and economic development for the Dallas (TX) Area Rapid Transit (DART). She says she's encouraged by the growing number of minority women candidates for offices at WTS.
"When new members join they want to see people who look like them up on the podium," Dixon says. "I looked at the slate and was really happy."
Dixon represents WTS on the board of the diversity council of the American Public Transportation Association.
New frontiers
WTS will hold a conference in Phoenix, AZ in May 2005. Under the banner of "New frontiers: trailblazing through changing times," the organization plans to address technological advances in transportation. Many of the folks developing and promoting these changes are WTS members and supporters, House says.
But more than technology is changing in the industry. "The main change we see is that women are advancing." For example, there are now women administrators in federal agencies, including members Mary Peters of the FHWA and Jennifer Dorn of the FTA.
Other senior women in the industry who are members include executive directors of state and city departments of transportation, transportation commissioners, and legislators. "This is progress to us. The picture is changing," House declares. Growing membership at WTS reflects the changing picture as well.
Meet Stacey Jones of the Port of LA
Stacey Jones directs engineering development at the Port of Los Angeles, CA. Jones joined the port as an engineering intern in 1981. She became a full-time engineer a year later, one of the first two female engineers at the port. She rose to be the first woman harbor engineer and then director of engineering development.
Today she oversees a staff of 160. She's responsible for all development at the port, including a $1.1 billion capital program.
Jones learned about WTS from female colleagues. She joined the LA chapter and went on to be its secretary, VP and president. Now she serves on the national advisory board.
She joined, she says, at a time when she was working with ground transportation related to the port, and was interested in broadening her understanding of transportation as a whole. "That's one of the great things about WTS," she notes. "The programs are typically very broad. They keep me in the loop about what's going on in transportation in general."
Jones herself is a regular speaker at group meetings. She has also been involved in community outreach programs through WTS, visiting local high schools to talk to students about careers in transportation.
Some of the students she once spoke to are now interns at the port, she says. And the port itself was voted employer of the year by the LA chapter of WTS in 2003.
Geotechnician Liz Smith
Liz Smith is a geotechnical engineer, working on bridge foundations at the Austin, TX office of Kleinfelder Engineering. Smith still remembers her first Austin WTS meeting in June 2003.
"These were fabulous ladies and I thought, "Where have you people been?'" Smith recalls.
Smith and other WTS members do what they call "power bonding," getting straight to the issues and leaving the small talk behind. "We're all busy," she points out.
But when it comes to something serious, "Your girlfriends will help you out," Smith says with a smile. "And oh man, do we have fun!"
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