Call it whatever you want.
As the term “DEI,” which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, falls out of favor in the national political discourse, the need to attract and retain diverse talent hasn’t changed. Target, Microsoft and Meta are among the high‑profile corporations that have recently walked back their DEI programs or eliminated equity initiatives focused on underrepresented identities, including women’s programs.
But Green Bay-based dairy products manufacturer Schreiber Foods is among the organizations refusing to back down on diversity, equity and inclusion in 2025.
Lancelle
“We have work to do here, to continue to have a more gender‑balanced workforce, especially within our plants,” says Karen Lancelle, Schreiber’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “We are not backing down. Our people are our greatest asset in the business, and we’re going to prioritize having an inclusive environment for all of our partners.”
Schreiber’s commitment to supportive networks includes both internal business resource groups that support underrepresented populations, such as LIFT — which stands for Leveraging and Inspiring Female Talent, as well as its high-profile naming sponsorship of the Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL) at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, for which Lancelle currently serves as executive in residence.
“I’m really proud to be a part of it,” Lancelle says of IWL. “It is really just trying to determine what can be offered to women so that we can achieve a more balanced workforce, which women need to continue to achieve their career goals.”
Moua
IWL Executive Director Pa Lee Moua says women’s networks provide the opportunity to build confidence and foster connections, which in turn improves employee retention and proficiency. She applauds Lancelle’s and Schreiber Foods’ ongoing commitment.
“They were doing DEI work way before DEI was a trend, and they’re still doing DEI work, even though a lot of organizations are falling off the bandwagon, because it’s the right thing to do,” Moua says. “It’s part of their culture and organization.”
The Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association dedicated to supporting, promoting, and inspiring women who have chosen careers in the manufacturing industry. Today it is active in 50 U.S. states and 80 countries.
Manufacturing is an industry where a concerted effort to recruit and retain women workers is essential. According to the 2023 Career Advancement in Manufacturing Report from Xometry and the Women in Manufacturing Association, only 1 in 4 manufacturing leaders are women, and that number hasn’t moved much of late.
Lancelle says Schreiber Foods has a strong overall gender balance when it comes to entry-level positions, but the scales tip in the favor of men as time goes on — a fact that proves the case for supportive women’s networks that provide mentorship and training.
And given that there are currently about half a million open positions in manufacturing nationwide, companies can’t afford imbalanced attrition.
“To get the best talent, you have to have access to the whole workforce,” Lancelle says.
Allison Grealis founded the Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM) in 2010. The organization hosts an annual summit, including the 2025 edition in Chicago Oct. 12-14.
WiM in the world
Allison Grealis is the founder of the now-international organization Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM), which is based in Cleveland, Ohio and is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. Grealis began her career in the trade association industry, and it was a stint with the Precision Metal Forming Association (PMA) that inspired her to create WiM.
“When I worked with PMA, I found that there were lots of individual women who were connected to these companies, these privately held companies, for the most part, who were looking for a network,” Grealis says. “They were looking for a way to find others like them. I think women not seeing others like them has led to more women not aspiring to either stay in the industry or rise in that industry or company.”
Representation still greatly matters, says Grealis, who hosts a podcast called “Hear Her Story” that explicitly focuses on allowing women to find manufacturing role models and through WiM creates robust programs that focus on supporting and retaining women in the industry.
WiM hosts a variety of events, including its annual summit; facilitates networking groups; provides an online resource center for job and professional development seekers; and offers certificate programs for leadership, management development, and women in production. That third category is one of the greatest areas of need, leaders say.
“We worked in partnership with manufacturing companies to develop that women in production program because we were told directly, ‘Hey, this is our biggest area where we need help,’” Grealis says. “We keep losing women at the front line, and they’re not finding pathways for success.”
Among the topics of greatest importance to women in the manufacturing industry, front line or otherwise, Grealis says, are job flexibility, affordable and accessible child care, and workplace equity — including pay and salary negotiation. Studies currently estimate the gender pay gap in manufacturing at around 12%.
“It’s not only helping a woman have a percent increase in her salary, but knowing it trickles down to her family and how she supports herself and others,” Grealis says. “And then likewise, the fact that we’re changing cultures and policies and impacting how women are treated, respected and encouraged and invested in companies has been huge as well.”
Today WiM boasts more than 32,000 members, hailing from every U.S. state and 80 countries, Grealis says. There are 34 regional chapters, including two in Wisconsin — WiM Northern Wisconsin and WiM Southern Wisconsin — that are operated by local volunteer leaders with operational support from the parent organization.
WiM in Wisconsin
Northern Wisconsin is one of WiM’s newest chapters. Nicole Malson, president of the Appleton-based metal forming and fabrication company STRYKER, says she was first approached about helping to form a Fox Valley-based WiM chapter just before COVID-19 reared its ugly head. The pandemic stalled the effort, but in 2023 the baton was picked up by Molly Jacobs, business process improvement specialist at Greenheck Group in Schofield. The chapter now encompasses manufacturing in the entire northern half of the state, from the Minnesota border to Lake Michigan.
“I’m super proud of what Molly has done; she made it happen,” Malson says.
Jacobs says there are about 700 people currently associated with the WiM Northern Wisconsin chapter. Plant tours, she says, are among the group’s most popular activities, but it also hosts happy hours, family events and lunch-and-learn sessions on topics such as financial wellness. Jacobs says the chapter recently created a membership committee and hopes to reach more companies and individuals in the new year, and it also hopes to expand its chapter scholarship program that allows shop floor employees to pursue WiM certificates in leadership or production.
Jacobs, who today serves on WiM’s national board of directors, says her first introduction to Women in Manufacturing came when she attended its virtual national summit in 2020. She has since been a regular participant and speaker at the WiM SUMMIT, and she says 2025 presents a great opportunity for Wisconsinites to experience the event, as it will be held in nearby Chicago Oct. 12-14.
Jacobs says she feels fortunate to work for Greenheck Group, which has been steadfast in its support of her participation in WiM, recognizing the importance of networking and realizing that every woman brings a unique story and perspective to the industry.
“When I started at Greenheck Group I started out in sales; then I became a production supervisor and was working second shift,” Jacobs says. “A lot of these people out on the shop floor had been here 20-plus years in the plant I was in, and a lot of these men did not want to report to a female younger than they. I was the first female production supervisor in the area, and that was really hard trying to break through that barrier.”
Malson says WiM has been instrumental in her development as a manufacturing leader. Whether she participates in structured events or simply texts a supportive friend when faced with a challenging situation, WiM has created a family for her in which she feels cheered on and understood.
“A lot of the times I second-guess myself, because I feel like there hasn’t been a ton of representation of women in leadership positions in manufacturing, like, right in front of my face,” Malson says. “So sometimes I feel like, ‘Hey, because I don’t see a Nicole, am I doing this right? Am I capable of doing this?’ I feel like that’s a challenge when you don’t feel like you can see yourself somewhere.”
While not exclusively for women, the podcast A BROADcast for Manufacturers, hosted by the three “broads” Kristina Harrington, Erin Courtenay and Lori Highby, prides itself on bringing a female lens to industry topics.
Why women?
The manufacturing industry is a competitive one. And if reality television is to be believed, women are competitive with one another, too. But that’s not what Grealis, Malson or Jacobs have seen in WiM — nor what Moua has observed in IWL.
“It’s not this competitive nature where, if I give you my secret sauce, therefore you’re going to be my direct competition,” Moua says. “We’re winning together. And you know, as I cheer you on in different opportunities that you’re thriving in, I would hope that that’s reciprocated, that when I’m thriving, you know, you’re able to cheer me on as well.”
Jacobs says a common misconception of women’s networks can also be that they are anti-men. She points to the success of her chapter’s recent ally dinner.
“Sometimes I think people might be like, ‘Oh, they’re here to hate on men or bash men.’ That’s not what we’re about at all. We need those allies; otherwise we wouldn’t be as successful as we are,” she says.
Lori Highby, CEO and founder of the Milwaukee-based marketing agency Keystone Click, is one of three co-hosts of the podcast A BROADcast for Manufacturers — a Wisconsin-based general interest manufacturing program with a heavy emphasis on women’s topics proudly hosted by three self-described “broads.” She says she has learned that access to education and mentorship are among the biggest needs facing women in the industry, and that includes male allyship.
“That’s an interesting conversation that we’ve had on the show, actually … is it better for a female to have a female mentor or a male mentor? And I think you actually need both,” says Highby. “In reality, the female mentor is someone that you can confide in on some of those challenges that you may be facing when in a room, you know, full of men. But that male mentor already has the established relationships that may be really hard for you to get into, and can, you know, easily make those introductions a lot faster sometimes.”
Like Grealis and Moua, Highby says there’s still an important place for women to share their experiences with one another as they navigate business and industry.
“I think there’s a different type of conversation that happens when it’s only women in the room. It’s a more honest, transparent conversation,” says Highby, who is also active with WiM Southern Wisconsin. “Not that there’s fear or reservations that happen when [there are] men in the room; I think it’s just that trust happens a lot sooner when it’s only women in the room.”
Women wanted
Kayleigh Mapes spent 10 years in manufacturing as an employee with Georgia-Pacific in Green Bay, and her sister today remains employed by the company’s mill while Mapes has transitioned to a role as graduate program coordinator at UW-Green Bay, where her latest effort is launching the university’s new master’s degree program in supply chain management. Because of her passions for and connections to the manufacturing industry, Mapes says she has made it a personal goal to be intentional about recruiting women into the program, which is the first of its kind in the New North region. She says she knows access to education is critical in narrowing manufacturing’s gender gap.
“We’ve got some great women in leadership that are very vocal, and they’re really great role models,” Mapes says. “So if we can keep building on that, I think that’s really what I would love to see, because we have come a long way since, you know, the old days, but there’s still more to do.”
There’s no reason women shouldn’t be attracted to careers in manufacturing, Grealis says.
“Each of us, in our daily lives, is relying on manufacturing products and services and components that we wouldn’t be able to live without. So manufacturing is always going to be a very vibrant industry,” she says. “I encourage women to think about how they can apply their talent to this industry. [The vast majority of our members] are very satisfied in their careers. They would highly recommend a career in manufacturing, and they have loved the fact that manufacturing has provided them such a vast amount of opportunity with it.”
Lancelle echoes this sentiment.
“I love that we are feeding the world,” she says of Schreiber Foods. “[And women] are consumers of these products, actually the majority of the spenders on these products, so to be a part of it is really something we should want.”
