The CWB Association Welding Podcast
The CWB Association Welding Podcast
Episode 198 with Becky Dolan and Max Ceron
The CWB Association had the privilege to attend the Association of Women in the Metal Industries Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as we bring you special episodes recorded in person to advocate for a more equitable future in metal industries, where everyone can thrive.
What does it take for women to succeed in the traditionally male-dominated world of metal industries? Becky Dolan, the International Membership Chair for the Association of Women in the Metal Industries (AWMI), shares her extraordinary journey from receptionist to leader in her field. Becky opens up about her experiences, offering insights into the skills and resilience that have propelled her career forward. She reveals how organizations like AWMI have paved the path for women to find their voices and step into leadership roles with confidence. Hear how the collaborative efforts between the CWB Association and AWMI are creating more inclusive environments and supporting the next generation of women in metal industries.
Follow Becky:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-dolan-3474686/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckycottrilldolan/profilecard/?igsh=ZmUzcmdwNGs0emRy
Website: https://www.awmi.org/
Thank you to our Podcast Advertisers:
Canada Welding Supply: https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/
Miller: https://www.millerwelds.com/products/augmentedarc
Canaweld: https://canaweld.com/
Josef Gases: https://josefgases.com/
The Association of Women in the Metal Industries Annual Conference is about forging futures and empowering women! Save the date: November 5-7, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. https://www.awmi.org/events/2024-annual-conference/
What did you think about this episode? Send a text message to the show!
All right, I can check. Check, I'm good. So I'm Max Duran. Max Duran, cwb Association Welding Podcast, pod pod podcast. Today we have a really cool guest welding podcast. The show is about to begin.
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Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to another edition of the CWB Association podcast. My name is Max Saron and we are here in humid and rainy Nashville, tennessee, for the wonderful AWMI conference, which is the Association for Women in the Metal Industries. We came to attend this conference to grab some great interviews from some of the leaders in the North America in the metal markets and of course, they're all wonderful women. Today I have with me Becky Dolan here who works for InfoSight as a Purchasing Materials Manager and is, more importantly for this situation, the International Members membership chair for AWMI. Hi, becky.
Speaker 2:Hi Max, how are you doing?
Speaker 1:Fine, how are you? I'm doing good. How are you liking the weather here in Nashville?
Speaker 2:Actually it's been pretty nice since we've been here. It's just turned the humid and the wetness in the last day.
Speaker 1:I saw it's going to get pretty rainy by the end of the week, but you know, I think from what I hear from the locals, that for November it's pretty good. Yeah, so we're doing all right. Now we were talking before the show. You got a really high number of attendees. What are you looking at for attendees here this week?
Speaker 2:We're looking at almost 400.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. So in contrast, or, I guess, in relationship to the total membership, what's the total membership of the AWMI group?
Speaker 2:Currently, our total membership for this year is 2,031.
Speaker 1:You told me not to ask you details, but you know those details.
Speaker 2:I know those details, so 2,031,.
Speaker 1:you got 400 people here. That ratio is probably the best I've ever heard of any association. You know, we get conferences where we have two, 300 people, but we've got tens of thousands of members. How do you engage like that?
Speaker 2:Well, we currently have our local chapters and they offer great programs, and at headquarters we actually offer a mentoring program that also engages all the members. If they're looking for a mentee or a mentor, they want to be a mentee or a mentor. We've got that great program and it's staying engaged and giving your members what they want.
Speaker 1:That's amazing because you know that really is, I guess, an amazing thing to do in an association Because, as many of the people that watch the show or that are part of the association networks in the world, engagement's kind of the key right.
Speaker 2:if you don't have engagement, you don't really have much going on that's right if you, if you can't keep your your members and our corporate members because I I'm sure you're aware, we have the corporate members because your association is one of them. This year we have 83 corporate members because, I'm sure you're aware, we have the corporate members because your association is one of them. This year we have 83 corporate members. That's the highest ever and those companies feel like we offer something to their employees that they benefit from.
Speaker 1:Well, I know that we've already tapped in to your group as an association, ourselves as a corporate member, your group as a as an association, ourselves as a corporate member. You know, you, the AWMI team, did our panel for Fabtech Canada up in Canada last year, which was amazing and it was super well received, um, but let's, let's back up a little bit because it's it's interesting.
Speaker 1:You know everyone's got a story right. So you know, Becky, we're trying to, we're trying to empower women here this week and and you know, um, inspire women right to get into the metal industries and become relevant and strong within these industries for yourself. How did that path work out? You know was 10 year old becky thinking someday she's going to work in the metal industries no, it actually.
Speaker 2:It was just by chance because I've been working for InfoSight. It'll be 31 years in February.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I started as a receptionist.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay. So you kind of came in under a traditional, I would say, female role.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Now, once you came into that job, what was it that started pulling you into these more non-traditional roles?
Speaker 2:The challenge and also that's where the company needed me. Yeah, you were just there, Right yep, because I've held positions as receptionist, sales coordinator, inside sales. I actually was in accounting for a while because our accountant left and then I was in sales and marketing. I was general manager of sales and marketing for probably over 20 years.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Where I coordinated the trade shows and was the support for our outside sales. And then just became into purchasing a couple years ago.
Speaker 1:How do you like that transition?
Speaker 2:I like it. I like the numbers because I always wanted to be in accounting. Yeah, and it wasn't there, so I like the numbers and the details In your 31 years, you said, in the industry.
Speaker 1:Now working in this company and around the steel industry, have you seen a lot of changes for women, you know? Do you see progress? Do you see that it would be easier for, let's say, a woman coming right off the street that would want your position at this level? Is that something that's doable? Because I don't think everyone wants to start at the bottom and work their way up over decades. We want to kind of get the young people to get interested that these roles are out there right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've seen it more and actually our company is hiring more women in non-traditional roles. We have a woman in shipping now, we have women in outside sales, and when I started I was employee number 17, and there was only two of us. So, to get a woman in the non-traditional roles.
Speaker 1:And what kind of advice would you give? You know some younger women that are looking to get into these roles. You know that I kind of don't have it on the radar at all.
Speaker 2:It's just doing the research and learning that, working in the steel industry whether it's a supplier, like I am, or in the mill you got to do your research and see that it's not just a man's world anymore. That's right and networking and researching associations like ours to give you that support.
Speaker 1:So you know you said you started in this company 31 years ago as a receptionist, right when you started that job. You know, at that time in your life you was it just you applying for any work? Were you just out there looking for work? Like what? Was it the goal that you kind of had as a young person, that you wanted to be?
Speaker 2:I just wanted to challenge myself.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Get into a role that I would feel good about myself and challenge and could get up every morning, look myself and look at myself in the mirror and be happy with it.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and you found that it was. It was something that uh, cause I mean, any job is ups and downs right. There's going to be some dark times when you're like what the heck am I doing? Here, Right. And InfoSight. You know what is it that they do specifically in the industry?
Speaker 2:We do identification and marking. We work with steel mills. If they've got a problem, it's a harsh problem. It's labeling and identifying, putting barcodes on the steel right when it comes out of the caster in the mill. We don't compete with paper labels. That's not us. We like the hard stuff, where it's got to survive 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It's got to survive acids.
Speaker 2:We actually invented our. We've got lots of engineers and we own lots of patents. We have a patent that you can mark tags. Use tags to mark steel before it goes into galvanizing and it will survive the galvanizing.
Speaker 1:Oh really Wow. So then it becomes permanent yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, it's a tag that hangs on there, but it keeps it from where used to in the older days. Before that, they would have to send out people with tape measures and pieces of paper to measure it and mark down what the piece was after it came out of the galvanizing and they don't have to do that anymore.
Speaker 1:Wow, and for you to be a part of this company over these years and see this progress. You said that you worked also with the trade shows part of the company. Sounds like a bit of a startup and they have a niche in that they're going down, which is amazing. I know exactly what you're talking about. I worked in the steel mill when I was younger and tagging the material pre and post is a hassle because you tag it when, when it's pre-made, then it's made and you lose all the tag then you gotta tag it again, right and it's annoying.
Speaker 1:So I see totally where this would fit. Now, when you're out there trying to do the trade show selling the product, did you ever find that being a woman was sort of an obstacle in the industry, from others, you know, looking at you, or did you find that it was a pretty that you could hold your own and it was all right?
Speaker 2:at the beginning. You could tell at the trade shows because I used to attend them all and you could see that the attendees would kind of go toward the men to talk to them, thinking that I didn't know what I was talking about.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But then later on it would grow and they would know. And now I'm one of the kind of stables you know at InfoSight and I have everybody's calling me, people that I've known, you know from the steel mills from years. They'll say, hey, I don't know who to contact, but can you help me what?
Speaker 1:are some of the skills that you had to pick up along the way, you know, when you come into the job you've worked at so many different roles in the company over the years to your current role now. What are some of the skills that you had to pick up and practice? You know professionally, or even personally, to be good at your job.
Speaker 2:I would say the communication between coworkers and talking with different personalities on how to work with different personalities, making sure to get stuff done in a professional and efficient way.
Speaker 2:Sure, to get stuff done in a professional and efficient way, because I've never had more than one person under me, but I can usually talk to anybody and try to get stuff done and you just have to respect people. So I mean, that wasn't a learning trait. That's where I was raised you respect people and they'll respect you and they'll help you get stuff done and you know what are some of the other things that you've had to work on.
Speaker 1:I know you brought it up to me before the show yeah. You know, and it kind of comes up in the context of you personally, but also you know as a woman, as an empowerment thing for women, right, and that was, you know, having finding your voice, yes, yeah, the public speaking and being able to speak up for yourself and negotiate.
Speaker 2:But the public speaking was very hard 20 years ago that I wouldn't have been. Yeah, wouldn't been doing this I would. I would be the one that would walk into a networking event and stay back in the corner and just kind of hang out yeah, just kind of observe observe, kind of get close to a group where it looked like you were in the group, but you weren't really.
Speaker 1:We all kind of know that feeling, but I feel like that's probably, I guess, exacerbated in an environment where it's so male-dominated and you're a female, so it's probably even harder to sort of plug yourself into a conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but AWMI has helped with that because it's a comfort zone.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:If nobody's going to judge you.
Speaker 1:Right, everyone probably has similar shared experiences too, right Now in those professional settings. What were some of the things you learned? You know for the audience, for the young women that are listening, you know, to help you find your voice. What are some of the little pieces of information that you learned that were like empowering to you?
Speaker 2:Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone because, that's what. That's where you learn, if it's being able to be and make sure you're approachable. Make sure you also have your 30 second elevator speech about you or about associations that you're connected to. That you know. But the main thing is have your 30-second elevator speech. You want to be able to tell somebody who you are, who you work for, what you do and stuff quickly enough to engage. But also, when you're networking, you've got to make sure you ask people questions.
Speaker 2:You've got to put the focus on them and then they'll turn around and put it on you, but put it on them first.
Speaker 1:That's really good advice. I love the 30 second elevators, which I learned that too early on in my career to kind of prepare yourself with responses you know like, so that you're not kind of floundering. Another really good piece of information I got given once was, in your 30 second elevator pitch, throw in something fun. So, for example, I love you know like this is what I do, this is my career, this is my trade, this is my thing and I love cats.
Speaker 3:Something like that. You know what I?
Speaker 2:mean Because that that that also gives people something to talk about that you may or may not have done normally and kind of lowers the walls a little bit right, yes, yes, yeah, you've got to throw the personal in. People want to know who you are and what your life is you know.
Speaker 1:Now, where do you live? Where is this company? Where have you kind of developed your career?
Speaker 2:It's in a little town called Chillicothe, Ohio. We're about 40 miles south of Columbus. We were the first and third capital of Ohio.
Speaker 1:The first and third, zanesville was the second and Columbus is the final. So how did that happen? Was it a voting process, or was it arm wrestling or something? I think, it's because, we had no major rivers near us or crossways and stuff.
Speaker 2:So they moved it up more to the central region. Ha ha ha, but that's one of the things that people don't know about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's interesting. Ohio has a deep history of manufacturing steel plants, mills. There's lots of main headquarters of large, you know, metal industry or steel industry companies there. You got the Lincolns in Cleveland, I think Miller's there, there's a few other large companies all around plus the steel mills. I think Miller's there, there's a few other large companies all around plus the steel mills. It's kind of prime territory to develop into the metal industries. Right For yourself as a young person coming up. Did you know about that? Did you know that there was a lot of steel things happening around your world?
Speaker 2:No, not until I started with InfoSight. And then that's when you learn all of these connections. And the thing with InfoSight is none of our customers are near us.
Speaker 1:Oh, I see.
Speaker 2:So, a lot of our local people don't even know what we do. We were just always the secret place in the woods, because our main building was back behind a grove of trees, and so they were always saying that we were the secret place in the woods so how do you hire?
Speaker 1:how do you hire people when you're hidden away, tucked away in the woods, in the wild?
Speaker 2:well, now we have, now we our plant is we've got a large plant out by the highway now, but it's it's word of mouth and schools and trade schools and trade schools and you said you have a whole host of different jobs, so you have engineers that are working on the new stuff.
Speaker 1:What other kind of roles exist in your company?
Speaker 2:We have welders, we have fabricators, we have a machinist that works the lays. We actually do our own tag material in-house. So we have people that operate on that part and also with the company, we do identification and marking, not only for the steel industry but any industry that needs marking. So we're also in the medical industry, so we have a division in the medical industry, so we have people that work in that area.
Speaker 1:And did all this growth happen throughout your tenure there? Yes, you said you were. What number 16?
Speaker 2:17.
Speaker 1:The 17th ever of InfoSight.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:And this company sounds like it's definitely grown over these 30 years and this is something I don't think I've ever really felt too much Jealous if you have felt it but it sounds like you're kind of a part of the family, like you're a part of this growth, like you can take pride in all these steps that this company has taken over the last three decades.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we have our employees stay.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They stay. You know we've got employees. You know we just had a gentleman that just retired at the end of october that had been with our founder for 43 years.
Speaker 1:Wow, that does not happen anymore at all like. I mean I'd have to live to. I'd have to live to 88 and obviously not retire to make it 40 years in this company. I don't think I'm gonna make it to 88.
Speaker 2:I don't know I don't know I mean, science is getting pretty good now, but I mean but yeah, we have, we have people there, you know, because I, you know, there was people there before me, you know well, 16 of them. Yeah, because well because the company actually split off from another company and that's really yeah, so well, that's interesting.
Speaker 1:So now, in terms of you know the future of your company. You know you've got a product that sounds like it's unique and patented. Growth is going to continue. Do you see your role changing as the company grows? Like you just stepped into? You know the senior purchasing role. Now what's next for Becky?
Speaker 2:What's next for Becky? That's probably where I'll stay because I enjoy the purchasing and I've really not had education in it. They've given me that opportunity because I didn't meet the requirements on that application you know, on the duties.
Speaker 1:And so I think that's where I'll stay, because of learning contract negotiations and things and all that.
Speaker 2:So it's still challenging. Keeping you busy yep, keeping me busy doing. Doing the, you know, the learning, the negotiations and getting with vendors on setting prices and making sure, first in, first out, making sure you keep the stuff in stock, but not too much in stock lean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, first in first. Oh, that's Henry Ford. Yeah, yeah, that's Henry Ford.
Speaker 2:But you know we build. We also have products that we build, machines there and so you've got to make sure you keep the pieces in stock for the machinist, you know, for the builders can build the products.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a lot. So you got busy days every day, yes, and yeah, that's a lot. So you got busy days every day, yes, and then you're here yes.
Speaker 2:And I'm working remotely.
Speaker 1:We all have our computers all over the place, but let's take a break now for our advertisers, because when we get back I want to talk about AWMI and your connection with it and what we're doing here.
Speaker 1:So to all our audience. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back here on the CWB Association podcast in Nashville, tennessee. Here I'm here with Becky. We'll be back right after these commercials from our advertiser tests premium welding machines right here in Canada. Our products are CSA certified and Ontario made approved, reflecting our unwavering commitment to excellence. Count on us for superior service that's faster and more efficient than market competitors. Whether you're in aerospace, education or any other precision welding industry, cannaweld has the perfect welding solution for you. Visit CannaWeldcom today to discover why professionals rely on CannaWeld for their welding needs. Cannaweld where precision meets reliability in welding. Enjoy peace of mind with our four-year warranty on most machines. Conditions do apply.
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Speaker 1:And we are back here on the CWB Association podcast. My name is Max Theron, here with Becky Dolan, who is the international membership chair for AWMI, which is the Association for Women in the Metal Industries. We're here at their conference in Nashville, tennessee, and you know, becky, before the show we talked about your long and amazing career with InfoSight and working in the steel industries, the things you've had to pick up and learn. We've alluded a couple times to the skills you've picked up with AWMI, but let's go back to the first connection. How did you find AWMI?
Speaker 2:Actually, AWMI found me. The Columbus chapter is about an hour and 15 minutes from Chilli Coffee, so I got a phone call from a lady by the name of Linda O'Neill. She was a member of the Columbus chapter and she invited me to attend a meeting. How did she find you? I don't know. She never did tell me that.
Speaker 1:She must have heard about this amazing becky who's just doing these crazy things on this little town, uh, and a little shop that backs onto the forest yeah, she, she never did share that wait the conversation.
Speaker 2:It never came up because I went to the first meeting and I've not but looked back since so what was that experience like, that first meeting?
Speaker 1:you know, you must not know really what it was, what it was about, right?
Speaker 2:No, I didn't know what it was about, but Linda took me under her wing, introduced me to the other members and told me what it was about and everything and it just kind of fit and, being new into the industry, it was something that intrigued me and it sounded like it would, you know, be very interesting and helpful to my career.
Speaker 1:So how long were you at InfoSight before you got into AWMI?
Speaker 1:Probably five years, Okay so you've been a part of AWMI now for 26 years, if I do the math, so that's a long time Now over those 25 years with AWMI. I'll ask the same question I asked about your job what kind of growth have you seen? What kind of changes have you seen within this organization? Because we're new to it, we just found you guys a couple of years ago and we're all in right, so you know, 25 years ago what was it like?
Speaker 2:We were a lot smaller a lot fewer chapters, a lot of, you know. We were maybe 800 members, 900 members, so not many chapters-wise we didn't have a whole bunch. You know as many chapters as we knew. Now we actually now have 20 chapters, with another provisional chapter on the, on the, on the rising um.
Speaker 2:But I went to my first conference in orlando and I think maybe there was 100 and some people yeah, yeah that was in like 2001, when I went to the first conference and you know, for the people that are listening, explain what awmi is and what it, what it is for you.
Speaker 2:Explain what AWMI is and what it is for you. Awmi is an organization that is for the empowerment and growth and support of women in the metal industries. But we do also include men. They are allowed to be members and we encourage their support because we want everybody to help empower the women. But also we want to help men change too, you know the young men coming in.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's just been a passion of mine that it's great to see the younger members come in with new ideas and new opportunities for them and for they can hear and see the stories of the ladies that have been in the industry for so long. And they can, they know they can make it, they know they can you know, go from being a you know receptionist off the floor. I know one lady that receptionist off the floor and she became an executive vice president.
Speaker 1:So that's amazing, you, you can do it, you just gotta. You gotta have your support.
Speaker 2:Well, there's always that saying that you can, you can do it, you just gotta you gotta have your support well, there's always that saying that you can't be what you don't see, right.
Speaker 1:So if you don't know what you don't know, you can't get there. And that's the thing so important for women or well, really, all diversity growth is that if you don't see women in in positions of power you know leadership positions, or women that are advancing their careers aggressively which you know that, not passively, but they're out there trying to hunt for those top jobs and work their way up if you don't see that as a young woman, it's harder to see your place in that world, right?
Speaker 2:That is correct. You've got to have some examples.
Speaker 2:You've got to have people that are there that it's like, oh, that's what I want to do, and that's like one of the other things that AWMI taught me. You ask is you've got positions where there's a job, even within your company, and there's a job description and a woman will look at it and say, I don't know, I'm not going to apply. A man will look at it and say, oh, I can do that. Okay, I'm going to apply. And that's what AWMI is trying to show women that they can do. And that's what I did two years ago when I or almost three years ago when I applied for the purchasing. I didn't meet any of those requirements. I didn't have purchasing experience. I was backup purchasing when the gentleman was out and I thought go for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are you going to lose? Right, right, and it's easy for me to say that as a man.
Speaker 1:Right, it's easy because I have the privilege of being a man and you know, I, my wife, is getting into leadership positions now and we, I try to coach and help and be an ally to her, not as a spouse, but as a, as a, as a person, professionally looking to empower a woman, and she'll do those same things where she'll be like well, I don't know if I can do that, I don't have the experience, and that's like and I'll say like very clear, like you, like if it was me, I wouldn't even consider that.
Speaker 1:I would just go for it, because, as a, the privilege I have as a male is that I just think that it doesn't matter, I can just do it right, I can just, and even if I don't know what I'm doing, I'll figure it out. But I don't think there's anything wrong with that thought. But it's not right that women don't have the same thought, that idea that they, you know, it doesn't matter if you don't fake it till you make it like everyone else, right, right, and because that's what women want to know what they're doing, and want to know that they can do it before they go into a position.
Speaker 2:They you know it's like okay, I can do this. Well, you can do it before they go into a position. It's like okay, I can do this.
Speaker 1:Well, you can do everything.
Speaker 2:You can do right, you can do everything.
Speaker 1:You can do everything.
Speaker 2:And that's another thing that AWMI taught me is negotiation. Women will not negotiate or speak for themselves, and so you've got to be able to negotiate, whether it's salaries promotions, everything. And especially the young ones coming in. They need to, you know, learn how to negotiate, and I hope AWMI helps them when they go apply for a job. When you walk in, all they can do is tell you no, you know, ask for the two weeks vacation up front you know the. Pto. Ask for this salary.
Speaker 1:The benefit that you're looking forward for your family, or whatever right.
Speaker 2:The remote or being able to work from home every so often if you need to.
Speaker 1:And that idea, that confidence that if you don't ask, you don't get.
Speaker 3:So just ask.
Speaker 1:Right, right, do you think, like I mean, I guess I'm kind of the wrong person for the interview, right, because I'm a male, right? So there's things to me that I take for granted every day, that I, you know, don't cross my mind. You know, and when I come to conferences like this, I'm here to learn, right, because I can be a better leader. I can be a better person in the industry, an advocate, an ally, when I listen to the problems and obstacles that women face that I haven't, so it's hard, like I can't help avoid something if I don't see it either correct and and and and it can be, it can be built in bias, right, it really can.
Speaker 1:So for yourself as a, as a mentor now, cause you know you're kind of on the mentor side of this, not to I don't want to say that you're, you know whatever, but you know you're, you've been here a long time, you know what are the things that you're trying to mentor young women, or really, as a group, awm is trying to mentor younger women it's getting like I said getting out of the comfort zone, having your elevator speech and being able to feel comfortable selling yourself, I mean you know, promoting yourself
Speaker 2:making your skills, promoting your skills and asking for what you want. Because? Because, as you said, all they can do is tell you no.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have you seen a big change in your career over the last 20 some years of the ability or the comfort of young women to do as you said?
Speaker 2:Yes, I've talked to people at the conference and they're already doing it. So they're learning and being able to do it.
Speaker 1:Like I mean we see all the time that if you're an aggressive male, it's you know way to go, billy, but if you're an aggressive female, it's oh no, you're, uh, whatever right that. Has that diminished at all in the steel industries? Have you seen that kind of is are we getting?
Speaker 2:better, I think, I think we better.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think it would be nice when you don't need associations.
Speaker 3:Yeah, ideally.
Speaker 2:Ideally when you don't have to have all the different associations, whether for women or anybody, for the diversification.
Speaker 1:Where it was just naturally that way.
Speaker 2:But at least we're here to help the young women to get their voice. That's what we want to do, is is show them that they've got a voice and that it's okay to speak.
Speaker 1:And what about other diversity groups that may, you know, kind of tag on? Like you know, does the LGBTQ, you know community have a place here at AWMI as well?
Speaker 2:You know people that are also are looking for support and not sure where to go. Yes, yep, awmi is is part of that. They, we, we don't see.
Speaker 1:We're very diverse good, good, well, and I've seen nothing but amazing things. Two years ago, when we got uh placed next to you at where was that fabtech or no? The?
Speaker 2:ais c nas NASCC. Yeah, yeah, in Denver In.
Speaker 1:Denver. So when we were there at that show, we got put right beside you, where all the associations are. You know the back of the room, like you said, and you know we start chit-chatting with you guys, you and Beth. It was so eye-opening to me Because it's one of the things that frustrates me is how do associations don't know about other associations? We almost need to have like an index card or yellow pages of associations, because we had an issue that we were looking to tackle as an association in canada supporting the welding and and fabrication industry, of how to increase women in the workforce. Right, we know that we're at less than 5% of the workforce is women and we were actively and still actively trying to find programming and resources to try to correct that. And we get put next to you and here we are, a whole association that's built by strong women, for strong women, to advocate for women in the industries. It's like, well, why do I got to reinvent the wheel, let's just connect, you know.
Speaker 2:Right and that's the idea of also connecting with your association is because we want the diverse membership. We don't want just sales and technical, you know, and you know we've got sales and engineer and HR, but we want to get the ladies that's on the floor. We want the welders and the machinists you know part of our association too, because we want the diversity of our association.
Speaker 1:Well, and we want to see those women climb the ladder too.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:That's one of the things that I talk about.
Speaker 1:I take back to my industry and my work all the time is, you know, we've invested millions into what I say is the top of the funnel. You know, trying to get young women, stem programs, into welding or fabrication, try to get them onto shop floors, but we run into obstacles. The middle of the funnel is rough. We have biases, we have, you know, unsafe workplaces. We have a lack of women's, you know, safety clothing there's just, you know, obstacle after obstacle after obstacle as you try to just try to make it comfortable for someone to just get up and go to work, and then, on top of that, you have toxic workplaces, bad attitudes and bad bosses, and so for me, a lot of the focus has been changing or evolving into not just getting them in, but how do you keep them.
Speaker 1:You know, how do you keep them in the trades? How do you make sure that they maybe in 10, 15 years, their supervisors, supervisors, they're business owners, they are owning the weld shop, they are developing the patents. You know what I mean. How do we, I guess? How do we start doing that?
Speaker 2:Well, and that's part of our corporate membership for AWMI is being able to keep them because you know we have our corporate membership and we've got 83 corporate members and having those companies support and supporting AWMI helps us grow the women because they're growing the women within their organizations.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:And so you know. So that helps when other companies see companies supporting an association like ours or any other association. It gives them something to think about. It's like oh what do they see in that association that I don't know about?
Speaker 1:Right right Now, in your role as international membership chair, how do you go around, or how do you go about bringing in more international members? What's part of your, I guess, daily duties?
Speaker 2:when you look at what AWMI is doing, I go out and I reach, I look at companies, like when I attend trade shows. I look at other companies that are there that have no idea what AWMI is.
Speaker 2:So I attend AWMI, attends trade shows. We have a booth so I can you know whoever is attending and representing us can get the word out, Because I was at just at MetalCon last week and there was people there that said, oh, I didn't know your association existed, so it's getting out in front of them, but also looking at and sending emails and picking up the phone and working with our chapters. Each chapter has a membership chair also.
Speaker 2:So, it's working with the chapters to reach out to the diverse companies that touch the metal industries, because we not only want to support the producers, but we want the welding associations, we want the weld shops. We want the welding associations, we want the weld shops, we want the fabrication shops, we want all of them to be part of the association, for that way all the women can learn.
Speaker 1:And when you say be a part of the association, let's walk through what that process looks like. So I'm a company company X I build, you know, grain augers, and you know we have a few women on the floor, a couple in the office, and and I run into you at a trade show and you say, hey, join awmi, so we can help support your needs. You know what is it that you're offering these companies that'll make them want to be a part of your organization?
Speaker 2:we offer their employees as a mentorship program. Each of our chapters have eight, nine meetings a year where they offer tours into facilities that you wouldn't get to go into if you weren't part of the association events both professionally and personal growth benefits. And we offer the networking opportunities where they can reach out to any member. They can go, do a search on our database and say they want to talk to somebody In HR. They can search and see people that are in the same fields. Then we also offer our individual members a mentorship program that is awesome where they can apply and say, hey, you know, I've got this big project coming up. I need help. So they can reach out and ask for a mentor to help them get through that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's amazing. And how do people join? You know what's the easiest way if someone's listening to this podcast and they think you know I want to figure out what it is, or I'm a woman and maybe I can help or participate, or how do they join?
Speaker 2:They can just go to awmiorg and there's a little button there that says join AWMI, or they can, you know, send an email to headquarters. That'll forward it to me if they want more questions. And as international membership chair, I will respond to both corporations and the individual people that are interested.
Speaker 1:But we, when we see what area they're in, we will filter them out to the chapters for they will connect them to the chapters so, for example, I'm a part of the toronto chapter because, um, that's the only one in canada right now. I don't live anywhere near Toronto. Our staff does, our headquarters is right outside of Toronto. So that makes sense. But for me out in the prairies in Canada, out in the West, is there a future of AWMI? Out in our neck of the woods?
Speaker 2:We've got a lot of locations that's on the radar. It's getting the champions on the ground, because the AWMI leadership cannot be everywhere, right? So you've got to get your champions on the ground.
Speaker 1:That will help you. And if someone was interested in perhaps setting a chapter up or looking to do something like that in their area, which they don't see on the map is represented, how would they go about doing that? I guess just joining and having that conversation, right?
Speaker 2:Joining have the conversation. There's a click on the website to email headquarters so they can email to get more information. We do have an expansion committee now that will Okay, cool. A chairperson that is working at that, because last year we actually started two provisional chapters last year and one of them has been voted in as an affiliate chapter wow this year so and the other one we gave an extension because with weather and things that happened, so we had to yeah but. I mean.
Speaker 1:I mean the growth is phenomenal, right, it's very steady growth Now, with AWMI being over 40 years old, and tenure of the people within the organization. You know there's quite a bit of leadership within this conference this week that really is inspirational to almost anybody in the industry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the conference is a very good upbeat, great learning experience, and it also just gets your blood boiling. I mean it really inspires you to go out and for the leaders of the chapters that come to go back and do lots of different things in their chapters, because they all get to interact with each other and they learn from each other. So we're not reinventing the wheel.
Speaker 2:Somebody will say, oh, I've had this program and it was successful. So they go back and look and see if their membership would be interested in it. So they have a program like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. All right, well, we're coming up to the end of the interview here, I guess. For the next couple days, what are the things that you're excited for? What are the couple things on your calendar for this week here at AWMI's conference that you're super pumped for?
Speaker 2:Well, we've got our new member first-time attendee reception tomorrow evening before the welcome reception. And that's kind of like my baby it's, it's got it's well we've got over 120 of a new member first-time attendees that's actually attending the reception, but I think our number is like almost 140 of our attendees are members that are new members and first-time attendees or just first-time attendees.
Speaker 3:That's never been to a conference.
Speaker 2:And so it's nice to share what the conference can give everyone. I mean because the panels and the speakers, it's just such a diverse conference.
Speaker 1:It gives a little bit for everybody. That's awesome. I'm very excited to be a part of it for the next three days here. I have a big mouth so hopefully I can be a part of conversations and talk and, and you know, if I I I'm looking forward to getting some honest feedback and people and I want to learn. I want to learn, I want to be an invite, I want to be uncomfortable. You know what I mean. I want to be outside of my comfort zone. You know this is. This isn't my conference, this isn't even for me, right? I'm just here to be an ally and learn what I can. So you know I'm very pumped and I guess thank you for all the work you do for setting these things up.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, and thank you for being here to support us, and I'm sure you will learn just as much as everyone else.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, thanks, becky, and any shout outs or anything you'd like to say to anyone before we go.
Speaker 2:I just want to thank all the AWMI members and leadership that's keeping the organization strong.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, thank you All the people that have been watching and downloading the podcast. We're here in Nashville today recording all day, so we're going to have a few from this, episodes from the conference. So make sure you check them all out. They're going to be super fun. We are pumped here to be a part of this for the next three days. Check out awmiorg if you're interested, of course. Become a member with us at cwbassociationorg, all the orgs and uh, you know we have programming as well to support and up and up and help you upskill and empower your career. But specifically for the women, please join awmi and be a part of both of us. You know we are looking to work together in the future and there's, I'm sure, lots of touch points that we can collaborate with. So until the next episode, you guys, take care and I'll see you there.
Speaker 3:We hope you enjoy the show you've been listening to the cwb association welding podcast with max. If you enjoyed what you heard today, rate our podcast and visit us at cwbassociationorg to learn more. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions on what you'd like to learn about in the future. Produced by the CWB Group and presented by Max Holm, this podcast serves to educate and connect the welding community. Please subscribe and thank you for listening.