This year, Lafarge & Egge and Clackamas Welding sent three of our incredible women employees to the 12th edition of Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance (PNAA)’s Women in Aerospace conference. The conference was a fantastic opportunity for our employees to network, speak with, and learn from the nearly 250 attendees—all incredible women working in aerospace.
According to our employees, the event was full of good speeches, people, and a lot of really great food. But more so than that, the WIA conference is valuable for its function of uniting female employees no matter their company role or years of experience in the industry. The theme of the day was “Rising Together,” demonstrating an air of togetherness and mutual support in the room. In an industry where women are still the minority, a room of female mangers, floor leads, and executives shows that there are spaces for women to lead and thrive amongst their male counterparts.
One of the best parts about the conference was the diversity. Conference goers represented big players like Blue Origin and “littles” like us at Lafarge & Egge. According to Clackamas Welding’s general manager (and longtime WIA goer!) Nicole White, the conference wasn’t as “Boeing heavy” in attendance and speakers as it had been in previous years. She noted that it made the conference feel more inclusive and reassuring that there is work outside of the big companies.
The best tips came from the speeches. Alaska Airlines’ Amber Simonsen’s talk entitled “Next Week Will Be Better: How to Banish Burnout and Thrive at Work” discussed the work/life balance and how to adjust it on an individual level. The take home message was to work smarter, not harder. Using technology to manage and plan the week ahead is key; using Outlook, you can drag an email over from the inbox to the calendar to set a follow-up reminder!
Many of the speeches were held in the form of “power circle” discussions, allowing for more than the intended panelists to contribute to the conversation. One of the major topics was the concern over tariffs. Besides talking about how to manage and expectations of financial impacts, several women described “tariff scams” that their companies’ billing departments had seen. Their companies saw added tariff charges to their invoices, and, after asking the billing party to provide proof they paid the tariff, the fees magically disappeared. These discussions offered the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of these scams, the uncertainty of imports and exports for many manufacturers, and the knowledge of how women can respond to dubious charges in case they encounter them. In the supply chain and beyond, knowledge is power.
Above all, Nicole stated that her favorite speakers were ones who discussed leadership. Specifically, she appreciated those who spoke about how to know if you are a good leader:
“With our employees we do a lot of yearly reviews and check-ins and give them feedback, but it’s okay to ask them for feedback on yourself. You know you are being a good leader if they are comfortable enough to give you feedback and aren’t scared to say the truth. Being a new leader here in Clackamas, this really hit me as it’s normal to get feedback from my leaders/bosses but never thought about seeking it from my employees.”
– Nicole White, GM Clackamas Welding
Whether between coworkers, new networks, or even customers, the WIA conference stressed how open communication and honesty benefit companies and the employees who work diligently every day. The WIA conference was a fantastic experience for our employees at L&E and Clackamas, and we can’t wait to offer this opportunity again to our employees next year. To women in aerospace!
