ISA Women in Industry Network hits its stride entering its second decade.
A cover story published in the July/August 2022 issue of the Industrial Supply Magazine by Rich Vurva.
While the name recently changed, a 10-year-old group focused on women in the industrial supply channel remains laser focused on its mission. The purpose of Women in Industry, formerly called Women Industrial Supply Executives (W.I.S.E.), is to advance the development, influence and inclusion of women within the industrial channel.
“The name change came about because we decided to be much more inclusive and look at a broader group of women. It made sense to open up beyond executives and to broaden that to women of all levels within the industrial channel,” says network chair Molly Langdon, senior vice president of customer experience at Stellar Industrial Supply.
Including “executives” in the original name was a stumbling block for some potential members, who weren’t sure if their job title earned them a right to belong.
“There were a lot of questions about what does an executive mean?” says Langdon. “So changing the name from Women Industrial Supply Executives to Women in Industry allowed us to do the same work that we always intended to do.”
The network within the Industrial Supply Association (ISA) provides educational and networking opportunities for women at all levels within member companies. Brendan Breen, president of ISA, credits much of the group’s success to its founder, Kathleen Durbin, CEO of General Industrial Tool and Supply of Burbank, California.
“The Women in Industry network is such an important part of both ISA and this channel. The vision set forth by the charter members of W.I.S.E. led by Kathleen Durbin and many others has brought the critical issue of diversity in the channel to the forefront. This group’s tireless commitment to their shared vision gives ISA member companies the ability to leverage the power of this network and ultimately be more successful,” he says.
An annual Women in Industry Summit and other projects support the group’s mission. For example, the Women in Industry Mindful Leadership Series is an online, quarterly series of presentations from Rachel Gorman, an executive coach, speaker, and facilitator. The sessions are designed to provide time for personal reflection and small-group discussion to help participants learn tools to improve communication skills, build trust and rapport, reduce stress, have a better work-life balance, and become more productive.
