Together WE Rise.

Women in Electronics (WE) was formed by a group of 20 women in the electronics ecosystem during its inaugural conference in the fall of 2017. WE was the brainchild of electronics industry veteran, Jackie Mattox, who soon brought in Monica Highfill and Amy Keller to form the Executive team in efforts to build the organization with the premise of members working collaboratively to find inspiration, strength, and empowerment through a sense of community to impact gender parity results in the electronics ecosystem. 

Since its initial inception, WE has grown globally and evolved into WE United, which promotes a leadership style of civility, ethics, and humanity, encouraging both women and men at every stage of their careers to come together through various development opportunities to set bench strength for leadership succession in the electronics supply chain, digital solutions & software sectors, and related end-user markets that are dependent on technology for growth and expansion.

Eye-opening industry days and statistics are the driving force for WE. Studies show that gender parity creates a 19% increase in relative returns. However, in the electronics/high-tech industry, change in gender parity within leadership ranks has been very slow. WE is a focused and dedicated organization to keep parity a topic at the forefront of leadership tables, forming a unique bridge from the people to their organizations, while focusing on career development for high potential talent. 

Jackie, Monica, and Amy have diligently maintained the cadence of weekly Executive Team meetings since WE’s inception and have grown the organization by expanding the Board of Directors and working closely with industry leaders on the Advisory Council. 

The three main pillars of WE are Leadership Growth and Development, Mentorship, and Community. “Through the guidance of Amy Keller, our Leadership Growth Series aims to help women overcome barriers and increase confidence in their personal and professional lives. We found that men and women have different attitudes and requirements for success in their professional lives,” says Jackie. “For example, studies show that many women don’t have the opportunity to participate in traditional informal mentorship that men so naturally facilitate. Women tend to respond positively to a formalized program, whereas more men are at ease with asking for guidance in casual settings. In response the need, WE created a global, formal Mentorship Program led by Monica Highfill. Paired with our programs, we continue to expand globally through the grass roots efforts of our chapters, and it’s been amazing to witness members forming such solid connections that they wouldn’t have had before WE”. 

To culminate our annual development, the Annual Leadership Development Summit brings members together in-person for an intensive leadership growth experience. We continue to come alongside the industry with panel discussions and our WE United podcast highlighting industry leaders and the latest industry topics. 

Moving forward, we have plans to expand our growing Career Corner and Collegiate Initiative and welcome your participation. 

It is our pleasure to serve you, and we look forward to welcoming both individual members and corporate alliances into the WE United community!