W.I.NG.S. – Taking Flight

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W.I.N.G.S. – Women Inspire and Navigate Great Success

AvPORTS’ Employee Resource Group (Female Affinity Group)
by Kimberly Madddox, VP – Human Resources

As Jorge Roberts shared in his introductory message, he and I have had many conversations about the demographics of AvPORTS. We discussed the lack of any females, except me, in the Airport Manager, Assistant Airport Manager or VP levels and above. Overall, there are only a handful of female managers and supervisors within the company. Many questions were tossed back and forth about what to do, how to do it, and when to engage.

Those conversations led to the formation of AvPORTS’ first Employee Resource Group (ERG). This first ERG is a Female Affinity Group where every female employee within AvPORTS is invited to join us. The group participates in a discussion, collaboration, support and growth initiatives for each individual and for the benefit of AvPORTS overall. 

Before sharing what this Affinity Group – WINGS is all about, let me share a few insights into why this drives me. I was raised in a house of 8. My poor father tried his best, but he wound up with 6 daughters. So, 7 women in a house, as you can imagine, was drama filled with seven strong women. Now, my father was of a time where, even with 6 daughters, women were not to do certain work, participate in sports, or even pursue higher education. I am number 5 of the sisters and was the first within my family to attend a 4-year university. My mother encouraged me to move out and move on. My mother was my strength and she took a nod from me and went back to school herself. My mother and I graduated from college on the same day, same year, different universities at the same time. A phenomenal day. I worked my way through college and wound up falling into what has become a 30+ year career in Human Resources. HR began for me at Macy’s in Topeka, KS. The Personnel Manager (ages me) tapped me for an open position in training and payroll and that started my journey. I have had the distinct pleasure of working for some extraordinary women in my career and to this day recall experiences that propelled me forward on those days when I wanted to step away. Diversity and inclusion has been a part of every cell of me from infancy until now. So, there was no arm twisting or convincing me that heading a female affinity group for the company would benefit everyone within AvPORTS. 

Women, diverse women, make up the world in which we live and in which we work. The diverse thought of the regular members of the ERG led to the creation of our name W.I.N.G.S. (Deborah Miller) and then led to the collective meaning; Women Inspire and Navigate Great Success. We worked collaboratively to identify what we will represent within AvPORTS and for our individual selves. We jointly developed our Mission, Vision and further determined what would be our initial contributions to the company. We had to determine and agree what would be our first initial projects to undertake. The effort began in June 2020 during the pandemic we continue to live through. The regular members have given of their time, energy and thought about our initial contribution to the company. From the onset I shared that yes, part of our mission would be contributions to the overall company, but we would never forget the W.I.I.F.M.: :What’s in it for me.” Like anyone, the WINGS members need to embrace the personal gains of being an active member. Self-assessment, outside speakers addressing a myriad of topics, courses, certifications, and personal reading assignments are all part of the WIIFM for the WINGS members. As Jorge stated, the advancement and empowerment of women in the workplace is critical to AvPORTS long-term success.  

WINGS Mission Statement: 

ENGAGE, EMBRACE, ENRICH & EMPOWER WOMEN

Vision & Strategy:

Promote and foster a respectful inclusive environment where member voices count. We commit to:

• support company strategies
• identify and develop opportunities for advancement by recruiting and retaining talent with a focus on gender diversity, equality and pay equity. 

Mr. Roberts gave a presentation during the July 2020 board meeting to ensure the Board’s awareness that the organization is active and productive with deliverables forthcoming by year-end.

A WINGS page on this website is a place for members’ furtherance of communication within the group.  As a result of the initial meeting, the membership formed subcommittees regarding the advancement of female recruitment into AvPORTS, as well as a committee focused on information gathering to assist new hires, and non-aviation-experienced employees with acclamation to AvPORTS, airport operations, and the aviation industry at large.

Current Members: