Women working in Inland transit companies accept chance

For the first time in San Bernardino County's history, all of its transit companies are led by ladies, a shift that highlights the growing presence of women in what has actually been a historically male-dominated industry.

In January, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority selected Nancie Goff as CEO of the Victor Valley Transit Authority, the 2nd largest transit operator in the county providing bus service in Victor Valley. She replaces Kevin Kane, who is retiring after a 24-year career.

Goff began her profession at VVTA in the 1990s. While it wasn't the industry she had actually prepared to settle into, she said, she discovered herself offering for jobs and moving up the ranks.

" I offered for the task," said Goff. "Because I informed the boss I will look after that project, I will look after this, or that, I will do it, I will do it … … I had the ability to find out so much about the agency as a whole instead of simply one little side note."

Like Goff, other women leading the transit firms in San Bernardino and Riverside counties have actually embraced opportunity and development as they navigate a field that continues to be dominated by males.

" That is so crucial," said Kristin Warsinski, CEO of Riverside Transit Agency, serving western Riverside County. " There is no inspiration in the future for young girls if they can't visualize themselves in the functions therefore to see someone who resembles you and seeing them doing it is actually effective."

Warsinski discovered transit as an opportunity to work for the community. She started out at Beaumont Municipal Transit in 2010 before signing up with RTA in 2015. She worked with grants and financing and took the opportunity to construct on relationships and get a full view of the company.

" Honestly, there are a lot of women in leadership positions at RTA and other agencies," said Warsinski. "I know more female CEOs now than there were when I began for sure."



< img decoding =" async "class =" alignnone size-article_inline lazyautosizes lazyload "src ="/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 620% 2C9999px & ssl = 1" alt="" data-sizes =" car" data-src ="/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 620% 2C9999px & ssl = 1 "data-srcset ="/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 620% 2C9999px & ssl = 1 620w,/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 780 %2C9999px & ssl = 1 780w,/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 810% 2C9999px & ssl = 1 810w,/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 1280% 2C9999px & ssl = 1 1280w,/ wp-content/uploads/2023/ 04/IDB-L-STEM -0328- revised.jpg?fit = 1860% 2C9999px & ssl = 1 1860w" > As of January 2023, women made up 18.6 % of the workforce in transit and transit support positions, according to a month-to-month report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics at the U.S. Department of Transportation. "When I first began in transit, all basic managers, operations managers, they were all men who actually liked golf, "stated Cheri Holsclaw, basic supervisor of Morongo Basin Transit Authority, which serves Yucca Valley, Twenty-nine Palms, Joshua Tree and Morongo Valley.

Holsclaw said she took her job one step at a time and simply kept moving on. She discovered jobs of interest and handled what she might to expand beyond her role in grants and finances.

According to a PEW Research report from 2021, ladies represent 50% of those used in STEM (science, mathematics, technology and engineering) positions but the numbers lean heavily towards the medical field. In the study, PEW researchers discovered that across 6 STEM job groups, ladies comprised 74% of healthcare specialists and specialists.

The report went on to state that females remain underrepresented in the engineering and computer sciences fields, representing 15% of employees in engineering and 25% in computer technology.

" For the longest time I would often take a look around and I would be the only lady in the space," stated Anne Mayer, executive director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission, serving Riverside County.

Mayer finished an engineering degree from Michigan State University in the 1980s prior to transferring to California to start a career with the California Department of Transportation. Mayer recalled her very first assignment on a construction project and being yelled at by a professional for the very first time.

" You discover not to get ruffled by specialists swearing and chewing out you. There was a great deal of screening going on," stated Mayer.

In the 1980s, females comprised just 10% of the labor force in engineering. That number gradually increased to 15% in 2019, according to a report that year from the U.S. Census Bureau.

" I think the market has changed," stated Mayer. "I am now turning up on 40 years in this company and I think it has actually changed in numerous aspects. But I do think that there is still not the sort of development that I would have expected in regards to the variety of ladies who remain in STEM programs."

Females in management positions in the innovation, details, and media industry only represent 32% of upper level or management positions, according to a 2023 report from LinkedIn.

The very same report said patterns revealed female representation in the technology market dropped off substantially at senior levels, like CEOs.

The reported showed that overall women made up 39% of senior leadership in administrative and support services.

Erin Rogers, CEO and supervisor of OmniTrans, said her preferred part of the task is the people who make the transit system work. In April 2023, all of San Bernardino County's transit agencies are led by women. (Photo courtesy OmniTrans).
" This market historically has been male controlled," stated Erin Rogers, CEO and general supervisor of OmniTrans. "It still is, but it used to be much more so.".

Rogers was selected to lead OmniTrans, which serves 15 cities and unincorporated locations in San Bernardino County, in 2019. She started her career in 1989 working for a private transit business in Massachusetts prior to carrying on to Orange County Transportation Authority in the early 2000s. She was with OCTA for 16 years prior to signing up with OmniTrans in 2017.

Rogers stated she fell into transit by possibility, and then fell in love with the hands-on work and the variety - - a belief shared by several of her counterparts at other Inland transit and transport firms.

" Every task has the prospective to be boring or amazing, be a dead end or the road to the next chance, the choosing aspect has constantly been attitude," said Sandy Benson, basic manager for Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority, which serves San Bernardino County's mountain communities.

Benson explored numerous profession paths prior to applying for an operations supervisor position in transit. She stated that her previous experience, which extended from upkeep shops to offering with youth programs, provided her the task abilities she required to succeed.

" I would state to just continue to find out and welcome challenges, be versatile, welcome originalities, don't be afraid to speak out," said Warsinski. "To raise your hand it is really essential to find your enthusiasm in life and when you do that doors open and things start to form.".