NEWS RELEASE: California High-Speed Rail Authority Recognized as Employer of Year by Bay Area Organization Advancing Women in Transportation​

September 21, 2023

OAKLAND, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) has received the prestigious 2023 Employer of the Year Award at the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) – San Francisco Bay Area Chapter’s annual gala. The award recognizes the Authority’s work, efforts and initiatives in fostering success for women and minorities.

Authority Northern California Deputy Regional Director Morgan Galli, with WTS Chapter President Jasmin Mejia,
accepts the Employer of the Year award at the SF Bay Area Chapter’s annual gala on Sept. 20.
Open for larger version.

“We are proud to recognize the Authority with the Employer of the Year award for their commitment to advancing women in transportation, which is reflected by their leadership team, of which 67% are women, and their workforce, of which 50% is female,” said Jasmin Mejia, WTS San Francisco Chapter President. “We celebrate the Authority for leading by example.”

In 2019, a report from the Mineta Transportation Institute revealed women make up less than 15% of all transportation workers, while U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports indicate women made up just 7% of the rail industry.

“The Authority is taking the lead on empowering women to take leadership roles in the transportation industry,” said Northern California Regional Deputy Director Morgan Galli. “It’s an honor to be part of an organization being recognized for prioritizing and cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce to deliver this groundbreaking, first-in-the-nation, environmentally sustainable transportation option.”

More than half of the Authority’s total workforce is female – as well as most of the executive team, many were appointed under the Newsom Administration. Major initiatives and programs led by women at the Authority include strategic delivery; legal counsel; strategic communications; legislative affairs; information technology; planning and sustainability; administration and human resources; diversity, equity and inclusion; engineering; and regional leadership.

Earlier this year, the Authority was recognized by WTS International as Employer of the Year and by the WTS Sacramento and Los Angeles chapters in 2022 as Employer of the Year. In January 2023, the Authority’s “I Will Ride” program received the prestigious Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award, which recognizes a transportation organization that has contributed significantly to promoting diversity, inclusion and multicultural awareness.

WTS, an 8,000-plus-strong organization with chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, is dedicated to shaping the future of transportation for the public good through the global advancement of women.

More information can be found here: www.wtsinternational.org/

Since the start of construction, the Authority has created more than 11,000 construction jobs, a majority going to residents from the Central Valley. The Authority has begun to extend the 119 miles under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. There are more than 25 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley, with the Authority having environmentally cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin, including the entire Northern California section from Merced to San Francisco.

Visit https://buildhsr.com for the latest construction information.

The following link contains the above as well as other recent videos, animations, photography, press center resources, and latest renderings: https://hsra.app.box.com/s/vyvjv9hckwl1dk603ju15u07fdfir2q8

These files are all available for free use, courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.