Hannover, Germany. Dynamic women in the wood processing and woodworking industry are definitely out there, even if they’re not always visible. Currently the ratio of females involved in the German wood and furniture industry is less than 20%, while in other countries, the figures are only slightly better. We can do more!

During the LIGNA trade fair from 27 to 31 May 2019 in Hannover, Germany, Deutsche Messe is inviting women to attend the "WOW – Women of Woodworking" event. This meeting will be held on Thursday, 30 May, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant located on the LIGNA showgrounds (at the Hannover Exhibition Center).

WOW stands for "WOW – Women of Woodworking" and consists of a consciously casual meeting by women, for women who are active in the wood and furniture industry. The goal of this parallel event held side-by-side at LIGNA is to encourage women to share their experiences and broaden their perspective by taking part in a wider network, and in so doing help promote diversity in the industry.

Christina Elsenbroek, CMP Marketing Coordinator at Stiles Machinery Inc. based in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan was the initiator of the first WOW meeting, which took place in April 2017 at the Stiles Executive Briefing Conference in Detroit, Michigan. In the course of subsequent meetings and trade fairs in the U.S., the group has more than doubled in size. Women working in the woodworking trades, the furniture and supplier industry, management, the subcontracting business, as distributors or in the media came together to share their experiences and ideas, to exchange challenges, solutions and resources and network with each other.

Now the LIGNA organizers are picking up on this momentum and inviting women from the wood processing and woodworking industry to attend WOW at LIGNA 2019 in Hannover. The event will be moderated by Stephanie Wagner, Project Director of International Trade Fairs at Deutsche Messe.

Registrations are now being taken at wow@messe.de.