WASHINGTON—A group of former "Rosie the Riveters" from Michigan recently took part in an Honor Flight to the nation’s capital, where they met with lawmakers.

BENGALURU, India—Wipro GE Healthcare has announced that its upcoming greenfield assembly plant here will be managed entirely by women.

NEW YORK—A new Study from Thomas and Women in Manufacturing shows that one in three manufacturing professionals and one in four manufacturing leaders are women. The medical-healthcare sector has the highest female-identifying employee presence at 54 percent.

Workforce diversity, both in leadership and the rank-and-file, is one of those ideals to which companies aspire without needing a true “business” reason.

AIKEN, SC—Diesel engine manufacturer MTU America hosts an annual Girls Day event at its assembly plant here. The goal of the event is to educate young girls on careers in manufacturing and to encourage their interest in a typically male-dominated field.

SHIRWAL, India—The air conditioner assembly line at Godrej Appliances’ factory here is completely managed and run by women.

DETROIT—GM CEO Dan Akerson plans to retire, and the automaker will appoint Mary Barra as his successor. GM’s senior vice president for product development, Barra will become the first female CEO of a major automaker.