VIDEO: The Convenience Channel's Rise as a Top Workplace for Women

NATIONAL REPORT — Convenience Store News recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) awards program — a decade of spotlighting the achievements of established and emerging female leaders advancing the convenience retail channel. 

Over the last decade, the U.S. convenience store industry has made tremendous strides to become an employer that values the voices of women, recognizes their contributions, and lays the foundation for female advancement and leadership across all segments of the industry. 

Here, we take a look at how three industry-leading companies — Yesway, Casey's General Stores Inc. and Sheetz Inc. — have positioned themselves as top workplaces for women. 

Yesway, which operates 440-plus stores under the Yesway and Allsup's banners, took home the 2023 Top Women in Convenience Corporate Empowerment Award. This annual honor goes to a convenience retail company that commits to gender equality, paves the way to empower women in leadership roles and is a champion for the inclusion of women in the goals and vision of the enterprise.

Last year's Top Women in Convenience Corporate Empowerment Award winner Casey's, which operates more than 2,500 stores in 16 states, continues to move the needle toward the advancement of gender equality across the organization. 

And Sheetz, which operates nearly 670 stores in six states, recently earned a spot on Forbes' 2023 America's Best Employers for Women ranking. Earlier this year, the company was included in the 2023 Companies That Care list compiled by Great Place to Work and PEOPLE magazine.

The Top Women in Convenience awards program would not be possible were it not for the efforts of these companies and others in creating workplaces where women are supported, encouraged and given the opportunity to shine.