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Commentary
March 26, 2025|Rapid Transit

An Ambassador of Change for Women at PATH

Written by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Staff
Polite in a PATH Jersey City facility where supplies and materials for her division are stored.
On Patrice Polite’s first day at PATH in 2009, two things stood out. The first was just how nervous she felt when she reported for duty to the car equipment division facility in Harrison. The second was how few women she ran across during Day One – only one other, in fact. That one woman showed her the ropes and helped navigate her new surroundings.

Less than a year later, Polite transferred to PATH’s power, signals & communications division, where she currently is the supervisor of training. She hasn’t forgotten the gender discrepancies she’s encountered along the way. Now in a position to help effect changes herself, Polite is leading the charge to open up meaningful career opportunities for women in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

“It’s still lonely sometimes,” she said, with a laugh. “But we are working to recruit more women into the department.”

With the guidance of Director/General Manager Clarelle DeGraffe, Polite has embraced the role of ambassador for change at PATH. She is working with Fransisca Shuler, PATH’s manager of business services, on the launch of the PATH Women’s Council, an employee group to support female PATH staff. She is also visiting community organizations and schools to discuss her own career and what the railroad has to offer as an employer.

“I tell them, this is a family here at PATH, we respect each other, we stay close to each other,” said Polite, a single mother of an 8-year-old son. “It’s an organization that treats you like you want to be treated, a place where you can grow and progress.”

Two trailblazers at Journal Square: Jackie Robinson’s statue and Polite, the first black woman to work in her division in PATH.

The job, Polite noted, has evolved since her first days at the Harrison facility: greater reliance on technology, reduced demands on lifting and moving heavy equipment, and a slowly expanding pool of qualified female candidates. Still, she said finding more qualified women and getting them interested in a PATH career is an ongoing challenge. Her current division has three women among its ranks, the same as when she arrived in February 2010.

“I think a lot of women look at skilled trades as male-dominated trades. They think that it’s all heavy lifting or big tools or the equipment is just extremely complex. And it’s not, not at all. Women should not be intimidated by jobs like these.” – Patrice Polite, PATH’s power, signals & communications division, supervisor of training

The development of a women employee’s council at PATH is part of an ongoing Port Authority-wide campaign to engage more women in key roles. The PATH Women’s Council is planning to join other female employee associations across the agency under the banner of the larger female employee group, Port Authority Women’s Council. Polite’s goal is ambitious: 20 percent of jobs in the signals group held by women in five years.

Polite out in the field supervising Niquette Christopher, one of PATH’s few female signals staffers in their division.

“Recruiting talented women to fill many of our skilled positions at PATH has been a challenge over the years,” DeGraffe said. “That’s why creating the PATH Women’s Council is so important, and why Patrice’s abilities and experience make her ideally suited to carry out this mission.”