The case for investing in women is strong. Research shows that companies with robust female leadership experience lower turnover, greater return on investment, and collectively higher IQ. Female leaders score high on innovation, communication, and methodology in the workplace.
For anyone who has worked with strong women, these metrics probably seem obvious. You might even question why, in 2017, we need to advocate for women in the workforce. And yet the data shows that we have a long way to go.
Today, only 23 percent of senior management positions in the United States are held by women, and 31 percent of U.S. businesses have no women in senior positions. The numbers are creeping up, but not quickly enough.
At Nordic, we're committed to building a company that seeks out, supports, and elevates female leaders. But we know that creating this company is about much more than posting a diversity statement on our website. Ensuring diversity means going the extra mile to ask our female employees, consultants, and applicants what they need from us – and then showing up to support them.
So what are we doing to support our women? Well, a few things. One of our top priorities is building a leadership team that reflects the population. Our executive team is more than one-third female, with a goal to bring on more women.
We are also working to better support our female employees during all stages of their career. For example, we know that a fast-paced career like consulting may not seem compatible with the transition to parenthood and that trying to balance the two can seem overwhelming.
That’s why we go the extra mile to provide flexibility and support for new parents and to act as an advocate for our consultants internally and with our clients. We go above and beyond to accommodate a flexible work schedule or non-traditional workload for new mothers because we know the alternative is the loss of exceptional female talent.
In this video, Nordic Senior Consultant Katy Ptaszynski shares her experience of Nordic going the extra mile to support her as a new mother.
Take a few minutes to watch. We hope you’ll find it inspiring.