Specialist Staffing Group Commits to Achieving Gender Parity by 2030
Joining the Paradigm for Parity® Movement is the Company’s Latest Step to Address Gender Parity in Corporate Leadership Positions
Houston, TX – July 21, 2022 – Specialist Staffing Group, the US division of SThree plc, the leading provider of talent and consulting to the life sciences, engineering, and technology sectors, today announced that it has joined the Paradigm for Parity® coalition; pledging its commitment to close its global leadership gender gap by 2030.
“It has been a professional and personal goal of mine to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion are an ingrained and natural part of Specialist Staffing Group’s culture,” commented Sunny Ackerman, President, Americas, Specialist Staffing Group. “We use our platform as a leading STEM recruiting firm to create pipelines for underrepresented groups to become the next generation of STEM practitioners. Joining the Paradigm for Parity Movement will ensure that we ‘walk the walk’ within our own organization.”
As part of its commitment to the movement, will implement Paradigm for Parity's 5-point Action Plan, a set of specific actions that when concurrently implemented, will catalyze change and enable companies to more effectively increase the number of women of all races, cultures and backgrounds in leadership positions.
This action plan includes the following steps, which will help to active the long-term goal of establishing gender parity across leadership by 2030:
- Eliminating, or minimizing, unconscious bias in the workplace;
- Significantly increasing the number of women in senior operating roles;
- Measuring targets and maintaining accountability through regular progress reports;
- Basing career progress on business results and performance, rather than physical presence in the office; and
- Providing sponsors, not just mentors, to women well-positioned for long-term success.
“I proudly stand behind the actions that SThree has already taken to achieve measurable results in each of the five areas outlined in the Paradigm for Parity action plan,” said Ackerman. “This includes board training initiatives, employee resource group educational opportunities for allies, offering hybrid work and flexible hours and global mentorships.”
Under Ackerman’s leadership, SThree has achieved additional diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) related milestones such as:
- Introduced six employee resource groups.
- Hired two leadership roles dedicated to amplifying the US region’s DE&I and environmental social governance commitments.
- Implemented training to educate leaders on how to identify unconscious bias behaviors.
- Expanded the company’s Breaking the Glass program, SThree’s women in STEM initiative which amplifies women who work in the tech and renewable energy sectors.
As a result of her commitments to DE&I, the company has experienced significant changes including a US senior leadership team containing a 50/50 gender split, a first for the region, and the introduction of its STEM Equity Coalition, which is dedicated to job preparedness and mentorship for underrepresented groups looking to enter the STEM workforce.
Click here to learn more about the Paradigm for Parity® coalition and become a part of the movement.
About Specialist Staffing Group
Specialist Staffing Group, the US division of UK-listed SThree plc, brings skilled people together to build the future. It is the only global pure-play specialist staffing business focused on roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (‘STEM’), providing permanent and flexible contract talent to a diverse base of more than 9,000 clients in 15 countries. Visit https://www.specialiststaffinggroup.com/en-us/.
About the Paradigm for Parity® Movement
The Paradigm for Parity® coalition is comprised of CEOs, senior executives, founders, board members and business academics who are committed to achieving a new norm in corporate leadership: one in which women and men have equal power, status, and opportunity.
The coalition created the Paradigm for Parity® 5-Point Action Plan for corporations to accelerate the pace of gender equity in senior executive roles. This unique agenda defines bold and specific actions that, taken together and simultaneously implemented as a package, will catalyze change and enable today’s business executives to secure the best leaders of tomorrow. Visit www.paradigm4parity.com or follow us on Twitter using @p4parity to learn more about this exciting initiative.
