Across industries, a growing number of organizations are moving beyond conversation and taking meaningful action to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership roles. From building early-career pipelines to fostering cultures of inclusion and psychological safety, these companies are demonstrating that investing in women isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s a strategic imperative.
In the following profiles, we hear directly from companies that are walking the walk: launching women-focused employee resource groups, creating mentorship and sponsorship programs, partnering with schools and universities to inspire the next generation, and ensuring women are represented at every level — including the executive suite.
Their approaches are as diverse as the industries they represent, but the commitment is the same: to create environments where women don’t just survive, but truly thrive as leaders.
What actions has your company made to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership positions?
Northside Hospital is intentional about recognizing and elevating female talent at every level of the organization. We actively promote from within, ensuring women have access to leadership pathways through formal mentorship, succession planning, and leadership development programs. Women are represented at every level of the organization, including senior and executive leadership, and we focus on providing growth opportunities through stretch assignments, continuing education, and leadership training that prepares them for advancement.
Can you describe how your company is building a pipeline of future female leaders, starting with early-career women and emerging talent?
We build our pipeline early by investing in emerging talent through internships, residencies, early-career development programs, and hands-on clinical and corporate training opportunities. Leaders are encouraged to identify high-potential women early in their careers and provide coaching, sponsorship, and exposure to cross-functional experiences. By fostering mentorship relationships and offering clear career pathways, we empower women to envision long-term growth and leadership within Northside Hospital.
What’s the most important thing your company has done to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders?
The most impactful thing Northside Hospital has done is cultivate a culture rooted in support, flexibility, and trust. Women are empowered to lead authentically, with policies and leadership practices that recognize the importance of work-life balance, well-being, and inclusion. When women feel seen, supported, and valued—not just as leaders but as whole people—they are able to thrive, grow, and lead with confidence.
Check out Northside Hospital’s careers page here!
What actions has your company made to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership positions?
Builders FirstSource established the WE BUILD Employee Resource Group—Women Engaged Building Unity Innovation Leadership & Drive—to foster connection, share resources, and spotlight career paths for women. Building on that momentum, we launched our inaugural Women’s Leadership Conference in 2025, bringing together more than 250 attendees and earning an impressive 95 NPS score. The event expanded visibility for women across the company and created meaningful opportunities for networking and professional growth.
Can you describe how your company is building a pipeline of future female leaders, starting with early-career women and emerging talent?
Recruiting strategies include partnerships with schools and universities to attract early career women into fields that have historically been male dominated. To further support growth, supervised mentor cycles will launch in 2026, connecting emerging talent—including women—with experienced leaders for guided development. The organization is strengthening its talent pipeline by ensuring women are meaningfully represented in succession planning and calibration discussions. In addition, women are gaining broader exposure through participation in enterprise wide projects and cross functional initiatives, expanding both their experience and visibility across the organization.
What’s the most important thing your company has done to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders?
Senior leadership is reinforcing a culture of inclusion through action by actively sponsoring women focused initiatives such as the Women’s Leadership Conference and employee resource groups, demonstrating visible commitment from the top. This support is complemented by consistent celebration of women’s achievements, with female leaders recognized at major events and highlighted in internal communications to inspire others and elevate the impact of their contributions.
Check out Builders FirstSource’s careers page here!
What actions has your company made to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership positions?
Across the various roles at GE Vernova, women leaders are demonstrating exceptional prowess. Leveraging their distinct strengths and strategic acumen, they are courageously charting their courses and crafting remarkable narratives—both for themselves and for GE Vernova—through their leadership the Women’s Network was born, made up of 9000 women and allies focused on mentorship, retainment, and professional development.
Can you describe how your company is building a pipeline of future female leaders, starting with early-career women and emerging talent?
The GE Vernova Women’s Network has focused on outreach in early career through incredible volunteer efforts, such as participating in the 2025 Girls in Technology Summit- encouraging young women to embrace a future career in STEM. We hosted STEAM Girls camps at 8 sites across many countries partnering with schools, universities and with the energy of change our volunteer employees bring. Campers build rockets, robotic arms, circuit flowers along with confidence and connections. We are continuing a 14 year old tradition into 2026.
What’s the most important thing your company has done to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders?
Mentorship, professional development, and support are key aspects that the GE Vernova Women’s Network provides, leading the mission to of inspiring, elevating & empowering women & allies to advocate, network and develop an inclusive culture.
Check out GE Vernova’s careers page here!
What actions has your company made to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership positions?
Motive takes a deliberate approach to supporting women leaders. This includes bias-mitigated hiring practices, diverse interview panels, and monitoring representation and pay equity at senior levels.
The company’s Women at Motive ERG plays a central role in developing leadership talent. Through mentorship meet-ups, employee spotlights, career panels, and ERG leadership roles, it serves as a visible incubator for future people leaders, ensuring women have opportunities to grow, be seen, and lead.
Can you describe how your company is building a pipeline of future female leaders, starting with early-career women and emerging talent?
Motive invests in talent development from day one. Through inclusive recruiting partnerships and competency-based hiring, more early-career women are brought into the organization and supported with structured opportunities for growth.
Programs like mentorship circles, skills workshops, and leadership panels provide emerging talent with visibility to executives, cross-functional networks, and practical tools to transition from individual contributor roles into leadership positions.
What’s the most important thing your company has done to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders?
Motive embeds inclusion, psychological safety, and equity into leadership responsibilities. Leaders are coached and evaluated on these outcomes, and feedback from women is actively gathered through ERGs and pulse surveys.
The Women at Motive ERG offers safe, visible spaces for candid discussion, skill-building, and actionable feedback, creating an environment where women can thrive as leaders and contribute fully to the company’s success.
Check out Motive’s careers page here!
What actions has your company made to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership positions?
Certinia’s EmpowerHER Employee Resource Group provides a platform to build the skills and network to advance the careers of women, celebrate success and build community. This employee-led, company-sponsored group has 134 members who drive initiatives across the company and in their local communities. Their three pillars of technical mastery, executive presence, and scalable career architecture provide focused development to accelerate the careers of women in both technical and people leadership. By focusing on scalable career architecture, we ensure that advancement isn’t left to chance, but is actively supported by clear competency frameworks. Women have reported that attending sessions like “I am Remarkable” have helped them overcome imposter syndrome to successfully pursue and attain promotions.
Our mentorship program, available to all employees, also provides a powerful tool for women to further their development. They can choose a mentor who has the type of role they would like one day, or who possesses skills or characteristics they would like to develop. And as they advance in their career, they can participate as mentors themselves building their leadership skills as coaches and advocates.
With a workforce made up of 37.5% women, Certinia exceeds the tech industry average. And that percentage stays consistent at the management level, all the way up to our executive team made up of 40% women.
Can you describe how your company is building a pipeline of future female leaders, starting with early-career women and emerging talent?
In 2024, we launched our Emerging Talent Advisory Board (ETAB). Each year, a cohort of high-potential early-career and emerging leadership talent is selected by our senior leadership team. These cross-functional global groups have included at least 50% women. They receive training in key areas including financial acumen and budgeting, communication and presentation skills and how to lead without formal authority. They gain executive exposure, work on high-profile projects like global recognition programs and employer brand, and serve as a feedback loop to the executive team on company culture, initiatives and employee sentiment. 87.5% of the women who participated received a promotion within the year – that says it all!
Our Women in Tech group in Granada, Spain, has an active partnership with local schools and universities, speaking to students about the opportunities for women to work in the technology sector. Each year, over 50 students come to our Granada office to learn from female leaders about their careers in tech and to try their hand at some actual engineering projects. Reaching students at age 15-16, it allows them to see their options for tech careers before they have to make crucial decisions about their educational paths.
This early career pipeline has shown to be successful as we watch women move from student to intern, then into an ETAB cohort and on to their next promotion.
What’s the most important thing your company has done to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders?
The most important thing our company has done is share, honor and celebrate the stories of the women of Certinia. This is particularly important in an age where much of our work is done remotely and we can’t always meet one another in person. Whether it’s getting a mini-MBA in Finance from our CFO, learning about innovative AI use cases developed by our VP of Global Go-to-Market Operations, or getting the latest developments on our product roadmap from our VP of Product Management, hearing directly from these women in leadership and seeing their impact shows other aspiring female leaders what’s possible.
We take the opportunity to share these stories both inside and outside of Certinia, leveraging Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day to highlight the challenges and accomplishments of women in business. Championing women in leadership is essential, but so is supporting one another on a very human level, with things like strong parental leave benefits, support for caregivers and sharing our stories of balancing work and family. By making space for the ‘whole person,’ we ensure that our leaders don’t just reach the top—they arrive there with the support and authenticity needed to thrive and pull the next generation up behind them.
Check out the Certinia careers page here!
What actions has your company made to identify, develop, and advance women into leadership positions?
At Vertafore, we’ve been intentional about creating real pathways for women to grow into leadership. Through initiatives like our Women in Leadership program and structured mentorship opportunities with increased access to senior leaders, we’re helping women build the skills, visibility, and sponsorship they need to take the next step. As we invest in initiatives like AI Immersion Week (a company-wide initiative solely dedicated to large-scale upskilling), we’re ensuring women are equally equipped and positioned to lead in the next era of insurance technology — not just participate in it.
Can you describe how your company is building a pipeline of future female leaders, starting with early-career women and emerging talent?
Beyond our own walls, we partner with organizations like Girls Who Code, a nonprofit dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology by equipping girls with computing skills, confidence, and community. During Vertafore Cares Week, we hosted Girls Who Code events across several of our offices, welcoming students for office tours, team introductions, dinner, and a speaker lineup featuring leaders across development, data science, security, and operations — including an interactive AI activity led by our Director of Security Operations. The evening wrapped with an open Q&A, giving participants direct access to real-world career insights and inspiration.
Internally, we continue that momentum through structured mentorship programs that pair emerging talent with experienced leaders, along with strong internal mobility and stretch opportunities that help women grow into leadership roles over time.
What’s the most important thing your company has done to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders?
The most important thing we’ve done is foster a culture of belonging — where women feel supported both professionally and personally. Women of Vertafore, our Employee Resource Group, plays a big role in that by bringing women and allies together to help women succeed in our historically male-dominated industry through professional development, networking, community, and support navigating the workplace. And representation matters — today, over 50% of our executive leadership team is female — which reinforces that women’s voices are not just welcomed here, they’re leading the way.