b'Gender Parity CollaborativeMEMBER SPOTLIGHTSWhy has it been necessary to create the Collaborativethis first ever industry consortium?Few industries compare to healthcare in its importance to society, its complexity and its demand for quality. Quest Diagnostics alone touches the lives of one in three adult Americans annually. By establishing this Collaborative, the member companies are taking the first vital steps to ensuring broader diversity of thought is represented across all levels in healthcare focused on gender parity. Frankly, we know there is truth in the old axiom, what gets An interview withmeasured gets done. The Collaborative expects companies CECILIA McKENNEY to commit to improvements, and there is a collective accountability to meet those commitments. Healthcare companies employ higher percentages of women which SVP and Chief Humanmeans we need to be the leader in gender parity.Resources OfficerHow does your participation in the Collaborativecomplement what you are already doing?Why was it critical for your organization to beIn pursuit of our goals to support women at Quest, we launched involved in the Gender Parity Collaborative? a company-wide employee business network called Women Inclusion inspires innovation, a key company value at Questin Leadership (WIL). WILs goal is to cultivate a more effective, Diagnostics. We know that innovation happens throughdiverse and sustainable organization by increasing educational collaboration and experimentation. The Collaborative providesand networking opportunities for women. WIL has grown to a great laboratory for ideas to germinate and be exchangedover 1,300 members of which more than 100 participated to accelerate gender parity in all the member companies.in a mentorship program last year alone. As a testament to Participating in the Collaborative is a way for us to proudlythe pivotal role our employee business networks play, WIL and publicly demonstrate our commitment to gender paritywas the pioneer behind our relationship with the Healthcare and gain access to a broad array of resources that helps usBusinesswomens Association (HBA), a relationship we look act on our goals in a faster and more effective manner.forward to continuing to expand upon. The Collaborative helps us make focused improvements in supporting women at Quest.As one of your organizations leaders, why are you For companies who have yet to join, what do you thinkpersonally committed to advancing gender parity intheyre missing out on?the workplace?Its understood broadly that diversity in the workplaceThe Collaborative offers a forum for accelerating change makes good business sense. It enables companies tothat on your own is very challenging to achieve. Just attract and retain the best talent, deliver superior resultstwo years in, this consortium is already demonstrating and all of that is aligned with the interests of shareholders.its impact on participating companies. Seventy-two That said, todays rate of improvement is simply notpercent have already observed increased support for fast enough incrementalism does not drive change. Bygender parity and nearly half have already attested the participating in the Collaborative, we have an opportunityCollaboration has helped them advance their womens to dig deep and uncover ideas on how to support womenagenda. That said, theres always more opportunity; the in new ways and overcome barriers to success. Equippedmore companies participate, the more representative and with these insights, we can accelerate the rate of change. valuable our research, the more impactful our dialogue and the more plentiful our resource of best practices. Its a win/win partnership; you do not want to be left behind.18 SPRING 2020'