Pittsburgh, PA - On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) CEO Will Pickering joins a panel discussion on gender equity at the ACE22 Conference hosted by the American Water Works Association (AWWA).
PWSA has made consistent progress to recruit or promote women into leadership roles. In fact, 33% of positions in executive leadership are held by women and in senior management, women hold 36% of all leadership positions. While the session focuses on gender equity, it also presents an opportunity to highlight our current cultural changes related to diversity, equity and inclusion and feature the progressive direction of PWSA.
With the release of the Water Equity Road Map in 2021, PWSA has made it a key priority to establish an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workforce that proportionately reflects the diversity within Pittsburgh. Over the past year, we have hired a Workforce Development Manager to support our talent pipeline with external outreach and partnership development, focusing on our diverse and underserved demographics both at PWSA and within the water sector. The session provides an opportunity to highlight recent achievements and demonstrate how we are leading the way to become a utility that values and celebrates diversity.
Recent accomplishments include:
- Developing and implementing an organizational Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policy to showcase our commitment to developing and maintaining a diverse workforce and talent pipeline fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Ongoing training to reinforce the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognize conscious and unconscious biases, and promote fair hiring and management practices.
- Expanding partnerships and recruitment practices to intentionally reach diverse candidates, and underrepresented individuals.
- Investing in professional and leadership development programs so all employees have an opportunity to grow within the organization, develop the skills to become future leaders, and have the aptitude to foster an inclusive environment.
- Launching a culture campaign to raise awareness and promote inclusivity among all backgrounds including gender, race, and socioeconomic standing.
"From training to recruitment, examining existing biases and creating a more flexible work environment, we are implementing profound changes that will make PWSA a better and leading organization,” said Chief Executive Officer Will Pickering. “I am proud of this progress and excited to share our story at the ACE22 Conference,” he continued.
