Quest women win ACE award
A Quest Diagnostics business network designed to help women advance in the business world has won a prestigious award for its work in helping women reach higher leadership positions at the nationwide clinical laboratory services corporation.
The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) has named Quest Diagnostics’ Women in Leadership Employee Business Network the winner of the 2016 HBA ACE award.
ACE (Advancement, Commitment, Engagement) recognizes internal leadership programs that perform by advancing the careers of women in their respective organizations. The award will be presented on Nov. 3 at the 2016 HBA annual conference in St Louis.
“The HBA award is very prestigious,” said Sonya Engle, Quest Diagnostics business operations director based in Santa Clarita who also serves on the WIL steering committee. “It helps make others aware of who we are, what we do and how we impact patients’ lives, and I think that’s good for the community.”
WIL’s goal is to create a sustainable and competitive advantage for the company by fostering an inclusive community of gender diversity and increasing leadership, educational and networking opportunities for women.
“It was started in 2009 because we recognized that we have a strong women-based leadership in middle management,” said Engle. “But there was an opportunity to see more women get to the next level.”
A panel of industry leaders and academics judged ACE Award entrants against five criteria: measurable results and impact on target population; degree to which it supports the overall business; stewardship, or depth of commitment to the program; effectiveness of the execution; and built-in sustainability.
WIL has been flourishing in recent times, according to Engle, who reports it has grown 220 percent in just two years.
“I live and work in Santa Clarita and have a couple of hundred people reporting to me who I want to see reach their full potential,” she said. “I use the Women in Leadership seminars and opportunities to develop myself and my staff.”