Solarity celebrates women leaders during Women's History Month

As Solarity Credit Union employees celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s become clear the financial institution is bucking an industry standard. Led by CEO Mina Worthington and COO Carrie Gabbard, Solarity currently has an entire lineup of all-female vice presidents who direct an array of departments, from mortgages to business intelligence to marketing. In financial services, men hold 81% of leadership positions, according to research by both McKinsey and Deloitte. With its strong female representation, Solarity is paving the way for other women who aspire to lead in financial services.

“You look around the room and really notice something like that, particularly because it isn’t always the case in banking,” said Worthington. “It’s refreshing because, as we know, representation matters. Early in my career, I had a female CEO. That experience taught me that I, too, could rise to that level.”

Solarity serves more than 54-thousand members in the state of Washington and beyond. These women leaders help inspire its nearly 200 employees to create innovative solutions for members in the constantly evolving financial services space. This group of diverse women, with a range of experience, helps the credit union maintain its status as top home lender for the Yakima region. 

“Everyone should have a home,” says Worthington. “It’s thrilling to see our inclusive organization make this happen in our community and beyond.” 

In addition to the visibility of its female leaders, Solarity promotes diversity across the organization. The credit union strives to hire employees who can identify and connect with its members. This includes recruiting bilingual employees, to provide better service to members whose first language may not be English. Currently, more than 36% of Solarity's employees speak two or more languages. Even prior to the pandemic, Solarity was exploring options to support remote workers, giving the credit union more flexibility in making geographically diverse hiring decisions.