BrightView recently celebrated the second anniversary of its first employee resource group: Growth in Relationships + Opportunities for Women (GROW).
GROW’s mission is to attract, promote and retain women within BrightView. Led by a group of women committed to the mission — who volunteer their time to ensure its success — GROW offers networking, professional development and leadership opportunities for the women of BrightView. To date, more than 300 women have participated in professional development with hundreds more benefitting from online programs.
”Women are clearly an underrepresented, yet capable group within the landscape industry and even here at BrightView,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView president and CEO and executive sponsor of GROW. “I’ve challenged our team to double the number of women in BrightView over the next three to four years, which will have a positive long-term impact on the company.”
GROW is comprised of five initiatives:
- Professional Development – Have in-person events across the country and webinars with external coaches and internal speakers who inspire, teach and help develop women.
- Networking – Create channels for organic, lasting relationship development, including an online community.
- Task Forces – Create cross-functional committees of women working together to solve business challenges and enhance existing programs.
- Community Service – Build a partnership with Dress for Success, a global nonprofit organization that provides professional attire for low-income women, to support women reentering the workforce following challenging life circumstances.
- Mentorship – Currently in development, this program will offer more opportunities to develop the talents of BrightView’s female team members.
“Nurturing the talented women of BrightView through GROW is something I take tremendous pride in,” said Amanda Orders, BrightView’s senior vice president for human resources and GROW co-leader. “GROW brings women together across BrightView to support each other, develop future leaders and create lasting, professional relationships. It started as a small idea and has grown into something rewarding for all involved.”
