Solarity celebrates its female leaders for Women's History Month

For the second year in a row, Solarity Credit Union, led by CEO Mina Worthington and COO Carrie Moore, has an entire lineup of all-female vice presidents who direct an array of departments, from business intelligence to accounting to member experience. To highlight some of these women leaders, the credit union has launched its “Solarity Spotlight” video podcast. These leaders discuss what Women’s History Month means to them, other women who inspire them, how they rose in an industry with far fewer women in leadership positions and offer advice for women who may be holding themselves back.

“It’s exciting to highlight these leaders and learn what moves and motivates them,” Worthington says. “Women’s History Month is a time to reflect on the fabulous contributions that women have made to the founding and prosperity of our nation. It’s also a time to recognize the women who blazed trails so that I, and all women, could have the abundant opportunities that are available to us today.”

In financial services, men hold 81% of leadership positions, according to research by both McKinsey and Deloitte. With its strong female representation, Solarity is bucking the trend and paving the way for other women who aspire to lead in financial services.

 “It’s refreshing to be in meetings with these women and watch them in their element with their teams because, as we know, representation matters,” says Worthington. “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 54,000 members in the state of Washington and beyond. These female leaders help inspire more than 170 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 a top home lender for the Yakima region and its annual “Best Credit Union” status, as voted on by Yakima-Herald Republic readers.

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.