Burns & McDonnell Recognized With the Energetic Women Excellence in Women’s Development Award

Energetic Women, founded by MEA Energy Association (MEA), is proud to recognize Burns & McDonnell with the Excellence in Women’s Development Award for their active efforts in achieving diversity and inclusion success. Renita Mollman, chief administration officer at Burns & McDonnell, accepted the award in June 2021 at the 13th Annual Energetic Women Conference: A Virtual Experience.

The Excellence in Women’s Development Award recognizes a company in the energy delivery industry that valiantly champions diversity and inclusion efforts via resources and active talent management that supports women in non-traditional roles, including engineering and operations.

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Burns & McDonnell was recently named one of Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity — a list based on results from an independent survey that looked at a representative sample of 60,000 employees working for companies employing at least 1,000 people in their U.S. operations. Questions included topics of age, gender equality, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQA+ and general diversity. They are proud to be among some of the most well-known brands in the U.S. and honored to be recognized for their efforts in creating an inclusive workforce for all.

“We are incredibly proud to acknowledge Burns & McDonnell for their supportive and proactive approach to improve female representation across all levels and titles of their company. Their internal resources for current employees coupled with their recruitment efforts, specifically targeting a diverse pool of candidates, make Burns & McDonnell a top contributor to collective diversity in the energy industry,” says Stacey Bonine, program services vice president at MEA.

Burns & McDonnell is committed to empowering their female engineers by connecting them with meaningful opportunities to advance their careers. Whether it is the company’s mentor program, professional development opportunities, or Professional Women’s Exchange (PWE), Burns & McDonnell provides the tools and resources necessary to help women realize and reach their career goals.

“In the workplace I think it’s really important for you to have people around you that will support you. You know, we’re all in the community, we all work as a community,” says Mollman. “We have to make sure to remember that and that none of us are in this alone.”

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Burns & McDonnell established the PWE to empower all women through business and leadership development opportunities. It serves as a platform for sharing unique experiences and building networks with other women at work as well as through current events, charitable organizations, and educational opportunities. More than 500 female employees are a part of the PWE, many of whom created mentoring relationships consistent with Burns & McDonnell’s philosophy of offering guidance and knowledge to support the career development of all employees.

Through the PWE and other companywide initiatives, Burns & McDonnell actively helps female employees develop meaningful careers while holding the door open wide for the next generation to uncover all the possibilities this field has to offer. They recruit high-quality employee-owners through minority and female organizations, college diversity advisory committees, career fairs, and conferences. These efforts result in a deliberate increase in the hiring of new female graduates.

Mollman hopes that in the future “it is just that we are an engineer, a scientist, a construction professional, and that we’re given the opportunities for advancement because we’re the best at our job.”