In December of 2018, Varex Imaging signed the Corporate ParityPledge® after an employee brought it to their attention. Since then, the medical technology company has used internal communication tools to share the pledge with its employees, leading to more than 50 employees in multiple countries signing the Individual ParityPledge. As a result, Varex Imaging leads the way in individual pledges taken at a company.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the global company wants to spread its diversity goals through the entire organization to apply to more than just C-suite candidates. Chad Holman, Vice President of Human Resources, says that it is important “to look at more female candidates in key leadership positions, not just the executive suite…. This is a priority for the recruiting and talent acquisition team as well.”

The company’s core values have made the ParityPledge in recruiting an obvious fit. Kimo Pokini, Human Resources Business Partner at Varex Imaging, explained that the company has a “people” value: “one of the components of that people value is diversity.”

The company recently rolled out unconscious bias training to managers in an effort to reduce bias and create everyday leaders, and they have a Women’s Interest Network, which hosts events throughout the year and offers mentorship opportunities. As a global employer, Varex would “like to be seen as a good employer in all contexts,” says Holman. “We try to make sure that when we look at our pay practices, there’s no pay disparity within those, that we are supporting our community in these different diverse ways, and trying to really create a footprint of who we are as an organization, because we feel it’s the right thing to do.”

By making diversity and inclusion a key practice and not just about one program, Pokini says, “It goes back to how we want our employees to act and perform every day. We try to get it down to everyday work… and it feels like we’ll get there.”

While gender parity won’t be achieved overnight, Varex Imaging understands the importance of striving for diversity. “We have a better organization when we embrace diversity in all its shapes and forms,” says Holman. But he also asks a poignant question that more companies should consider: “Why do we need a business justification to have diversity in the organization?  It’s just the right thing to do.”