Listen to this article

Far from being just a small cog in a larger machine, IMEG’s Minnesota office has carved out a space of its own based on a strong commitment to its employees, especially women.

“As a people-centered, national engineering and design consulting firm, we have intentionally localized our focus to serve carefully selected regions and markets. This allows us to put relationships and communities first without sacrificing expertise,” said Jen Bolstad, Business Development at IMEG.

“The engineering design company is deeply committed to promoting the professional growth and development of women within our company,” said Bolstad.

“We have a mentoring program that matches female technical employees with experienced mentors who can provide them with technical expertise, advice and support in their career development,” she said. “We also recently refreshed our employee resource group, including IMEG’s Women Connection, to give women in our company a space to network, share experiences and support each other in their career development.”

In addition, IMEG supports women through:

• Provides an online learning portal with resources such as courses, reading materials and self-assessment tools to more specifically support women’s career development needs.
• Actively promoting women in leadership positions based on their expertise and leadership qualities.
• Encouraging and supporting the participation of female employees in industry conferences and seminars to help them stay up to date with industry trends and network with colleagues.
• Providing ongoing learning opportunities and encouraging involvement in external professional associations and networks for women by providing funding for memberships and encouraging support for attendance at events.

In an industry where the proportion of women in technical roles has traditionally been lower, IMEG knows it can play a role in changing perceptions and outcomes, Bolstad said.

“We must continue to do our part to bring new ideas and perspectives to the engineering field to enable continuous advancement,” she said.