SAS receives ATHENA Global Organizational Leadership Award for women empowerment, diversity and inclusion efforts

CARY, N.C., Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition for commitment to fostering an inclusive, diverse culture that encourages women to achieve their full leadership potential, SAS will receive the 2021 ATHENA Global Organizational Leadership Award. One of only three organizations to have ever received the award, SAS will accept the recognition on International Women's Day, March 8, at 1 p.m. ET at a global virtual webinar with renowned author Carla Harris. SAS joins individual ATHENA award recipients that include Harris, astronaut Christina Koch and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

ATHENA International, a global nonprofit organization that aims to empower women leaders – especially in underrepresented fields – will honor SAS for its commitment to empowering women to take on leadership roles, support of women and girls in the STEM community and dedication to providing development opportunities specific to women employees and technologists.

"SAS has always been committed to creating a workplace culture where all employees are empowered to embrace their individuality and curiosity to think differently," said Michelle Proctor, Chief of Staff for Risk Research and Quantitative Solutions at SAS and sponsor of the SAS Women's Initiatives Network (WIN), an internal employee inclusion group with over 1,000 members globally. "Through WIN and external support of women in STEM and educational outreach for girls, including the SAS Women in Analytics (WIA) Network, SAS helps uplift women across our often male-dominated industry and encourages the next generation of women innovators."

SAS WIA aims to strengthen diversity in the analytics field, providing members inspirational events, career development and personal brand-building opportunities like its virtual casting call open for idea submissions from women and male allies across the industry.

"It's an honor to be receiving such a prestigious award," said SAS Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Jenn Mann, who will accept the award during the webinar event hosted by SAS WIA. "SAS has a long history of empowering and inspiring women. We believe it's critical not just for our success, but our communities, and are committed to fostering an environment that supports personal and professional growth."

ATHENA International has recognized this long-standing commitment to nurturing a diverse, meaningful culture. "SAS exemplifies our ATHENA Leadership Model, values and mission, cultivating an inclusive culture that helps women achieve their full leadership potential and contributing to improving the community we share," said Ann Playter, President of ATHENA International. "We are excited to recognize SAS' notable contributions on such an important day for women around the world."

Register for the free webinar event to hear from Carla Harris, Vice Chairman of Global Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor for Morgan Stanley, whose impressive list of accomplishments includes being named by Fortune Magazine as one of "The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America." Harris and Mann will also participate in a Q&A discussion with audience members.

To learn more about and join a community dedicated to strengthening diversity in the analytics field visit https://www.sas.com/en_us/company-information/diversity/women/wia.html.

About ATHENA International
ATHENA International is a global non-profit organization providing a proven framework and distribution model dedicated to building a global pipeline of women leaders "from the classroom to the boardroom," particularly in underrepresented areas such as technology and business. Since 1982, ATHENA International has empowered women leaders to reach their full potential through leadership training, their trademarked ATHENA Powerlink® entrepreneurial advisory boards, and through global, national, local, young professional and organizational ATHENA Leadership awards. Unlike other leadership training offerings, ATHENA International is the only organization that provides an age-appropriate continuum toolkit for middle school, high school, college, corporate and board candidates which has also been proven effective for women incarcerated. All programs are based on the philosophy of the transformative, research-based ATHENA Leadership Model (ALM) and its eight principles of enlightened leadership, underwritten by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Through the generosity of major underwriters and a unique, affordable licensing fee model, ATHENA International leverages local host communities to scale its footprint by partnering with hundreds of chambers of commerce, colleges & universities, women's organizations and affiliate communities in 48 states, 11 countries and growing. Since inception nearly 8,000 female and male leaders have been recognized in 500 regions, impacting more than 500,000 members annually. For more information, visit www.athenainternational.org.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW^®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2021 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

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