A Shattered Glass Ceiling: Diversity at Synectics

One of the mottos famously associated with Smith College is “Where Women’s Minds Matter.” And a motto that NASA features on one of its webpages promoting women in STEM careers (science, technology, engineering, and math) is “Diversity Drives Innovation.” It is entirely possible that both mottos, when combined, apply to Synectics for Management Decisions – whose own motto is “Making Data Meaningful.”

Synectics is unique among government contractors for several reasons – all of which tie into these Smith and NASA mottos. Founded in Puerto Rico in the early 1970s, it initially served the commercial sector throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. As it began supplying services to the U.S. Federal Government, it moved its headquarters to the Washington D.C. area. Today it is a Woman-Owned Small Business as well as an Hispanic-Owned Small Business.

CEO Anna Hirsbrunner has been named “One of the 10 most impactful women in technology” by Analytics Insight Magazine. Active in both the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the North Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Hirsbrunner exemplifies diversity in the workforce. She and her human resources office work to make Synectics a welcome home for all minorities – and a special focus on women in STEM careers. The stereotype of the “data nerd” might be male, maybe from Seattle or Silicon Valley. Ms. Hirsbrunner challenges this stereotype head-on. She works to make Synectics a place where women with STEM backgrounds can flourish – and people of any background – have a home. Women shatter the glass ceiling at Synectics, and hold leadership roles in program management, statistics, systems engineering,
and software development.