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Golden 1 Credit Union

8945 Cal Center Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826

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With more than $21 billion in assets, Golden 1 Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in the United States, providing easy access to the financial solutions, resources and support their members and communities need to improve their...Read More

E-Interview

America's Greatest Workplaces for Women 2026America's Greatest Workplaces for Women 2024America's Greatest Workplaces

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America's Greatest Workplaces for Women 2026 E-Interview In conversations with Newsweek, Heather Andrade-Neumann, Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer at Golden 1 Credit Union answered the following questions:

What specific policies or programs have had the biggest impact on supporting women’s growth and advancement at your company?

At Golden 1, our biggest impact on supporting women’s growth and advancement comes from programs that build visibility, connection, and opportunity. Our EmpowHER Employee Resource Group (ERG) plays a key role by creating community and elevating women and allies, while supporting growth within a culture of care that prioritizes belonging, development, and well-being.
 
We’ve also made advancement more accessible through learning and leadership resources, including education reimbursement and professional certification programs that support career progression and internal mobility, and we are seeing high utilization of these programs among women in our organization. As of April 2026, women have received 50% of education reimbursements and obtained 90% of professional certifications.

We complement these efforts with external benchmarking grounded in employee reported experiences, ensuring our progress reflects how employees experience growth, opportunity, and inclusion day-to-day. I love that at its core, this reflects who we are as an organization that cares with heart, ensuring women have access to opportunity, visibility, and the support needed to build meaningful careers at Golden 1.

How do you make sure efforts around gender equity translate into day-to-day experiences for employees, not just leadership goals or statements?

As Chief People Officer, I’m especially proud of our commitment to embedding equity into everyday processes, so it shows up in day-to-day decisions. In hiring, structured interview guides, and broader selection approaches promote consistency and fairness, while performance equity visibility helps identify rating patterns and support more consistent evaluations. We also prioritize listening, using employee engagement surveys and feedback loops, to translate employee experience data into action. 
 
ERG programs also play an important role in keeping inclusion front and center, with events, panels, and ongoing dialogue embedded throughout our organization. We reinforce accountability at the manager level, ensuring leaders understand their role in creating equitable, inclusive experiences on their teams. That’s how we bring our core value of inclusion to life, not just through goals or statements, but through everyday experiences employees can see and feel.

What steps has your organization taken to ensure pay equity and transparency, and how often are those efforts reviewed?

We have intentionally taken a structured approach to compensation designed to promote consistency and transparency, including clear guidelines, a position-in-range philosophy, and focus on internal equity in pay decisions. Further, we routinely engage with a third-party firm to conduct a thorough equity assessment, which includes a review of pay between genders for comparable roles. We regularly review compensation outcomes to understand patterns and ensure pay decisions are thoughtful, equitable, and aligned with role scope, skills, and experience. This ongoing review helps us maintain trust and clarity for employees while ensuring pay decisions are consistent and equitable throughout the organization. 

How do you support women at different stages of their careers—from early professionals to senior leaders—while accounting for changing needs around flexibility and work-life balance?

At Golden 1, we recognize that employee needs evolve over time, so our approach supports talent across every stage of their career. Early career employees are supported through strong onboarding, access to enterprise learning, and community building programs like our Elevate ERG, which focuses on early career professionals and their managers. Mid-career employees can take advantage of development opportunities such as education reimbursement and certification incentives to build skills and advance their careers. We also provide family care assistance, including leave resources and workplace accommodations, to help employees manage changing personal and professional priorities. By supporting employees at every stage of their career or life, this approach aligns with our mission and reflects Golden 1’s commitment to helping employees grow, contribute, stay engaged, and feel supported over the long term.

Looking ahead, what changes or initiatives are you most focused on to continue improving your workplace for women over the next few years?

I’m excited that our next focus area will be on sustaining and expanding what’s working while staying responsive to employee needs and feedback. We plan to continue growing our ERG programming and women-focused development and visibility opportunities. We continue to prioritize listening and measurement, using employee survey insights and engagement feedback to guide improvements and new offerings.

To support sustainable progress and advance inclusion as part of our culture, we offer learning opportunities focused on cultural humility and gender equity. From November 2025 through April 2026, nearly 20% of Golden 1 leaders have completed optional training in these areas, reflecting strong leadership engagement and a shared commitment to embracing diverse backgrounds and experiences in the workplace.

Golden 1 remains focused on strengthening equity across talent systems, including talent reviews, development planning, mentorship pipelines, and succession planning. We see this work as integral to building a strong, resilient, and inclusive organization.

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