Opportunity Forward: The Woman Owned & Led Company Raising The EHS Compliance Bar

Patricia and her husband Bill Taggart founded Lion Technology in 1977, focusing on helping businesses navigate a newly defined regulatory landscape. Today, the company president is Tammy Kent, a 25-year veteran of the environmental compliance industry. Under her leadership since 2003, the company has gone from strength to strength, expanding product offerings and leading the field in compliance and training course development.

What stands out about Lion – quite apart from superior compliance training – is the way the company has embraced a culture of gender diversity. In fact, more than 60% of Lion’s employees are female – a truly unusual number in a traditionally male-dominated field.

The importance of balance and diversity.

Why does this corporate decision-making matter for women? “Women face additional obstacles when choosing a career path, resulting in a huge rate of attrition between college and career.” says Kent. She’s not wrong: women are well-represented in environmental majors, but when it comes to career positions, they still lag behind, making up an average of just 30% of the environmental workforce. In Lion’s home state of New Jersey, this gap is even further pronounced: in 2018, fewer than 100 of the state’s 700+ Licensed Site Remediation Professionals were women. 

For Lion, the challenges of the industry drive the need for a diverse talent search. “The key to tackling a complex regulatory industry like environmental compliance is to bring in a wide variety of backgrounds and experience. Gender diversity is one way to bring in richer perspectives, which in turn bring us continued growth.” says Kent.

A culture based on opportunity.

In her role as president, Kent encourages honest conversation about the often-difficult choices women face in the pursuit of ambitious career roles and the constant balance between work and family. Coming from a position of experience, she serves as a rare, authentic voice on the board. “The unique business environment at Lion allows us to build a culture where employees have the support and flexibility they need, and ultimately that benefits the company.” By removing the obstacles women face in the workforce, Lion’s policies have allowed talents to thrive – and that’s evident in the way the company has continued to expand.

Patricia Taggart agrees. “Lion began as a family business. Opening the conversation to families allows us to stay true to our value and our legacy, and we’re delighted to be leading the field in more ways than one.”