As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, Melissa Sorenson, Executive Director, Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), pictured, has been reflecting on something heard surprisingly often when people walk into a PBSA conference for the first time.
They look around the room and they’re surprised. They’re surprised because it doesn’t look like the stereotypical security-sector gathering. It’s not a room full of men in dark suits. Instead, the room is diverse, balanced and filled with women. In fact, at the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), gender balance in leadership isn’t an aspiration, it’s our reality.
Our Board of Directors is evenly split: six women and six men. Across our regional councils the numbers tell a similar story. In Europe and Africa, three out of five council members are women. In APAC, three out of five are women. In Canada, three out of five are women. The United States council is evenly split with three women and three men. That level of representation is still rare across the wider security and compliance sector. And it’s certainly not typical when you look at the broader corporate landscape. Recent figures show that among the UK’s FTSE 100 companies, only nine CEOs are women and about 47 in the U.S.’s S&P 500. Those statistics alone should give all of us pause to ponder.
So why is background screening different? The honest answer is that I don’t fully know the ‘why’. But I do know this: from the earliest days of our association, women were in the room. When PBSA was first formed, the background screening industry itself was still emerging. It wasn’t dominated by long-established power structures or legacy leadership pipelines. The founding members were a mix of mid-level leaders and senior executives, and that group naturally included both men and women. By our second year, we had a female co-chair. That early representation mattered more than we probably realised at the time.
In any organisation, people tend to hire and elevate individuals who look like them, think like them or feel familiar. When women are present from the beginning, leadership pathways remain open to other women. It becomes normal, not exceptional, to see women stepping into senior roles. That early foundation allowed us to build something intentional. Today we make a conscious effort to ensure our leadership pipeline reflects diversity not just in gender, but in background, experience and perspective.
For those of us in leadership roles, that responsibility is something we take seriously. As a woman in a leadership position, I also feel a personal responsibility to create space for others. Women often bring a different voice to the table, but we don’t always champion ourselves as loudly as we could. We don’t always push the loudest. That means those of us who are already in leadership roles must actively advocate for other women. We need to create visibility, encourage participation and open doors.
In my experience, men are often more comfortable amplifying their own achievements. Women sometimes need encouragement and advocacy to do the same. That doesn’t mean one approach is better than the other, but it does mean leadership is stronger when both voices are present.
Of course, the journey hasn’t always been without challenges. Like many women earlier in my career, before joining PBSA, I discovered that I was being compensated at a lower rate than others within my organisation. I also learned that my voice, which has always been softer, wasn’t always the one that immediately commanded attention in a room. Those moments can be discouraging, but they also shape how you move forward.
For me, the approach has always been patience and persistence. I learned not to give up, and to stand my ground when it mattered. As we gain experience and confidence those things do become easier. I can’t change who I am entirely, but I’ve learned to lean into my strengths and let those guide my leadership. Encouragingly, the industry today is filled with remarkable women who are doing exactly that.
One of the things I value most about the background screening community is how willing many leaders are to share their experiences and support others coming through the ranks. There are tremendous female leaders across our industry who are open about their journeys, who mentor others and who recognise that collective progress benefits everyone. For the next generation of female leaders entering the industry, my advice is simple: find colleagues and champions you can learn from. Look for people who model the kind of leadership you admire. Their experience can help guide your own path. And for those of us already established in our careers, we also have a responsibility to keep our eyes open for emerging leaders. When we see talent, we should shine a light on it.
Because shining a light on someone else does not dim your own. The security sector has long been viewed as male-dominated. Background screening sits within that ecosystem, yet it is quietly demonstrating that leadership can look different. Our experience shows that representation, diversity and balance are not obstacles to professionalism or commercial success, they strengthen them.
International Women’s Day is often framed as a moment to celebrate progress. For me, it is also a moment to reflect on responsibility. Our responsibility is to continue building pathways, mentoring emerging leaders and ensuring that when the next generation walks into a PBSA conference room, they see themselves reflected at every level of the industry.
Because once you see it, you begin to believe it’s possible. And that belief is where real change begins.
