Bachelor's thesis on women in top management: HWZ Sustainability Award for Sina Wespi
HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences is honoring Sina Wespi with this year’s Sustainability Award for her bachelor’s thesis on women in top management. Her thesis demonstrates how coaching, mentoring, and networking can collectively and sustainably promote women’s advancement to top management positions.
The award was presented during the Bachelor's graduation ceremony and for the first time in cooperation with the international consulting firm Sustainserv.
Based on interviews with eight female C-level managers, Sina Wespi shows that the three measures are significantly more effective in combination than when applied individually. Her recommendations for action range from the establishment of coaching along key career phases to flexible and carefully designed mentoring programs and the targeted promotion of networking platforms. The work thus provides practical impulses for companies and for women with leadership ambitions.
Joint commitment to sustainable leadership
Sina Wespi's bachelor's thesis makes an innovative contribution to the discourse on social sustainability. It illustrates how companies can take responsibility by specifically promoting the potential of female managers. The thesis thus addresses a core topic of the HWZ Sustainability Award: responsible corporate behavior towards employees and stakeholders.
Sina Wespi clarifies: "Sustainability begins where companies take responsibility for structures and the development of potential. In my bachelor's thesis, I investigated how coaching, mentoring and networking can be used as strategic levers to promote female managers at C-level - with the aim of understanding gender equality not just as a value, but as an entrepreneurial success factor. The Sustainability Award encourages me to consistently think about excellence and social impact together."
Sustainserv as a new partner of the HWZ Sustainability Award
The Sustainability Award was presented at the HWZ for the seventh time, in 2025 for the first time in partnership with Sustainserv. The consulting firm supports clients worldwide in integrating sustainability into strategies, business processes and communication. "By promoting young talent in the field of sustainability, we want to help young people introduce and further develop sustainability goals in companies," emphasizes Dr. Stephan Lienin, Managing Partner at Sustainserv. Together with the HWZ, the consulting firm is committed to anchoring an awareness of ecological, social and economic responsibility in the future generation of managers.
Bachelor's theses that focus on sustainable corporate action in business activities, in dealing with employees or in cooperation with other stakeholder groups will be considered for the award. Theses on ecological issues or business ideas with a focus on corporate sustainability can also be submitted.
