Stantec — a global architecture, engineering, and design firm — recently received the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Diversity Award, during the Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE19). The award recognizes an individual or organization that has created, promoted, and maintained diversity by establishing an environment that recognizes, encourages, and effectively utilizes each individual’s talents.
Voted on by the AWWA Executive Committee at its 2019 winter meeting, the Committee described their decision as follows: “As part of their global diversity and inclusion strategy, Stantec is focused on raising awareness and providing training related to unconscious bias throughout the company at all levels. With a goal to recruit, motivate, and develop the best talent, they are ensuring that they aren’t creating unintended barriers.”
Stantec’s goal is to have an employee population with a diverse range of talents and perspectives to ensure that the firm has the breadth of viewpoints, experiences, and intellectual skills needed to succeed across its global footprint. Embracing diversity of all kinds enables Stantec to provide a work environment and organizational culture that play a key role in attracting and retaining the right people with the right skills.
“At Stantec, we know that if we are to make a lasting impact on our world, we have to create a strong community of our own where every individual feels comfortable to be their true, authentic self,” says Gord Johnston, Stantec president and CEO. “Championing inclusion is something we take to heart because it’s the right thing to do. We also understand that an inclusive culture attracts and invites the full spectrum of talent into the organization, and that’s what leads to transformational work. It’s humbling to see our efforts recognized.”
Programming highlights of Stantec’s Diversity and Inclusion efforts include:
- Promoting and supporting Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) throughout offices to strengthen an employee’s professional network. These ERGs also have the potential to establish greater equality and help make people feel more comfortable and engaged within Stantec.
- Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion “Champions for Change”. These are employees who inspire and motivate others by moving “concept” to “action”. These champions go above and beyond to recognize the unique contributions of Stantec’s team members and create pathways to professional growth and development for all employees.
- Rolling out Unconscious Bias training across offices to those who are willing and eager to learn how to be aware of these biases. These trainings begin with a 30-minute online course, followed by a two-hour, two-part workshop led by trained facilitators, each certified by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI).
“We strive to create a workplace where employees are valued based on their abilities, talent, and potential, and it’s an honor to be recognized by AWWA for our diversity and inclusion efforts,” says Erin Davis, Stantec’s director of global talent engagement. “This is an area of passion for our company —we believe our diversity makes us stronger, and that inspires us to make sure individuals from all walks of life have equal opportunity to grow and flourish.”
Photo courtesy of Stantec
