About/ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

A Workplace Where We All Belong

Striving for Equity

When we say we put people first, this includes our commitment to creating an equitable work environment where all feel welcome.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vision Statement

Woodard & Curran believes that complex teams working together in an equitable, inclusive space provides the best opportunity for achieving our vision of clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities, and happy people.  Our success is tied to a culture that embraces our differences so that everyone can bring their whole, authentic selves to work. When our people are supported to reach their full potential, we provide the most innovative, sound, and effective solutions.

Our key goals

Our eight-member Equity Committee, which includes our DEI Manager, spearheads Woodard & Curran’s DEI efforts. The Committee’s strategy is always evolving; as the world becomes more culturally fluent, we must have room to adjust. However, the following goals remain foundational for the entire company:

  • Commit to and clearly communicate that equity, inclusion, and diversity are foundational to
    our core values and critical for our business strategy.
  • Develop equitable systems and structures so we can advance workforce complexity by
    attracting and retaining employees with a diversity of skills, knowledge, and perspectives.
  • Provide a work environment for all employees that is welcoming, respectful, and engaging,
    with opportunities for personal and professional development.
  • Develop meaningful ways to measure progress over a long-term vision.

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It is my goal to identify opportunities for Woodard & Curran to not only be more diverse and inclusive, but also a more equitable workplace, so that for many who have sought belonging for as long as I have, maybe they can find it here.

Rachel Gilbert Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager Human Resources

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) celebrate our differences and promote a culture of inclusion, the central tenet of our DEI strategy.

Employee Resource Groups

Woodard & Curran’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) support our people through community, education, and advocacy. The ERGs are employee-led and align with the mission, vision, and goals of the Equity Strategy. ERGs act in collaboration with the Equity Committee to inform company policies and processes that directly impact our people. The ERGs include:

  • Ascending Professionals
  • Disabilities
  • LGBTQIA+
  • Parents & Caregivers
  • Race, Ethnicity & Culture
  • Veterans
  • Women

Members of each ERG play an integral role in creating an inclusive climate, as well as informing company policies and process that directly impact DEI within the firm. These voluntary groups cultivate connection between employees across the company and facilitate critical discussions regarding important topics that affect our employees.

The simplest way to measure a company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is through demographics. While our employee and Board of Director gender demographics are better than industry average, we acknowledge we have important work to do in regard to racial equity. We are welcoming in change as we build a more complex, racially fluent, and equitable organization.

Highlights of our DEI Progress

Our strategies have touched many aspects of our business, including the review of hiring and recruiting practices, rolling out unconscious bias trainings, and conducting pay equity analyses. Here are some other highlights that reflect our DEI progress over the past few years:

  • Conducted third party pay equity study in 2019 (and plan to repeat every two years) that confirmed equity considering gender and race/ethnicity
  • Internal equity review of promotions, pay increases, Incentive Compensation Plan payments, and appointments to ownership
  • Expanded recruitment at different colleges and universities
  • Created data and reporting capabilities to understand applicant pipeline
  • Expanded and modernized bias awareness as well as discrimination and harassment prevention training for new hires, employees, and managers
  • Launched seven company-wide ERGs
  • Added parental leave benefits and regularly review benefits for inclusivity
  • Launched inclusion campaign encouraging employees to share stories
  • Changed our Board of Director criteria and qualifications for external members to broaden diverse candidate pool
  • Provided executive leadership in developing D&I changes within the ACEC community
  • Developed candidate masking as part of the online application process

Current Opportunities

Come Join Us!

We are always looking for talented people to join our team and all are encouraged to apply! Take a look at our current opportunities today.

Learn More

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