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 diverse teams working together in an equitable, inclusive culture provides the right environment for our employees to thrive, our clients to benefit, and our business to prosper over the long run. Our success is tied to a culture that embraces our differences and creates an environment where everyone can bring their whole, authentic selves to work. When our people are supported to reach their full potential, we provide our clients with the most innovative, sound, and cost-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 a foundation of our core values and our critical business strategy.
  • Develop sound practices to ensure we achieve equitable representations of employees by continuing to identify, hire, develop, and engage employees with diverse backgrounds, 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 ways to measure progress to achieve these goals 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

The following employee-led resource groups keep our DEI efforts on the right track, provide a forum for employees to share their views and experiences, facilitate discussions, and build connections.

  • 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.

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