PBN Diversity Equity & Inclusion 2023 Awards
Architecture/Construction/Design: Gilbane Inc.
PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST has been ingrained in Gilbane Inc.’s culture from its founding in 1870 to today. With multiple layers to Gilbane comes multiple opportunities to create a sense of inclusivity among employees, partners in the trades, the community and on job sites.
“From a business perspective, [diversity, equity and inclusion] brings greater diversity of thought, innovation and different experiences for our employees to feel a sense of belonging,” said Katherine Johnson, Gilbane’s executive vice president and chief people officer. “From a client perspective, it’s important that we look like the communities in which we live and work.”
The Providence-based company provides construction and facilities management, real estate development, property management and consulting services globally. Gilbane made DEI a bigger focus in 2019 when Johnson joined the company. Passionate about DEI, she elevated employee resource groups from an informal part of the business to formal.
In all, Gilbane has seven such groups for different employee populations, including African Americans, Hispanic Latinx, Military Advantage, Young Professionals, Pride, Asian, and Women. The groups focus on professional development and mentoring, serve as a communal voice to leadership, participate in diversity outreach and recruitment, and perform community service.
“Anyone can join any group,” Johnson said. “If they don’t identify with the group, they can be an ally in support of it.”
Gilbane also has an inclusion and diversity council, comprised of national employee resource group leaders, executives and executive sponsors, that meets bimonthly. It gives leadership a chance to hear from the groups, Johnson said, and vice versa.
In 2020, Gilbane’s DEI commitment was strengthened when it became part of the company’s five-year strategic plan, a plan that the groups helped develop. Key initiatives within that plan are creating a workforce representative of the community at large, fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace, and focusing on economic inclusion by utilizing small businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans, LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and more.
Gilbane formed an economic inclusion department in 2021 as a way to maximize participation of both diverse businesses and a diverse trade workforce within the company, said Yvette Stevens, Gilbane’s vice president and director of economic inclusion. In 2022, Gilbane ensured that $4 billion in projects would be awarded to various tiers of diverse contractors. By year-end, close to $900 million was applied toward that ongoing goal.
Taking that dedication further, the company’s Rising Contractors program trains those contractors in business-related topics during an eight- to 10-week period to help them succeed working with Gilbane. When that initial training concludes, contractors are assigned a mentor for at least a year. Mentors mostly help contractors identify opportunities to work with the company and assist with business development, pay application and other tasks associated with contractor work.
“How we do when it comes to economic inclusion is how we measure success on our projects,” Stevens said. “Obviously, we want to do a project on time and within budget. But at the end of the day, we cannot fully check off that box and see that we’re successful unless we can see the impact we made on the community as part of the project.”
Gilbane is constantly measuring itself against its five-year DEI strategies to make sure progress is made. Already, it’s off to a good start. Of Gilbane’s 3,100 employees – about 400 based in Rhode Island – 43% are involved in employee resource groups. Gilbane has also made inroads on the leadership and accountability side.
In 2021, the company joined a number of its competitors to launch Construction Inclusion Week. The 501(c)(3) is an awareness initiative that brings together large construction companies to promote DEI in the industry.
As the company recruits new employees, leadership wants to make sure those employees not only hear about Gilbane’s dedication to DEI but also recognize it as deeply valued.
“We have resources that some of the smaller construction companies in the industry may not have,” Johnson said. “We’re sharing information and materials to help educate and support them to also create that type of environment and focus within their own companies.” n
