In honor of International Women's Day 2023, we gathered a panel of five women leaders from our practices around the world to discuss this year's theme of #EmbraceEquity. Through their diverse experiences and perspectives, we explore the importance of equity in the workplace and beyond.
Participants: Joanne Knox, associate fire and life safety engineer, Abu Dhabi, Lucy Carraz, head of government sector and ESG lead, UK, Danette Riddle, Los Angeles executive, USA, Veronica Siranosian, Bay Area executive, US West Coast Transportation Director of Growth, USA, Shirley Chen, managing director, Urbanism + Planning, Hong Kong
What does the term “embrace equity” mean to you and how can we actively work towards achieving it in our daily lives?
Danette: Equity is a vast and ever-evolving topic that encompasses creating opportunities for everyone. It requires acknowledging that there is always more to learn and keeping an open mind to the challenges that others face. When leading teams or working with others, I’m extremely open to everyone – especially where they are at or where they are coming from. It's vital to acknowledge that as humans, we are flawed, and there is always room for growth. It’s important to recognize that new terms and conditions are emerging all the time, such as neurodiversity. We need to be conscious and mindful of them.
Lucy: It’s great that “embrace equity” is this year’s theme. It’s so positive and harmonious. For me, it means really celebrating the individuality of everybody and the collective strength of having such breadth of individuality in one place. It recognizes that everyone has something to contribute, regardless of their background or gender. This inclusivity is essential in creating a world that benefits everyone. While there are still industry challenges, great progress has been made within AECOM. For example, in our region, the establishment of employee resource groups, an increase in flexible working arrangements and the promotion of respect and understanding among colleagues in how we are all managing different personal circumstances. It's important to recognize and celebrate the adaptability and agility of individuals in balancing caring responsibilities too, whether that’s for children or other family members such as elderly parents.
How can we address and overcome the systematic barriers that prevent women from achieving equality in the workplace?
Veronica: Addressing systemic barriers requires us to first recognize that these barriers have existed in our systems for decades and were largely established by a non-diverse cohort of leaders. We need to then bring these barriers to light to create awareness, assess where we’re at through measurement or documentation, set goals for changing them and show progress towards those goals. There are several types of systemic barriers, such as hidden inequities in job descriptions that might prevent women from applying, family care responsibilities and gender pay equity. Removing these barriers is not easy and requires broad leadership and company support. It's important to convey that creating a diverse and equitable workforce benefit everyone, and that is incumbent upon all of us to create that equitable and diverse workforce that serves us, our clients and communities better.
Shirley: I believe it's crucial to be objective and neutral in all aspects, such as recruitment and performance evaluation, to eliminate gender discrimination. We must create a workplace culture that promotes friendliness, but it's not easy, and it's not prevalent everywhere. I appreciate that AECOM is encouraging and pushing for this change. I also think that it’s essential to have a team focused on developing more women leaders, which requires company-wide change driven from the top. Again, AECOM has already made progress in this area, but we also need to pay attention to the career development paths of women employees and regularly review their growth opportunities. For example providing different platforms to help women employees explore various opportunities. Veronica and Lucy have both mentioned the struggles that women face when balancing work and family life, it would be great to establish more arrangement to help women overcome these barriers and reduce this gender impartiality.
How can we use our voices and platforms to advocate for gender equality and promote empowerment of women?
Danette: Looking back, I realize that I wasn't always mindful of the personal responsibility I had to support and uplift other women. It's crucial for women to help each other and bring each other along on their journey. The systemic barrier, which is the psychology of competitiveness that women have felt because we’ve competed for so long for so few spots, is the most concerning barrier to me. It’s time for us to change and understand that we can bring others up as we rise among the ranks. In terms of what AECOM can do, we have great platforms and programs. We also have amazing women in leadership roles, but we need to be intentional about increasing the percentage of women in leadership. Merely setting a goal and meeting it is not enough; we need to keep pushing and striving for progress, not just for women, but for all groups. Personally, I would love to see us have a goal of 50% women in leadership positions.
How far along in progress for gender equity do you feel we are at as an organization?
Joanne: From my personal experience, there have been huge strides made in the representation of women in leadership positions. In my time at AECOM and in my time in engineering, I've seen things change and I've seen women that I've worked with progress and move into leadership. I've benefited from having very strong female role models. Finding a role model that resonates with us, whether it be based on gender, race or other aspects, can be truly inspiring and can help us envision our own career trajectory. AECOM has been strong in promoting and supporting female role models, and I highly recommend anyone to seek out and learn from role models they want to emulate.
What is your opinion on the progress that we're making in terms of equity and barriers?
Veronica: The fact that we are even having this discussion is progress. A few decades ago, this would not have been a topic that many corporations would have engaged in. The fact that we are celebrating women, we have women leaders across the globe to talk to and that we can look up within the ranks of our company and see that we have women in top leadership positions all the way to the top of our company with Lara Poloni as our President; all of that is progress. The fact that our company also has clear and transparent goals around gender equity is also progress. It is necessary to continually stretch these goals and recognize that gender is not the only factor in our identities. There is intersectionality to consider, and we need to view diversity and equity as a multifaceted issue. We must continue to push the boundaries of what diversity and equity look like within our companies, have ongoing discussions and continue setting, measuring progress and exceeding those goals.
Shirley: My Urbanism + Planning team in Hong Kong is comprised of 52% female and 48% male employees, which is one of the highest percentages of female representation in our Hong Kong practice. I appreciate how my male leadership colleagues strongly encourage me to advocate for women and actively engage and participate in women's leadership initiatives. This balance and equity do not only benefit women but also contributes to a better work environment and helps us to deliver better results.
How can we celebrate and uplift the achievements of women on International Women’s Day and beyond?
Joanne: I have been fortunate to have had strong female role models in every AECOM office that I’ve worked in, including my current office. Acknowledging the benefits and positive impact of these role models is important, as everyone likes to feel appreciated for their contributions. Therefore, I will make sure to call out the great leadership that I have witnessed from women in my current office. As AECOM has a long history under different company names, there must have been several female Trail Blazers in our past. I plan to conduct some research to discover more inspirational stories of women who have worked at AECOM in the past, which I can share with my colleagues, starting with those at AECOM now.
Lucy: I feel that taking a moment to reflect and connect with colleagues is important as we transition back to working in the office. I want to be an active listener and learn more about the journeys of others, whether they are new colleagues or those who have been with us for a while. I’d like to know more about how it’s been for others, what they are doing on their journey and how we, as leaders, can better support each other so that we are truly embracing the equity that we have within our organization.
By recognizing the value of diversity and committing to building a culture of inclusion, we can create a workplace where every employee feels valued and empowered to thrive and reach their full potential.