When I graduated with my master’s degree in communications, I didn’t expect to join the architecture, engineering and construction industry. In fact, my studies ranged from product marketing and public relations to pop culture and hip-hop.

Since 2011, it’s been an incredible experience building my career in the transportation market and being part of the impactful work we get to deliver. During that time, however, it also became clear that there are not enough women in our sector.

Because I’m a communicator, I’m always watching for emerging trends across industries and searching for lessons learned that we can apply to ourselves. Going back to my graduate school work, I could not help noticing the gender balance similarities between our industry and hip-hop. Yes, they seem unrelated, but the hip-hop music industry is, historically, one of the most male-dominated professions in the world. And that’s where I found my most recent inspiration in the meteoric rise of one very notable female rapper – Cardi B.

Cardi B’s ascension to stardom will go down in the history books as she continues to chip away at hip-hop’s glass ceiling. Just to name a few accomplishments, she is first solo female artist to win best rap album at the Grammy Awards and the first female rapper with two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 songs. Although she has sparked controversy with her opinions on politics and spats with other artists,  her approach to disrupting her industry has universal relevance. As women working in a world both designed and built by men, there are (at least) four things we can learn from Cardi’s challenge of hip-hop’s status quo:

1. Authenticity is a valuable asset. She built her brand by sharing personal reflections on social media, often on her struggle to survive in fields where the value of women is assessed by men. Often times, women are pressured to reign in our emotion for fear of being perceived as emotional – and that often extends to our relationships with other women at work. Being authentic about the struggles we face and overcome is not only valuable to our personal brands, but also opens the door to continual, transparent conversations about gender in the workplace that are vital to enacting change over time.
2. When you find your platform, use it. As women in a male-dominated industry, particularly when we find ourselves in positions of leadership, we should lean into the opportunity to hold the door open behind us to ensure that other women are able to walk through it. Whether this is serving as a mentor, allowing flexible schedules for staff to accommodate family needs, or supporting organizations that fuel young women’s passion for STEAM, we should leverage every opportunity to advocate for other women.
3. Power through your doubts. Cardi found out she was pregnant during one of the most critical moments of her budding career and publicly shared fears that having a baby would undo all of the success she worked so hard for. She reports that her then-boyfriend, now husband assured her that her success was secure due to her authenticity as an artist and relatability amongst her fan base; and he was right. Instead of giving into our doubts and fears amidst challenges, we need to surround ourselves with positive people who encourage us to power through and continue striving for greatness.
4. Make money moves. Cardi is not shy about saying that making money – lots of money – is why she works harder than anyone else in the business. In additional to institutional gender discrimination, one of the reasons women make less money than men in the same roles is because men tend to be more like to ask for more career-building opportunities, higher pay, etc. than women are. We should not be afraid to assert ourselves and advocate for our value in any space at the office, but most importantly during our yearly reviews. Women should be more empowered to advocate for ourselves at the professional level.

Cardi B, like so many of us, had a number of setbacks along her path to stardom, but she powered through regardless; often citing the desire to build a better life for her family as her reason for perseverance. Although our industries are different, I’m inspired by Cardi’s work ethic, dedication toward staying true to herself and overcoming obstacles in her quest to become the greatest at what she does regardless of gender.

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When I transitioned from the public to the private sector as an urban planner more than seven years ago, I found myself in a whole new world. Not only was I moving from being a client to a consultant, but I was also entering a sector where women are (even less) represented.

According to the American Planning Association’s 2018 Salary Survey, 43 percent of urban planners in the United States are women. While this certainly leaves room for improvement, it is vastly better than women’s representation in the architecture and engineering fields, which was only 14 percent in 2016, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I was often the only woman on a project team, at an interview or in a meeting. Looking up the ladder at company organizational charts wasn’t very promising either — it seemed the higher you go, the less women were represented. This problem is not unique to this sector or ArchTam. According to the Pew Research Center, women are underrepresented across the board, from university presidents, to CEOs and corporate board members, to the U.S. Senate. Women’s stark underrepresentation was apparent to me and influenced my thoughts around my own role and future with our company.

Rather than being discouraged by this reality, I found opportunities to find allies, engage and serve and support other women to advance equity and diversity in our workplace.

Copyright 2019 John Livzey

I was and am fortunate that ArchTam is fully committed to the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), a professional organization dedicated to advancing women in transportation. Stephen Polechronis, LA Metro Transportation Business Unit Leader, recommended and assisted me in becoming a board member for the Los Angeles Chapter, where he is also a director at large. I served three years on the Los Angeles Chapter board as a chair of the mentorship and membership committees. With Stephen, we launched an executive mentorship program that helped women connect with senior executives throughout Los Angeles and learn how to break the glass ceiling.

I’m now serving my second year as a mentor for the WTS Bay Area Chapter, repaying the assistance to the WTS community that was invaluable to me. Through WTS, I have also engaged with and found a network of like-minded women within ArchTam through our WTS Chatter group. WTS helped me expand my network and find allies and mentors (both men and women) who helped me define my own place in the industry. Importantly, it also enables me to connect with and mentor other women entering the field, creating a virtuous loop of support.

Copyright 2019 John Livzey

Over time, I have also had the opportunity to engage with amazing women leaders within ArchTam from the local to the corporate level: Kelli Bernard, Executive Vice President, National Cities Lead; Carolyn Flowers, former national Transit Practice Leader; Lara Poloni, Chief Executive of EMIA; Carla Christofferson, General Counsel; and Heather Rim, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, just to name a few. These women, their allies, and others like them throughout the company are changing the dynamic at the highest leadership levels. Through their work on issues such as the gender pay gap, their service to community organizations such as those addressing women’s homelessness, and their presence they serve as an inspiration and provide hope for an even more equitable, inclusive ArchTam.

Underrepresentation of women and a lack of diversity in our industry is widespread, however, each of us has a role to play in changing this, and a responsibility to do so. If we don’t represent ourselves and support increased diversity and inclusion, who will? Luckily, with 87,000 employees worldwide there’s no need to feel alone at ArchTam. Find an ally, engage with a professional organization that advances diversity and inclusion and serve and support those you are working with.

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It’s 2019. We all know diversity matters.

But, what are the actual advantages of a diverse workforce? Why should companies feel compelled to act instead of react to this shift in culture? We’re entering a new world of corporate diversity and inclusion – one that strives to enact real change and provide equal weight to all voices.

The business benefits of a diverse workforce are long-proven. According to McKinsey, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity outperform their competitors by 15% and those in the top quartile for ethnic diversity outperform their competitors by 35%. That means diversity is an actual competitive differentiator – a strategic positioning tactic that an organization can use to advance its market position.

Why is this? Whether it be in the office, on a project site, or in the board room, when everyone comes from similar backgrounds and experiences, creativity is inhibited. People of varying genders, races and ethnicities think differently – and that’s a good thing. Geographical, educational, sexual, political, economic and age diversity lead to better problem-solving, diverse viewpoints and innovative practices. Competitive differentiators!

ArchTam recognizes that its diverse practices set it apart. By building diverse teams and creating inclusive environments, employees are empowered with the autonomy to reach their full potentials.

Meeting market demands

The war for talent is at an all-time high, particularly in the construction industry. Candidates have more options than ever for employment. Inclusive environments rank high on their lists of ‘must haves’ – particularly among young talent. To be attractive, companies need to step up diversity efforts to appeal to this next generation of applicants.

Clients that value diversity expect their partners to, as well. Many of ArchTam’s top strategic accounts have diversity initiatives in place and are committed to diverse representation on their boards. It is critical for companies to show their commitment to diversity by establishing programs with achievable goals, tracking progress and communicating initiatives not only within their own organizations but also with clients, partners and outside audiences.

ArchTam seeks to attract, recruit and retain the brightest, most imaginative talent in our industry. That’s not possible without established diversity and inclusion advocacy programs. In 2015, ArchTam set a goal to double women in leadership positions by 2020 — and we’re making progress to achieve this!

Fostering inclusion

For hiring, not only do we strive to attract diverse candidates, but we also try to assemble a diverse hiring panel. This isn’t just about gender or ethnic diversity – bringing in people from different departments and qualifications not only demonstrates the breadth of an organization’s talent to potential candidates, but affords the hiring organization added perspective throughout the decision-making process.

Once new hires are on board, it’s critical to continue these inclusion efforts. Every single employee should understand how they can progress in their careers and climb the ladder internally. It is imperative that we connect women and minorities with role models they can identify. Equally as important as mentors are sponsors. Having someone at the decision-making table who can advocate for promotions, opportunities and pay decisions is crucial for advancement.

Mentors and advocates have shaped my career from the outset. The people who have influenced my growth have had my back when I was taking risks and were voices in my favor when it came time for bigger opportunities – from suggesting I move across the world for a once-in-a-lifetime project to something as simple as inviting me to a meeting with more senior leaders and allowing me to present my own work.

Innovation culture

Corporate cultures with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion are conducive for out-of-the-box thinking. Collaborative environments are where innovation thrives. Sourcing opinions and feedback from different departments and regions can lead to innovative solutions that add real value.

ArchTam’s Global Challenge is a great example of what happens when employees are encouraged to be an active part of an organization’s innovation culture. I had the absolute pleasure of mentoring one of last year’s global challenge entrants – who happened to be a young woman. Her idea proposes a real solution to a widely-identified issue in the construction industry. What would have happened if she worked in an environment where she was discouraged from putting forth new ideas? Diversity of thought leads to innovative practices that will continue to transform our industry.

We can’t deny that historically, our industry hasn’t been a leader in diversity and inclusion. But in recent years, mindsets have been shifting, leading to better opportunities that welcome all backgrounds and experiences. At ArchTam, we are proud of our diversity and inclusion efforts and accomplishments to date, while also recognizing there is still more to be done. Because embracing diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do, it’s good business – better opportunities for employees, better results for clients and better futures for everyone.

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There is hardly a doubt that we operate in a male-dominated industry. While there are commendable efforts to make it a level playing field for all, the speed of progress has been slow.

We have been told to embrace the differences between men and women so that our workplaces are more inclusive. However, I believe that in this age of socio-political polarization, we should also focus on the similarities between women and men, and to embrace what makes someone unique as a person.

We tend to think of gender equality as having equal representation in leadership and new hire intakes, but it is also to do with granting women the same opportunities to succeed in jobs of their choice.

Equity removes any gender-based connotations given to certain traits and qualities, such as social expectation of how a man or woman should act. True equity can be reached only when no assumptions are made about one’s ability or expertise is based on gender, such as a woman being assigned a more nurturing task or role simply because she is a woman.

Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire

Much like the picture shown, performance metrics and opportunities can fail to recognize the intrinsic social framework that people abide by. For instance, women who are returning from maternity leave often have their commitment to their careers questioned when they ask for flexible work schedules or reduced work travel. In a conservative country like India, where I am from and currently based, family responsibilities are often assumed and assigned based on gender. I believe it becomes a greater responsibility for the workplace to aid in creating cultures that normalize more flexible work schedules and encourage equal treatment of parents.

While millennials appear to be more balanced with their parental roles than previous generations, one can only hope that this is trending towards women being given the same opportunities as their male counterparts to lead promising and fulfilling careers. With companies changing their cultures and individuals adopting a mindset where flexible work schedules are a positive thing, I think it would also help in increasing the number of women at the top of the corporate ladder and opportunities for recognition of their accomplishments.

I challenge everyone to celebrate what makes each human the unique individual they are, regardless of gender, and make a conscious effort to discard the behavioral assumptions attached to gender norms.

I am confident that by challenging gender stereotypes, we would make the most of our immense human capital to make the world a better place.

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I’ve called Singapore home for the last 12 months as part of the APAC Young Professionals Exchange Program. Living and working in Singapore has made me realize how fundamental a diverse and ‘balanced’ workplace is in the making and operation of a successful business. A diverse workforce equates to a wider range of perspectives and opinions as a result of various life experiences. I believe that a diversified workforce also has the power to challenge gender stereotypes.

While some progress is being made, we are still a long way from achieving gender diversity and equity in the workplace. The United Nations has identified achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030, which together forms a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We need to continue the push for a more progressive mindset, more inclusive cultures and intentional, measured actions that target gender balance.

ArchTam Australia recently received its sixth Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in recognition for its commitment to tackling gender imbalance. As a company, we are making bold steps towards achieving gender equality through initiatives such as targeting a gender equal graduate intake by 2020 and by having more women in executive leadership roles.

I recently saw a photo on LinkedIn captioned, “Well done team on a great day of training”. The photo showed a team of 14 men sitting behind their laptops. My immediate reaction was the obvious lack of women on the team. While reading the photo’s comments, I found my sentiments echoed. Nearly all of the comments were calling out the obvious gender imbalance of the team and mentioning that perhaps adding more diverse members to the team was something they could work toward.

As a society, I am confident that we are more aware of the current gender imbalance in the workplace. While we have done a solid job raising awareness of the issue, the next important steps implementing change. It’s time for business leaders to turn their promises and targets into reality and achievements.

At ArchTam, I am grateful to be surrounded by a number of inspiring women. As leaders, managers, mentors and colleagues, I am supported by these women through their investment in my professional and personal development. Through my experience at the company, I am confident that ArchTam is a place that is continuously striving for gender balance – and my mentors inspire my belief that as a woman working at ArchTam, I will be given the same opportunities to perform and succeed as my male colleagues.

Gender balance isn’t a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. In my experience, it’s often an unconscious or unintentional bias which then forms an unintended and often invisible barrier to equal opportunity. The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is #BalanceforBetter. To all reading this, I hope that you will celebrate this year with a commitment to personally get involved in this campaign. You can do this by challenging your own unconscious bias and by calling out gender imbalance when you see it, because balance drives a better working world!

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The construction industry in Cambodia is booming. With the real estate sector driving growth in cities like Phnom Penh, construction industry workers are in high demand. Women make up 30 percent of the country’s construction workforce, yet they are often treated as inferior to their male colleagues. In January, I traveled to Cambodia to work with the charity CARE Cambodia, an international development organization fighting global poverty with a special focus on working with women and girls, to support their work with vulnerable women in the country’s construction industry supply chain.

Funded through the ArchTam Blueprint Travel Grant program, a corporate responsibility initiative that funds employee-driven volunteer service trips in partnership with nonprofit organizations, my colleague Louise Marron and I spent nearly two weeks with CARE Cambodia. The aim of our trip was to share our experiences of working in the UK construction sector and make recommendations for improvements to help support change.

Karen Britton meeting the women responsible for steel bar bending on a construction site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Women in Cambodia’s construction industry face unsafe working environments, poor labor rights, unequal pay, sexual harassment and extremely long working hours. Female workers often do not have any personal identification or evidence of their employment. They won’t have a contract and often no knowledge of who their employer is. Additionally, with accommodation often linked to their job, if anything goes wrong they can suddenly find themselves without a home for their family.

In contrast, men are offered opportunities for career progression, regularly receiving double what women are paid for similar work. Most concerning is the lack of health and safety for female construction workers. Men are often supplied with basic equipment, while the few women that are offered similar can have the price docked from their wages. At one construction site I visited, women were given the most risky jobs, like climbing high scaffolds without a safety harness and many were wearing flip flops or socks instead of the steel toe cap boots that are industry standard requirements. They are also forced to share welfare facilities with men at the untidy, hot, busy and noisy sites.

While I was shocked by these conditions, I was also encouraged by the initiatives that CARE Cambodia is supporting to help engender change. I visited a health and safety training session for women covering the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE). It was humbling to see these women, many with babies in their arms, using their only day off to make things better for themselves and their families.

At the end of our trip, we had a positive meeting with Secretary of State and Minister for Labor and Vocational training, His Excellency Huy Han Song. We discussed the importance of government support for international standards such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Equator Principles as a first step towards protecting the most vulnerable. This can then act as a catalyst for open discussions with investors about supply chain accountability for labor rights.

Louise Marron and Karen Britton visiting a construction site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is accelerating gender balance. In Cambodia, I witnessed the truly damaging impact of imbalance in the construction sector supply chain. By sharing insights and international best practices, there is a real global opportunity not only to improve the productivity and growth in emerging economies but also to empower their female workforce and accelerate sustainable change.

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Believing in design as a catalyst for improving human experience, valued partnerships and mentoring, I am most proud of being the co-founder of CityLab High School— the first public school of its kind with a design focus in downtown Dallas.

It was approved by Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees in the fall of 2016, and today students engage with the city as their laboratory for learning, and develop critical thinking and creative solving skills via hands-on/real-world projects. This is all done in collaboration with organizations and professionals to prepare students for college and careers in architecture, urban planning and environmental science.

CityLab HS is the second pilot in the district with a goal of socioeconomic integration, via a lottery, to draw 50 percent low-income students and 50 percent middle-class/affluent students into the same classes. Simultaneously, CityLab HS is the first pilot in the district that offers geographic diversity by virtue of its location, with up to 30 percent of spots open to families outside of district boundaries, and attracting commuter families who work downtown. As its population continues to grow, the school will serve as an educational choice for families in this area.

About 40 percent of its student body is comprised of female students. This is already an improvement from what is typically seen in local schools that offer an architecture pathway, and the numbers continue to grow.

One of CityLab’s key components is to engage industry experts early on as mentors for students as an invaluable piece of their learning experience, and to build a strong network of advisors, advocates and collaborators.

ArchTam employees are active with the students and provide feedback on their projects, they also participate in the annual conference CityLab Summit! We’ve established “ArchTam Week,” which welcomes experts to present their current work via interactive presentations at CityLab.

We are looking forward to expanding these opportunities and celebrate Earth Day and CityLab’s Environmental Science Program this year, by inviting experts from its water and environmental groups in partnership with Big Thought.

As part for the founding team, my role included writing the original proposal, drafting the school’s curriculum and creating the CityLab Foundation, a nonprofit that enhances the school’s mission. I currently serve as a volunteer and mentor the students on a regular basis in partnership with the architecture instructor, co-founder Peter Goldstein.

Through my involvement in founding CityLab, I’ve been able to further my personal goal of increasing awareness of a career in design and to create opportunities for the next generation of leaders who are a reflection of the cultural, geographical and socio-economic diversity of North Texas —and a true reflection of the communities we serve.

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In 1974, Sudha Murthy noticed a job posting by TELCO (now Tata Motors) advertising an opening in their shop floor for engineering graduates. Specifications about the required candidature were mentioned and at the bottom the fine print read, “Women engineers need not apply.” Upset over conditions that filtered applicants based on their gender and not educational qualifications, she wrote a telegram directly to J. R. D. Tata expressing her views on their recruitment policies. In response and much to Sudha’s surprise, she was called for an interview. She successfully passed and was offered the job. She would be the only woman on the shop floor, working in 8-hour shifts and with heavy machines.

Today, Sudha is an author, philanthropist and Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. Since her time at TELCO, she has authored many books of social relevance, built public libraries and extended aid to the Devadasi community (temple dancers) in North Karnataka.

This instance of speaking up against prejudice, articulating the underlying problems and offering actionable measures to address them, is vital for any discourse on balance in a traditionally male-dominated world. Since 1974, the scenario of gender balance has been undergoing constant change. Globally, there has been growth in the number of women accessing STEM education in universities and subsequently foraying into previously unventured careers. But what does this mean and why is this important?

It is often the case that women participate less than expected according to the sex distribution in the population. Underrepresentation of women in the workforce, in key decision-making roles and in public life, are all opportunities lost in tapping into a latent body of intellect, knowledge and experience. Ultimately, it creates a lacuna in understanding any issue of socio-political and economic importance in its entirety. Persistence of widespread gender insensitivities and anachronistic systems that refuse to accommodate different perspectives, simply fuel the problem.

In contrast, participation of women in their milieu, say that of Ritu Karidhal, Anuradha TK and Nandini Harinath, three scientists who worked on the Indian Mars Mission (famously known as Mangalyaan) at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), or the women in Odisha, who in 2014 won a lawsuit to stop a bauxite mine from opening in the Dongria Kondh forest, are increasingly essential contributions in nation building. Inclusion and gender sensitization are key issues to be addressed to enable increased engagement of this often-unheard stakeholder.

We’re on the brink of a future where access to quality education, opportunities to hone skills and gain employment are not privileges, but commonplace practices. We continue to push for a culture where there is no need to choose between career and family, with institutional interventions in place to support the natural trajectory of a modern working woman and public spaces are reclaimed and owned respectfully by both halves of the population. Furthermore, for us to become fluent in the language of participatory balance, it is imperative to extend an invitation to people from all backgrounds, cognize the issues that emerge from that dialogue and address them sans apathy.

Achieving balance, not only between the two genders acknowledged in the mainstream, but also heralding equal opportunity for all is essential. For this elusive idea, it’s necessary to understand that solutions are a spectrum and not approaches of top-down or bottom-up. Constant back and forth, iterations and corrective actions against our personal and social biases and prejudices are seeds to achieve fruition in this solidarity movement.

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We live and work in a multicultural and diverse society. Awareness months help us understand various cultures and the attributes that make each of us unique. It’s this embracing of differences that strengthens our inclusion muscles.

At ArchTam, we are striving for an inclusive environment that values all employees and their differences. We want every person to bring their whole-selves to work each day and to contribute to their fullest. Because we know that when this happens, we unleash the best in collaboration and innovation.

I’m especially reflective of who I am and the relevance of awareness months, weeks and days, as we kick off our weeklong celebration of International Women’s Day (March 8), a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. You can follow our IWD conversation on social media under the hashtag #BalanceforBetter.

February is Black History Month and March marks Gender Equality Month, Women’s History Month, and National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Both months represent, in some regards, elements of my personal journey. These experiences are just a few examples of things that have ultimately shaped who I am today. I am a working family member, mother of two sons — one with dyslexia, which is a learning difference — and I am of a generation not too far removed from the plights of Jim Crow segregation.

For those unfamiliar with the term Jim Crow, it represents the U.S. state and local laws in effect in our recent history that enforced racial segregation. It also references a minstrel show character that gained popularity at the time — white actors would put on rags and use burnt cork to blacken their faces (a.k.a. Blackface) to present a mocking exaggeration of African-Americans as “lazy, stupid, and inherently less human, and unworthy of integration.”

Recognizing these moments in time inspires me and validates the desires of my heart — to show up for work and be respected and appreciated for the unique perspectives I bring. This includes being brought in to share my views on things ranging from a new workplace cultural initiative to advising how best to market services to a diverse customer segment.

Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) and the various activities happening locally in support of awareness months are examples of opportunities to learn, share perspectives and appreciate the experiences of others —making ArchTam an employer of choice.

Stay tuned all year long for more stories that celebrates our I&D journey.

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