BOSTON– Shawmut Design and Construction celebrated Women In Construction (WIC) Week last week, marked by virtual celebrations nationwide from the New England, New York, and West regions. It was Shawmut’s sixth year celebrating WIC Week, and highlighted the continuously increasing representation of women in the industry, especially at Shawmut.
Shawmut’s entry-level construction management team, including the roles of assistant superintendent, assistant estimator, and assistant project manager, is 44% female, which is more than five times the industry average of 8% in construction manager roles overall. Twenty-four percent of leadership roles at Shawmut, including project executive, manager of construction operations, chief estimator, and director, are held by women. Because of Shawmut’s commitment to the growth and diversity of its workforce, it is in the unique position to deliver teams at whatever extent of representation a client is looking for, including all-women project teams, such as the one that built JBL’s SoHo flagship in New York.
“We’re pleased to be an industry leader in our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, which is a result of creating actionable and intentional efforts,” said Les Hiscoe, Chief Executive Officer, Shawmut Design and Construction. “As an industry, it’s critical for us all to operationalize this work to break the cycle and affect real and lasting change.”
Among the actions is the establishment of and commitment to 100% pay and promotion equity. In 2019, Shawmut proactively engaged a law firm to review all compensation elements, including a complete salary audit. Areas of inequity were rectified and are continuously reviewed and adjusted. Shawmut re-examined unconscious assumptions and developed additional rigor in defining strong performance, a process for articulating promotion readiness—a typical area for unconscious bias—and pay transparency.
The firm also leads the industry in sponsorship relationships, in which Shawmut pairs high-potential, underrepresented employees with executive sponsors. These relationships facilitate the sharing of knowledge and expertise to bolster an employee’s career aspirations, with the goal of promotion to the leadership team. Taking this proactive approach mitigates the natural affinity for leaders to bring up employees who are like them. The first round of sponsorship relationships, which concluded in February this year, saw 95% retention—50% were promoted during the 18-month relationship, 30% were promoted to the senior leadership team, and 100% reported increased feelings of engagement.
Shawmut has also instituted a program that pairs mentors and mentees using a third-party algorithm that assesses goals and experience to scientifically make the best matches, eliminating the potential for unconscious bias during the matching process.
Most recently, Shawmut launched task forces to increase outreach to Minority, Woman, and Local Business Enterprises (MWLBE). The company’s New York team launched AMP (Amplifying MWLBE Partners) to drive awareness and action, including strategies to identify new opportunities and grow existing ones in an effort to engage women-owned businesses.
Shawmut’s company-wide Diversity Leadership Council (DLC) has also been enhanced by newly-established Regional Diversity Leadership Councils (RDLCs), comprised of over 70 members nationwide which represent all regions and divisions. Shawmut developed the RDLCs specifically with inclusion and belonging in mind, bringing the work to an even more local level and allowing for easier access to resources through established, daily interactions and relationships.
The Council advises the executive leadership team and drives the strategy and execution of processes, practices, and policy supporting a culture of belonging and inclusivity. The DLC has partnered with Deloitte Human Capital and Catalyst to build awareness of unconscious bias, improve managerial, promotion, and mentorship systems, and use data to establish accountability—creating a strategic framework to advance toward its goal of workplace equity and having the strongest, most diverse representation.
“While there’s still more work to be done in our journey, I am so proud of our team at Shawmut—on every level—for the continuous work to bring us closer to a more diverse and inclusive company and world,” concluded Hiscoe.
