At their core, diversity, equity, and inclusion are deeply human values. They reflect the collective strength that stems from elevating one another in common purpose. At the same time, they have also come to generate a myriad of thoughts, ideas, emotions, and expectations. This is particularly true for any large organization whose current and future team members enter dialogue about the topic from their own unique perspectives and life experiences.
At Kittelson, these words—and more importantly, the concepts behind them—resonate with us as an extension of our longstanding values that have shaped our organizational culture for more than forty years. From our earliest days, we have worked to create a space that’s welcoming and supportive for all Kittelson team members. Diversity, equity, and inclusion at Kittelson go beyond a standalone initiative or program: they are outcomes of living from our values and an expression of the type of place we want to be.
Operating in this way starts with empathy: looking beyond our own experiences to understand the needs and perspectives of others. Empathy is essential for the planning and design of transportation systems that meet the needs of everyone who uses them.
We strive to practice empathy through our core value of outward focus, which is the mindset of placing the needs and best interests of others above our own. From our early days as a firm, we’ve pursued a range of perspectives as we run our projects and support our people, seeking to go beyond our individual experiences to examine transportation challenges and organizational decisions from every angle.
On projects, this looks like assembling multidisciplinary teams and drawing on our wide range of educational and professional backgrounds. This is made possible through cultural norms within our flat organizational structure that encourage and support project teams and offices to work together as one firm, operating in many locations.
Internally, this looks like establishing inclusive, staff-led hiring practices, keeping open lines of communication in all directions, and providing a safe space for team members to make meaningful connections and organize organically around topics of interest in support of one another outside of project interactions.
What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you? We welcome the opportunity to have a thoughtful conversation about what these concepts mean and how they translate to a workplace that takes care of its people.