91视频

By Brian Johnson

91视频 Newswire

Mortenson Construction is part of a major push ramping up this fall to promote diversity in construction, an initiative inspired in part by the national reckoning following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Mortenson is a founding member of the Time for Change consortium, which aims to advance 鈥渄iversity, equity and inclusion鈥� in the industry and ensure that job sites are free of 鈥渉arassment, hate or bigotry of any kind.鈥�

The consortium boasts some of the biggest names in the U.S. construction industry. Besides Mortenson, founding members are Gilbane Building Co.; Redwood, California-based DPR Construction; New York-based Turner Construction Co.; St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos.; and Bethesda, Maryland-based Clark Construction Group.

Time for Change plans to launch its 鈥淐onstruction Inclusion Week鈥� this fall. As part of the event, scheduled for Oct. 18-22, the group encourages all contractors to organize diversity-related activities and explore topics such as unconscious bias and job site culture.

Also up for discussion are themes that include 鈥渓eadership commitment and accountability for diversity, equity and inclusion; supplier diversity; and community outreach,鈥� according to the consortium.

Dan Johnson, president and CEO of Mortenson, said the group was formed last year after construction executives from across the country gathered to discuss an effort to attract young people to careers in building-related fields.

A seminal moment came after the CEO of Turner Construction pulled Johnson aside and said there was another topic he wanted to discuss.

鈥淚t was shortly after George Floyd’s murder,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淎nd the topic was, 鈥榃hat are we going to do as an industry to improve? How do we take the momentum that’s currently being created in society and apply it to our industry?鈥�

Like most industries, construction 鈥渘eeds to advance in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion,鈥� Johnson added. 鈥淏ut I think construction in particular has some unique challenges in that area. And so, from that, we formed an alliance called Time for Change.鈥�

Time for Change isn’t alone in calling for more diversity and inclusion in construction.

The Associated General Contractors of America went down a similar path with the recent launch of its聽聽program, which aims to ensure that 鈥渆very employee, from the CEO to the laborer, has the opportunity to feel valued, respected and heard.鈥�

From the field to the boardroom, there’s a lot of work to be done.

According to AGC, people who identify as Black make up 12 percent of the total workforce, but only 6 percent of the construction labor pool. Women compose 47 percent of the overall workforce, but just 9 percent of construction workers, according to the AGC.

Asked how much progress he’s seeing in the building industry on the diversity front, Johnson said it depends on where you’re looking.

鈥淚f you walked in our lunch room, you would say, 鈥榊ou guys are making really good progress,’鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you walked into a senior leadership meeting, you’d say, 鈥榊ou guys really need to get going.’

鈥淏ut our senior leadership looks like the people we hired 20 and 30 years ago. So I think the dilemma for Mortenson and a lot of firms is: 鈥楬ow do we diversify our leadership while still respecting the people that are growing up inside our industry and inside our company?’

鈥淭hat’s a challenge we all face.鈥�

Each day of Construction Inclusion Week offers a theme related to specific challenges and opportunities.

In Mortenson’s case, the main topic is supplier diversity. The firm has made a concerted effort to work with a diverse group of suppliers, including women- and minority-owned firms, Johnson said.

That applies to all of its projects, not just on public work, he said. Johnson added that it’s not enough to just have diversity outreach plans for big projects like U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, which come with equity goals.

鈥淵ou can’t have that (one large project) and then not do it again until the next public project, because you won’t create the capacity in the industry,鈥� Johnson added. 鈥淎nd it’s just the wrong thing to do.

鈥淲e need to have diversity on every project to build that capacity to allow those firms to be sustainable.鈥�