To celebrate National Inclusion Week (23rd – 29th September 2019 ), Balfour Beatty’s Project Engineer & Multi-Cultural Affinity Network Group Co-Chair, AyoOluwa Ogunbambi-Alao, shares her views in Construction Manager on the importance of promoting an inclusive workplace.
Ayo discusses how initiatives, such as Balfour Beatty’s Multi-Cultural Affinity Network and Reverse Mentoring Programme, are key in encouraging a culture of inclusivity, positivity, and collaboration within the company – and the benefits this delivers.
Ayo explains that: “Balfour Beatty believes that a business which reflects the society it serves will be better placed to continue to deliver for its stakeholders for years to come. Opening doors and minds to allow for more diversity within the industry and instilling a culture of inclusivity will only have a positive effect on what can be achieved.”
Balfour Beatty has a long-standing commitment to equal opportunity having launched its Diversity and Inclusion Affinity Networks in 2016. The four networks covering LGBT+, Multi-Cultural, Ability and Gender Equality, provide a platform for under-represented employee groups to bring their own unique perspective to the development of Balfour Beatty’s working culture and create a fair and inclusive workplace.
Balfour Beatty recruits regardless of gender, ethnicity and social background to ensure it reflects the society in which it operates.
To hear more of Ayo’s thoughts, click here to read her piece in full. To learn more about Balfour Beatty’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, please click here.
ENDS
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Megan Wood
Balfour Beatty
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Notes to editors:
- Balfour Beatty (balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 26,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
- Our main geographies are the UK, US and Hong Kong. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
- Balfour Beatty is committed to creating an environment where all our employees can be themselves at work and perform at their best. With a number of major infrastructure projects in the pipeline, Balfour Beatty aims to meet current and future skills demand by attracting and retaining the best available talent and is committed to removing the barriers to minority groups across the industry to widen the talent pool.
- Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty’s Group Chief Executive, is the board level sponsor for Diversity and inclusion. Leo has established a Steering Committee to govern strategic diversity and inclusion activities and track progress against the three-year plan
- Balfour Beatty’s three-year UK D&I action plan focuses on Communication, Culture, Creating Opportunities, Communities/Supply Chain and Governance and has been cascaded into local business plans with bespoke targets, helping to build a strong culture of fairness, inclusion and respect across the organisation. Balfour Beatty also sit on the CITB Fairness, Inclusion and Respect Steering Committee.
- In 2019, the Multi-Cultural Affinity Network won two awards; the UK Construction, Engineering & Housing Awards “Most Inspiring Contractor” and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association Inspiring Change “Workplace Initiative”.
- Balfour Beatty female employees were recognised at the 2019 Women in Construction and Engineering awards as the overall Distinguished Winner, Best Woman Civil Engineer and Best Woman in Highways.
