Beca signs Diversity Agenda Accord

Beca has become a signatory of the Diversity Agenda Accord - a partnership between Engineering NZ, NZIA and ACE NZ - committing to making our industry more inclusive for all.

Commenting on the Accord, Darryl-Lee Wendelborn – Managing Director New Zealand said, “This is an essential agreement that moves us collectively towards becoming a diverse and inclusive industry. To create safe and resilient communities that meet the needs of future generations, we need to reflect those communities by being organisations that people aspire to work in, where they feel they belong, can bring their whole selves to work and where their work has meaning and purpose. We know the industry can do better and this is a big step forward in holding us all accountable for the actions that we need to take to achieve true diversity and inclusion in the sector.”

The Accord has three focus areas – leadership, people engagement and inclusivity – and places a strong emphasis on monitoring and reporting so that progress can be tracked. Beca has developed an outline plan for the next 12 months which will see us measure and provide data on several diversity and inclusion indicators. These will help us to understand the diversity within our organisation and determine actions to foster an inclusive workplace for everyone.

The Accord focus areas:

LEADERS AND DECISION MAKERS ARE LEADING THE WAY.

• Awareness counts: we measure so we know how we are progressing
• Behaviour matters: inclusion is at the centre of how we think, what we say and all we do
• Courage catalyses: no one can be a bystander

OUR PEOPLE INFLUENCE OUR DECISIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS.

• We create opportunities for our people to be involved in how we plan, design and take action
• We actively seek our people’s input to shape what they need to belong
• We implement changes that positively impact on all our people
• We encourage creative and diverse thinking to help us and our industry embrace the changing world

WE EXPECT FAIR AND INCLUSIVE TREATMENT FOR AND FROM EVERYONE, INCLUDING ALL ORGANISATIONS WE WORK WITH.

• We will close the gap on pay equity
• We have zero tolerance for harassment and bullying, and will respond swiftly and appropriately to any allegation
• We uncover and eliminate barriers to diversity and inclusion in our systems, practices and processes
• We make sure our people feel safe in all places they work.