BIASC’s role as the voice of these constituents in Southern California – home to the most diverse businesses per capita in the United States – demands Authenticity for that collective voice to be both genuine and effective. And this means that as a trade association, it is incumbent upon us to embrace and leverage the broad spectrum of talent from diverse racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Authenticity means that our leadership, staff, membership and suppliers must increasingly reflect this Diversity – not to mention the communities that we serve in building a wide range of housing types, sizes and costs that support an increasingly diversified array of lifestyle choices.
People from all walks of life should be able to share in the American Dream, and BIA is committed to serving as one collective voice for our building workforce.
INCLUSION
The Right Approach?
WOVEN INTO ORGANIZATIONAL FABRIC!
INITIATIVE MUST BE:
- Intentional
- Integrated
- Institutional
INDIVIDUALS MUST BE:
- Committed
- Educated on Topic (Learning Culture)
- Willing to Act
THE OUTCOMES WILL:
- Strengthen Customer Orientation
- Increase Employee Satisfaction
- Enhance the Company’s Image
- Win the War for Talent
Diversity in the Military – a Veteran’s Perspective
Eric was born and raised in Clarke County, Virginia and went on to serve in the US Army including multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to finding the military more diverse than where he grew up, he felt it had a strong, positive impact on the mission.
“Diversity brings in different thought processes, cultures, problem-solving skills and experiences into one group. Allowing different avenues of approach to accomplish tasks and missions. Diversity allowed me to be more open-minded to understand different cultures and individual backgrounds. Which gave me the understanding of the organization’s culture (when I was a team leader and a squad leader). This understanding allowed me to grasp how individuals are going to respond or react from a simple form of communication, for example.” – Eric W.