Construction Inclusion Week | Building Up Our Communities with GROW

Over the past four days of Construction Inclusion Week, we have explored how we can improve diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. This includes being committed and accountable to our diverse perspectives, working to create a sense of belonging within our teams, and cultivating a workplace culture that is supportive and accepting. On day five of CIW, we look at how we can achieve our inclusive diversity goals through the lens of community engagement.??

In 2023, the community engagement aspect of inclusion can largely be put into three main categories: education, shelter, and wellness. Granite Resources and Opportunities for Women (GROW) has been closely involved in all of these efforts.?

First, education: how can we inspire the next generation of construction professionals if they perceive the industry through outdated stereotypes? The future of our workforce is diverse and inclusive, so we need to project this vision to the world. Therefore, Granite invests significant time and resources in conferences, recruiting events, and college career fairs. For GROW, this included sending more than 80 delegates to the Groundbreaking Women in Construction (GWIC) conference this year. GWIC and other similar events give our employees tools to advance their own careers and better communicate the reality of the industry to potential employees.?

Second, shelter. Granite and GROW support shelter in our local communities through the ongoing partnership with Habitat for Humanity. GROW sponsors Women Build Days where a group of Granite employees and their families volunteer on a Habitat for Humanity project in their local area. GROW shares a common goal with Habitat, which is to build strength, stability, and independence in the community through female leadership. This year, we hosted eight Women Build Days in four different states. ?In fact, there was such an outpouring of support from Granite employees that we had all our original Build Days reserved by mid-2023 and had to add two more! Helping to build houses with Habitat teaches us not to take shelter for granted and supports those in our community who would struggle to live there otherwise.?

Finally, wellness. As a general contractor, Granite already has a close relationship with the communities where we work. Many of our jobs are building or repairing roadways where people drive or walk multiple times a week if not every day. Taking wellness into account means that we strive to do the best job we can to ensure that our final product is safe and functional for everyone who is going to use it, Granite employees included. At Granite we know that our projects must be completed with the utmost care and precision because our projects are meant to improve a community's infrastructure in the safest way possible.