Equality, diversity & inclusion
Diversity: not a goal in itself but a way to achieve our goals
We believe diversity is key in our success. This means we want to embrace and encourage personal skills, talents and different perspectives. Regardless of your gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, physical ability or nationality. We do our best to facilitate an open-minded culture where people are inspired by each other. In our day-to-day work, we deal with complex problems that require innovative solutions. We believe that by embracing diversity of thought and ideas and providing space for new and progressive perspectives, the best solutions come about. In short, diversity is not a goal in itself, but a fundamental way to achieve goals.
A work environment where you are inspired and can be yourself
We are committed to providing everyone with a safe working environment. Because this is the foundation for personal and professional growth within our company. We encourage conversation on various equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) topics. In addition, we want to connect and inspire. We do this in different ways. Small and big. For instance through internal events for all our employees worldwide or by organising training sessions and workshops (such as unconscious bias training or ethical dilemma discussion sessions). But also by keeping the subject on the agenda internally. For instance, ED&I is included as a fixed agenda item in all company-wide, management team and team meetings and we are changing our internal HR processes by pursuing an active ED&I HR policy.
Internal networks
We have also founded (or have been created bottom-up) internal networks for colleagues with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and diverse ethnic backgrounds. Here, best practices are shared, and awareness is created to better understand each other's experiences.
Global events
Throughout the year, we highlight the importance of diversity by organising (inter)national events for all employees (e.g., by celebrating International Women's Day together, or reflecting together on the importance of Speak Up mentality and through our international learning weeks). By doing this, we support our colleagues to create a collaborative, equal environment where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves.
I am very lucky to work in such an inclusive, open, and supportive environment at Royal HaskoningDHV. The global Pride@RHDHV, for example, provides a supportive environment for colleagues to come together.
Personal and professional growth: Equal opportunities for all
Everyone deserves the same opportunity. Including you. That is what we have developed our policies around. Both when you apply for a job with us, and in your personal and professional development when you are working with us.
We are committed to equal representation in longlists of recruitment, succession and development programmes. We aim to have diverse selection teams and interview panels.
We delivered unconscious bias training to teams and especially managers and recruiters to create awareness of everyone's unconscious biases.
In Vietnam, we launched a coaching programme for our Vietnamese senior female colleagues focused on softer skills. This follows our director's commitment in Vietnam to support the Women's Empowerment Principles.
In the UK, we launched our first mentoring programme for female employees, aiming to develop women to access senior positions, thus closing the gender pay gap.
We are also committed to reducing the gender pay gap. For the UK, gender pay gap reporting is available in our UK Gender Pay Gap Report, which reflects our progress. You can read more about this here.
In the Netherlands, we partner with Refugee Talent Hub. Refugee Talent Hub brings refugees and employers closer together with paid jobs as a goal.
Encouraging more diversity is our mission
We are proud to have begun to overcome the challenges and obstacles in our traditional industry and unlock the power of diversity in our traditional industry and society. We are working towards lasting change, with significant steps and results.
We continue to encourage more women into engineering through initiatives such as recruitment campaigns. We run internal and external campaigns, often around special days such as International Women's Day or International Women in Engineering Day, to share what we do and inspire others.
UN Women’s Empowerment Principles
Our CEO, Marije Hulshof, has formalised our commitment to gender equality by signing the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. We’re dedicated to celebrating and amplifying women's contributions, and by aligning with these principles, we will continuously challenge ourselves to ensure transparency, equality, and safety in everything we do as organisation.
We have become partners in the Diverse Sustainability Initiative (DSI) to help transform and promote diversity within our industry.
We renewed our membership and commitment to the goal of Women in Engineering and Science (WISE) with the aim of growing the number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
We signed the G20 Empower Women pledge to accelerate the advancement of women into leadership positions.
We have appointed female leaders to board positions because of their qualities, and therefore have strong female role models in positions where they can drive change and inspire colleagues.
We have an International Women's Network in which women seek each other out and organise activities that we ourselves need. On the agenda are, for example, the celebration of International Women's Day, a TED talk, a film night and intervision & mentoring.
Does this sound like the right fit for you?
Enrich our team with your unique perspectives and perspectives and contribute to our mission: Enhancing Society Together.
