Shawmut has been named a Best Workplace for Women by Fortune Magazine—a significant achievement in an industry that’s less than 10% female and has an average of 8% women in construction manager roles. We’re extremely proud of this award and our progress toward increased female representation at Shawmut, with an entry-level construction management team—including the roles of assistant superintendent, assistant estimator, and assistant project manager—that’s 44% women and leadership roles—including project executive, manager of construction operations, chief estimator, and director—that are 24% women.

We know we need to provide the best for our people to feel their best, which is why we are taking actionable steps toward workplace equity, including:

Pay Equity

We have established and are committed to 100% pay and promotion equity. In 2019, we proactively engaged a law firm to review all compensation elements, including a complete salary audit. Areas of inequity were rectified and are continuously reviewed and adjusted, with additional rigor employed to define strong performance, articulate promotion readiness, and pay transparency.

Sponsorship Relationships

Leading the industry, we pair high-potential, underrepresented employees with executive sponsors to facilitate knowledge-sharing to bolster an employee’s career aspirations, with the goal of promotion to the leadership team. The first round of sponsorship relationships saw 95% retention—50% were promoted during the 18-month relationship, 30% were promoted to the senior leadership team, and 100% reported increased feelings of engagement.

Mentorship Program

We pair mentors and mentees using a third-party algorithm that assesses goals and experience to scientifically make the best matches, eliminating the potential for unconscious bias during the matching process. This ensures fruitful relationships for both the mentee and mentor.

Amplifying MWLBE Partners

We are committed to growing women’s share of voice and business both within and outside the walls of Shawmut, and have a task force to increase outreach to Minority, Woman, and Local Business Enterprises (MWLBE). Our New York team launched AMP to drive awareness and action, including strategies to identify new opportunities and grow existing ones to engage women-owned businesses.

Ownership

Our efforts wouldn’t be successful without employee engagement and support. As a 100% employee-owned company, we have a culture of ownership, proactive solution-making, and forward-thinking—and 97% of our people say they are proud to tell others they work here. Our people say, “People are given a great deal of responsibility, which I think shows how much trust they have in those they hire. I couldn’t ask for a better manager or company to work for.”