Highlands Ranch, Colorado — August 7, 2019 — The Environmental Business Journal recently asked Brooke Bonkoski, west region director for Arcadis’ environmental practice, to participate in a diversity and inclusion (D&I) feature in their latest publication.
The firsthand perspective on diversity and inclusion features voices of experience from women leaders and company D&I policies across four organizations.
In the article, Bonkoski spoke to her personal experience as a woman who has advanced her career in the environmental industry as well as where society is today in terms of supporting underrepresented populations in STEM-focused careers.
“While there is a lot of energy and focus on women, we have to remember that there are a variety of underrepresented groups in our industry, and we need to be cognizant of intersectionality, which magnifies marginalization,” said Bonkoski.
She also discussed Arcadis’ D&I programs, including hosting unconscious bias trainings, conducting company-wide inclusion surveys, reviewing metrics and statistics on a quarterly basis, and strengthening affinity groups, like the Women’s, Pride (LGBTQ+) and Black Employee Networks.
“To Arcadis, client success means bringing insights, agility and innovation to co-create value,” Bonkoski said when asked about the greatest value of a diverse workforce.
“We can’t do that without a diversity of voices and perspectives. Study after study has shown that creativity and innovation thrive in diverse environments, and that solutions should be developed by people who can understand and empathize with the end user, who themselves are a diverse group of people. Through collaboration and inclusion, we create better outcomes and stronger solutions, and achieve our passion for improving quality of life.”
Read the full feature in the Environmental Business Journal.