AECOM is committed to #PressforProgress, and its leaders have put it in writing. For International Women’s Day 2018, AECOM leaders are sharing their thoughts on the subject and their personal pledges to help accelerate gender parity in the global workplace and beyond.
 

Mike Burke, Chairman and Chief Executive
"We make it a priority to foster an environment that empowers people to thrive. This means embracing inclusion and diversity, and developing leaders who champion equal opportunity and representation. Pressing for progress is a major part of our commitment. In 2015, we set a goal to double women in leadership positions by 2020 — and we’re on track to do so. As a global company that prioritizes collaboration as a core value, we understand that the vast experiences, opinions and backgrounds of our 87,000 colleagues make it possible to be an employer of choice in our industry and deliver the best solutions to the world’s most complex challenges."
 

Mary Finch, EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer
"On International Women’s Day, let’s turn our attention to the status of women around the world. While some have experienced progress toward parity, basic human rights for women and girls are not guaranteed in all parts of the world. As a member of the global community, to #PressForProgress, we must make it our work to influence equality and opportunity, and to champion these rights."
 

Todd Battley, Chief Executive, Australia and New Zealand
"Gender equality, inclusion and diversity all impact our ability to deliver better outcomes for our clients, shareholders and staff. As an organisation, we’re committed to excellence in all we do, and I strongly believe we can’t truly excel and realize our full potential unless we achieve greater diversity in our teams at all levels. International Women’s Day is the perfect time to remember this and to continue the work we do to #PressForProgress across our business."
 

Carla Christofferson, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer
"When we hear estimates that global gender parity won’t happen for another 200 years, it can be disheartening. However, it’s also a strong motivator to #PressForProgress harder and further. The support I received throughout my career has been instrumental in helping me advance to where I am today, and it’s important for me to do the same — to champion an environment where all employees can reach their full potential. As a company, we work to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges, and this is one we’re built to deliver on. For real progress to happen, we must recognize we’re in this together. When women thrive, we all thrive."
 

Patrice Graves, SVP, Human Resources, Design and Consulting Services / Construction Services
"International Women’s Day is time to reflect on and acknowledge the outstanding contributions of women in our lives and our workforce.  It’s also a time to identify ways that we can continue to push for more progress. I’m excited about the advancements already achieved at AECOM and appreciate the support from our CEO Mike Burke and senior leadership team as we continue our efforts to break the glass ceiling across the enterprise."
 

Nicole Stoddart, Managing Director, Construction Services, Australia and New Zealand
"The responsibility to support and actively champion inclusion and diversity lies with all of us. While the business benefits of a diverse workforce are long-proven, some still question the need for change. As leaders, we can make the difference by challenging the status quo and by making inclusive decisions. Within the workplace, we must look carefully at recruitment, hiring and promotion processes and equalize the gender pay gap — we must evolve to reflect today’s expectations."
 

Sean Chiao, President, Asia Pacific
"AECOM is at its strongest when we draw on diversity in all its forms to enhance our creativity and collaboration and, ultimately, the quality of solutions we provide to our clients. From early career professionals to senior leadership, women are represented at every level of our organization across Asia Pacific, and their talent and contributions anchor our success. While every step toward gender equality is good progress, there’s still much to achieve. International Women’s Day is a timely reminder for all of us to ask ourselves what more we can do personally to help build a world where women stand alongside men as equals on every level."
 

Dan McQuade, Group President, Construction Services
We can’t deny that historically, our industry hasn’t made great strides to actively challenge the status quo. But, in recent years mindsets have been shifting, leading to better opportunities that welcome all backgrounds and experiences. Now is the time for us to embrace this culture of change, continue to foster diverse environments, and #PressForProgress!"
 

Cheryl Cabbil, Associate Director, Nuclear/High Hazard Operations, Management Services
"Fostering a supportive and encouraging environment is critical to enable AECOM to attract, inspire and develop world-class talent for our future workforce. Standing together and fostering collaboration, particularly among women in the workplace, is an important aspect of inclusion. I view everyone that I come in contact with each day as having something valuable to offer. Imagine how we can expand and grow our personal, professional, business and intellectual capital if we embrace the power of inclusion and diversity."



Heather Rim, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
"At an early age, I watched my grandmother succeed in business with courage, passion and determination. She sparked a fire in me that’s been burning ever since. She instilled in me the great responsibility to lead by example — to inspire belief and confidence in my children through the power of my actions. To #PressForProgress, we must build on the strength of generations and use it to create change for all who come after."

Jill Bruning, EVP and General Manager, IS4, Management Services
"For me, #PressForProgress is a call to action. As women, we need to support each other and show solidarity. Often in my career, I’ve felt alone in dealing with gender issues. Now we have many more women in leadership positions who serve as role models and mentors. Through our collective voice, we’re empowered to press forward until all are included. Diversity is getting invited to the party — inclusion is getting asked to dance. It’s time to get out and dance!"
 

Charlton Wong, Chief Executive, Greater China
"I’m proud that AECOM is building recognition globally for our contributions to ensuring workplace diversity and inclusive opportunities. Through “Inclusion + Diversity,” we’re committed to helping more women colleagues grow, learn and succeed in the company, and particularly through new opportunities, such as the huge growth of infrastructure developments across Asia, which provide outsized chances for women to shine and lead."

Susan Dumond, SVP, Global Talent Management
"I love seeing fierce little girls smash stereotypes and make their own paths. Not everyone grows up being told, “you can be whatever you want to be.” Seeing what women and girls are accomplishing today, turning preconceived notions on their heads, is incredibly inspiring. We must be the voices of support, the ones who say “anything is possible.” Let’s #PressForProgress by thinking and dreaming without limits, and encouraging others to do the same."
 

Alfredo Mendez, VP, Organization and Employee Experience
"Now is the time to talk about advancing gender inclusion in the private sector. As a company, to be a leader in the markets we serve, in order to shape the future of infrastructure, we must also champion equality, ensuring all voices are heard and respected. Now is the time to take action and capitalize on the benefits that inclusion and diversity bring to the work we do to deliver a better world."
 

Helen Fraser, Director, Human Resources, Australia/New Zealand
"By increasing gender diversity across our ANZ business, we’re positively impacting our culture, improving how we serve our clients, and strengthening our ability to innovate. In three years, we’ve increased the number of women in leadership by over 60%. And although this equates to only 17% of leadership roles filled by women, change takes time. International Women’s Day provides an important opportunity to reflect on where we’ve come and to be inspired by what we can achieve together."
 

Steve Morriss, Group President, Design and Consulting Services, Americas
"Building a true appreciation for the power of inclusion and diversity starts with listening. For me, reverse mentoring has been incredibly beneficial. Seeing the industry, our work environment and career opportunities through the eyes of my mentor, a woman in her early career as an urban planner, helped me understand a different perspective and better positions me to provide advocacy and support. We must create a place where people are measured by passion, experience, skills and hard work. Everything we do now to #PressForProgress will translate into better opportunities for our people, better results for clients, and better futures for everyone."

Randy Wotring, Chief Operating Officer
"We seek to attract and retain the brightest, most imaginative talent in our industry — and to do that, we must press for progress. AECOM cannot realize its vision without reaching goals of gender parity, equality of opportunity, and the highest levels of inclusivity and diversity. We strive for continuous improvement with a workforce that lives our AECOM core values."
 

Lara Poloni, Chief Executive, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa
"International Women’s Day is a catalyst and reminder to drive culture change across our business. We know it’s not a level playing field, and we know we need to act now to address disparity. We have initiatives in place to advance women in the workplace, such as our mCircles programme, reverse mentoring and senior female mentoring, but we’re far from done. In 2018, we’ll establish an Inclusion + Diversity committee to drive accountability, begin a pay analysis in the UK&I, remove names from early careers CVs to reduce bias, and increase flexible work options. I continue to #PressforProgress and invite you to join me."
 

Billy Wong, Regional Executive, Southeast Asia
"I’m proud to join our global colleagues in pledging support and celebrating International Women’s Day. In our efforts to attain an inclusive workplace, we continue to press forward on our commitment to equal opportunity, diversity and transparency. We honour our guiding principle of absolute meritocracy and look forward to more of our women colleagues growing and advancing within our organisation."

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