{"id":26843,"date":"2024-02-28T06:32:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T11:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.parsons.com\/?p=26843"},"modified":"2024-03-05T16:47:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T21:47:51","slug":"imagine-next-in-the-light-of-dei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.parsons.com\/2024\/02\/imagine-next-in-the-light-of-dei\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagine Next: In The Light Of DEI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"EBRGs\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Workplaces around the world are striving to become more inclusive and diverse, resulting in employees from different backgrounds and cultures gaining platforms from which to share their experiences and perspectives. The snowball effect of that advancement is a growing understanding and appreciation for the differences among people, which empowers a boost in innovation and creativity, enabling the best possible ideas and solutions. When employees who are different from their coworkers in gender, ethnicity, physical ability, or sexual orientation feel safe to be their authentic selves and to speak freely and openly about their differences, they\u2019re more likely to leverage those differences to offer viewpoints and skill sets that could improve their organization\u2019s problem-solving proficiency and, ultimately, increase their success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at Parsons, our efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace have us envisioning a future that\u2019s looking brighter than ever. By providing holistic development opportunities for diverse employees, by exploring generational awareness of complex DEI topics, and by recognizing the importance of intersectionality and how it affects employees in the workplace, we\u2019re truly imagining next and looking to transform tomorrow for the better. And one key way we\u2019re accomplishing that objective is through our employee business resource groups (EBRGs), which create safe places for employees to collaborate, be heard, and grow professionally to ensure a cooperative, inclusive work environment that maximizes innovation, produces world-class solutions, and grows the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what is an EBRG, exactly? For that answer, we turn to Erica White-Dunston. Erica joined Parsons as our DEI director in 2022. She says, \u201cI chose Parsons because its history in ethical behavior and its commitment to authenticity and fairness modeled the work environment I sought.\u201d Erica, a highly credentialed graduate of Howard University, Syracuse University College of Law, and Regent University School of Divinity, is a strong adherent to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King\u2019s concept of the Beloved Community, driven by caring and compassion, which leads us back to EBRGs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Erica, \u201cEBRGs are groups created to help us better understand and create a collaborative relationship between the employees of that specific area of interest and\/or background and the overall business. Each EBRG acts as a liaison between its members and the larger corporation to help marry the interests, goals, needs, and wants of the employees with the primary goals and needs of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, we have seven EBRGs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n