Inclusion and Diversity
We believe that having a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace helps us innovate and deliver for our customers. KBR has been working diligently to create environments where everyone, from all walks of life, can feel supported, respected and heard, and to imbue our hiring and compensation practices with that same ethos to ensure that we have access to the widest possible pool of the best and brightest talent. Overall, according to the People Perspectives survey, our employees responded positively to the work we’re doing to improve our culture of inclusion and diversity (I&D).
“I applaud KBR for prioritizing inclusion and diversity. We should keep it up and also provide unconscious bias training.”
feel they belong at KBR
feel they can be themselves
However, there are some conflicting views. For example, there have been concerns voiced about KBR’s focus on the LGBTQIA+ community, which makes employees with differing views — religious or ethical — feel judged or excluded, and others feel their career opportunities may be more limited as we try to become a more diverse company. Be assured, KBR is not posturing when it comes to I&D, nor trying to appear “woke,” as some respondents commented. We believe that all our employees should be fully engaged and treated with respect. We also saw from the data that there is a feeling among employees (52%) that KBR doesn’t celebrate special events. While this may not be an I&D issue, there is a connection here that we will be mindful of going forward.
Age
WERE UNDER 30
WERE 30 TO 50
WERE OVER 50
Of note: Employees 30 and under feel KBR’s approach to development is better, with 85% of those saying their immediate manager encourages career and development (vs. 74% across KBR).
66% of employees over 50 feel fairly paid, vs. 56% below this age, and is likely linked to progression in salary over time. You can learn more about this in the Compensation and Benefits section.
Gender
OF RESPONDENTS WERE WOMEN
FEEL PROMOTION DECISIONS ARE FAIR
FEEL KBR PROVIDES A WORK ENVIRONMENT FREE OF BULLYING AND HARASSMENT
FEEL KBR IS RESPONSIVE IN ADDRESSING INAPPROPRIATE WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR
FEEL THEY ARE TREATED FAIRLY REGARDLESS OF THEIR DIFFERENCES
Race and Ethnicity
52% of respondents were white. 29% were under-represented groups (Asian, Black, Latino, Mixed/Multiracial or other). 20% preferred not to say or intimated the survey hadn’t captured race/ethnicity in Workday at time of data export. We’re asking all employees to please complete the race/ethnicity field in Workday if you haven’t yet, so that we can monitor our I&D progress. Differences in Views 65% white vs. 54% under-represented groups feel they are paid fairly. 81% white vs. 74% under-represented groups feel they are treated fairly regardless of differences. 48% white vs. 59% under-represented groups feel KBR celebrates special events. 53% white vs. 66% under- represented groups feel KBR fulfills its commitments to support local communities
What we’re doing to support Inclusion and Diversity
In 2020 we took a significant step forward in our I&D efforts with our Reimagine How We Deliver initiative. Flexible working opportunities through the new Agile Work Weeks policy have been seen as a massive benefit, which you can see in the Compensation and Benefits section. Additionally, for the first time ever, every business or functional area has an I&D improvement plan in place that focuses on outreach, hiring processes, training, culture and other measures we are using to go further. KBR has also introduced unconscious bias training and launched an I&D dashboard so that all managers and human resources teams can see lead indicators (e.g., promotions, hires, departures) and the general shape of the organization (e.g., headcount to senior managers) by gender and race/ethnicity. Thank you to those who’ve entered your personal information in Workday. If you haven’t, please do so. We’ve already seen progress at the highest levels of the business. On the executive leadership team, we’ve increased female representation by 19% compared with 2016, and we’ve improved both gender and race/ethnicity diversity on the KBR Board of Directors to 30%. Some other examples of improvements include enhanced communications, such as new dedicated pages on kbr.com and the People First video series. Employees also took the initiative in 2021 creating a veteran-focused employee resource group and a group supporting employees from racial and ethnic minorities, as well as the All In global I&D network, which currently focuses on five segments of our employee population, with potential for expansion in the future. The aims of these five cornerstones are:
- Promoting women leaders
- Serving our veterans
- Embracing the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies
- Uplifting employees of diverse racial and ethnic experiences
- Expanding opportunities for individuals with disabilities
What's next?
We recognize that KBR has a long way to go before we reflect the full make-up of the communities we serve and have developed a long-term strategy to help us become a magnet for diverse talent. Sustaining our recent progress is important, and we will continue to work with employees and our management to create the right culture and take thoughtful steps on this journey. This People Perspectives Survey data will also help guide us as we make further improvements in areas such as:
- Reviewing our employees’ experiences during periods of extended leave to ensure we stay connected during such absences and ensure they choose to return to KBR when their leave ends
- Working with our supply chain and partners to ensure that they are also accountable for having diverse employees in their organizations as part of KBR’s wider ecosystem
- Determining and communicating our long-term goals or targets
- Extending mentoring and sponsorship programs to support development of diverse talent across KBR
- Continuing to benchmark and improve our family-friendly benefits (more information in the Compensation and Benefits section)
