Employee Resource Group Spotlight
From promoting fair practices, to fostering professional development, to raising awareness around important social issues, to encouraging employees to bring their whole selves to work, employee resource groups (ERGs) are a critical part of KBR’s culture.
Here are a few recent ERG highlights from across the company.
The seed of the idea for Pride and Allies United States was planted at a KBR picnic in June 2021. The idea received enthusiastic support from executive leadership, including Stuart Bradie, Jenni Myles, Ella Studer and Mark Kavanaugh, and in December 2022, membership was sealed with the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce.
Cut to 2023, Pride and Allies U.S. is now a reality with a calendar full of activities!
On February 22, Pride and Allies U.S. celebrated KBR’s eighth annual Zero Harm Day. The very next day, in honor of the prestigious history of people of color and the many contributions of the African-American queer community, Pride and Allies U.S. invited Liam Adair, the first Black transgender board-certified holistic practitioner, for a virtual presentation titled “Walking in Your Truth: Bringing your Whole Self to Work.”
Major annual celebrations or observances include Pride Month in June and LGBTQIA+ History Month and National Coming Day in October. Pride and Allies U.S. will be organizing engaging activities for members of the community and their allies.
Additionally, at least one in-person event each month will be held in Houston and across the other U.S. sites. These include walks to end HIV, NBA Pride Night, karaoke, charity events, bowling, bingo, drag brunch, crawfish boils, volunteering with LGBTQIA+ organizations, and much more.
Pride and Allies U.S. is also working to offer LGBTQIA+-focused training for KBR employees and collaborates with colleagues to implement training that fits the needs of certain departments or business units.
This year, Pride and Allies U.S. will explore how it can work with local colleges and universities to connect the LGBTQIA+ community with KBR employment opportunities. The Pride and Allies U.S. board of directors and site leads have stepped up to contribute to the group’s exponential growth.
The U.S. chapter of KBR’s Armed Forces Community (AFC) ERG was celebrated at multiple U.S. locations on November 11 last year. Launched with the goal of connecting and supporting armed forces veterans, spouses and members of the wider community through a collaborative network, the AFC will be launching at various sites and rolling out community events, building on the successes of the UK chapter that launched in 2021.
Throughout 2023, the AFC will pursue various milestones in accordance with the draft charter and bylaws. The AFC will be launching additional local groups across the U.S. and other locations. The ERG is currently seeking site leads for U.S. groups, which will be followed by selection of site leaders and the formation of an interim board for AFC U.S. governance, along with a formal AFC U.S. board of directors.
The ERG aims to build its membership and conduct various outreach and fellowship events throughout the year.
Every year on March 8, KBR joins with millions around the world to enthusiastically celebrate International Women's Day.
This year, KBR leaders highlighted the women of KBR on their social media accounts, and ASPIRE — KBR’s ERG committed to women’s advancement and gender parity — hosted several events at KBR locations across the globe.
ASPIRE now has chapters in Iraq and UAE, and the women of ASPIRE Iraq organized a roundtable panel surrounding this year’s theme, Embrace Equity. The ladies at KBR’s Abu Dhabi office were surprised by a gift hamper and balloons at their desks in the morning. (A rose and cupcake each was a bonus!)
While ASPIRE Australia and UK celebrated the day with panel discussions on how to progress our culture of inclusion for women at work, ASPIRE U.S.’s Houston leadership team presented a roundtable discussion with select KBR mentor/mentee pairings to discuss how these relationships relate to equity, as well as personal and professional development.
ASPIRE’s India chapter of Gurgaon and Pune together with Chennai organized a workshop, “Sathi - Embracing Equality” on March 3, 2023. The objective was to bring people together under the guidance of an experienced trainer to brainstorm and conceptualize how to build workplaces where everyone feels encouraged, valued, respected and included without gender bias.
It’s been a great start to 2023 for MERGE, KBR’s ERG created to help advance the culture of inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging among historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
The latest installment of MERGE’s “Let’s Talk About It” panel discussion series was the culminating event for Black History Month and included panelists Alison Vasquez, Jade Marcantel and Tracey Dorsey.
Excitingly, the ERG now has a presence at a physical KBR location. MERGE Houston, founded and led by Jennifer Alford, officially launched on February 20, 2023 and made its first appearance at the KBR Quarterly Town Hall, giving out pastries and muffins alongside fellow ERGs. The launch included a sponsorship donation to the TSU National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and trivia giveaways to local minority-owned businesses.
The highlight of the day was MERGE Houston leaders and TSU NSBE students sharing their personal minority stories during a dinner hosted by Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR’s Sustainable Technology Solutions business. The attendees were inspired by Jay’s sharing of his experiences as a minority and his advice for navigating difficult cultural situations within academia and the workforce.
MERGE also sponsored the Midwest Invitational Black Rodeo and will likely do so again in 2024 alongside Alabama A&M University, an HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities), and other local educational institutions, which will enable MERGE to help support KBRs mission of minority recruiting.
