Inequity, racism and oppression are systemic. As a business, we can do a lot about that.
We are committed to equity. This means heightening our awareness to inequity in all its forms. It means acknowledging our privilege and employing it to fuel change. It means looking for our own biases. When they become apparent, ask for feedback, commit to change and improve our understanding. It means being allies to all work for social justice.
We continually review policies in order to remove barriers that historically impede progress for people of diverse ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, gender identity, socio-economic status, and disabilities from achieving the success we enjoy, and contributing their best gifts to our city. We listen to and respect the stories of others. Then, respond with creativity and policies that honor those stories.
We are certified as a Just Corporation by the International Living Future Institute.
We are certified in Oregon as a Woman-Owned and Emerging Small Business.
Our ever-changing internal team has benefitted from the talents of individuals from diverse ethnicities and nationalities.
Equal pay for equal work has always been our policy.
We have flexible and generous family-leave policies.
We strive to include women and minority-owned businesses as partners and subcontractors.
We work to use processes, materials and methods in projects that respect the environment. We encourage our clients to do the same.
We grow food behind the studio and are working toward certification as a backyard habitat.
We fund continuing professional development in order to support opportunity for advancement.
We contribute both time and services to a host of organizations fighting for social justice.
We invest in and design our own small-scale real-estate projects. We know that, as designers, we are skilled at weaving beauty, neighborhood values, sustainability and finances into a vision that takes a longer view of what we do when we build. We share what we learn with disenfranchised people, and artists. Encouraging them to become independent developers as well. Because local, independent property owners make more thoughtful choices when designing their neighborhoods.
Designers thrive on ideas. Those ideas are only as rich and diverse as the communities we engage. Lack of diversity creates a paucity of creative thinking. Solving the design problems we take on requires the talents of every point-of-view among us. It is also more fun.
Finally, it is a privilege to work hard at what we love. It is our responsibility to do all we can to make this opportunity is available to anyone who cares to do the same.