Workshop Recap: Achieving DEI Targets in Partnership with General Contractors
On Thursday, August 26th, SCANPH convened for Part III of the DEI series, Achieving DEI Targets in Partnership with General Contractors: Diversifying Subcontractor Hires in Affordable Housing. In November 2020, SCANPH debuted Part I of this series to discuss the role that affordable housing developers play in centering race, equity and inclusion in the affordable housing development and construction process. In February 2021, the session spurred conversation on the topic of how to implement DEI policies at developer organizations.
This conversation presented an opportunity for developers and contractors to explore how individual organizations and the overall industry can advance tools, thresholds and policies to collaboratively pursue inclusive hiring goals in partnership with general contractors. Participants heard from developers in different stages of this process, including one case study that detailed a pilot program establishing contractual DEI policies and thresholds in a project’s contractor agreement. Panelists examined contractor barriers and how to collectively diversify subcontractor hiring. This panel was moderated by Denice Wint, Director of Project Development at EAH Housing and SCANPH Board Member; Chair of the Strategic and External Affairs Committee, along with Van Scott, Director of Development at BRIDGE Housing. Moderators guided panelists through a conversation of how to best diversify the workforce to promote diversification goals among subcontractors.
Opening the session, attendees heard from Rosalind Ross, Project Manager at Community Housing Works (CHW). CHW is a nationally recognized nonprofit. Focusing on DEI in construction, Ross touched on how the national DEI focus accelerated CHW’s work, prompting their organization to build a scalable model. CHW enacted working group discussions, which included the National Black Contractors Association. Covering impediments, obstructions and opportunities, the working group focused on strategies to develop an action plan to omit barriers for BIPOC individuals and disadvantaged businesses. Ross commented that while Section 3 reporting provides a baseline for diversification goals, we need to expand beyond Section 3; enacting DEI goals directly focused on accountable DEI implementation through measurements, periodical project reporting and data analysis.
The next panelist, Peter Bridge, Director of Client Relations at Sun Country Builders, shared about the importance of diligent subcontractor outreach. He advised that outreach should be personable and individualized to create lasting partnerships. Dividing projects between multiple subs introduces added risk and inconvenience, it’s necessary to promote DEI goals. Bridge encourages creative thinking to differently manage projects, and he challenged bankers in the audience to think about the possibility of providing small funding pools to carry small scale subcontractors. Among his suggested strategies, Bridge advised developers to set DEI standards at the consultant stage and bring in DEI consultants on all projects. While many hesitate to adopt this difficult process, developers should require documentation of good faith outreach efforts to ensure that subcontractors and presenting valid documents. In closing, Bridge hopes that our industry can present subcontractors with many available project opportunities.
Panelist Drexell C. Johnson, Founder of the Young Black Contractors Association, provided insight into limited Black representation in the construction industry. Johnson has been able to positively impact Black representation by calling the narrative by name; many subcontractor jobs get awarded to non-Black individuals. By promoting new subcontractor relationships and putting the right contractors on the jobs, Black contractors who possess the same certifications as non-Black subcontractors can gain more industry representation.
Panelist Avi Shah of Portrait Construction shared thoughts concerning Section 3; although minority hiring has always been around, only in the past 10 years has the conversation shifted to DEI-minded subcontractor hiring.
To conclude the panel, Van Scott provided an overview of the success of his involvement in Jordan Downs, specifically on the development’s Section 3 performance and outcomes report. Scott noted that the top 2 zip codes from which Jordan Downs Section 2 workers lived were located in Watts, indicating hyperlocal hiring. While the project was required to meet a Section 3 77 percent local hire goal, in first phase the project hit 70 percent local hire and 100 percent in its second phase. Additionally, the average pay rate for local Section 3 hire workers was $34.40, amounting to an average total project earnings of $1,176,292. Scott noted that if we zoom out and think about the untapped potential held by all SCANPH developer projects, we can imagine a future with widespread positive potential impact, shifting towards more equitable hiring practices.