Photo courtesy of: Greg Land

B&D’s commitment to inclusion

August 9, 2019  |  Paul Brailsford Chris Dunlavey, FAIA

At B&D, we give deliberate and specific attention to the topic of inclusion: to our commitment to it, and to the continuous clarification of the beliefs and values that will forever keep it in place at B&D. Long before the founding of the company, we understood that opportunity is not allocated evenly in the world. Consequently, the talents of many go under-developed, and opportunities for people to learn from and be enriched by one another are far too limited. Until bias and intolerance are eradicated, we fail to realize our potential—both individually and collectively.

We committed at the company’s founding to forge B&D into a vehicle for making the world a better place, by advancing acceptance and tolerance of people of under-represented groups of all kinds within the context of a high-expectation and high-performance organization. Indeed, we feel a moral imperative to cultivate the career growth and professional achievement of those whose circumstances are most challenged, whether by socio-economics, cultural bias, historical disadvantage, or other forces working against them. We challenge ourselves to be an example of how a company committed to diversity can be dominant in the marketplace.

As we share our journey to define, refine, and reinforce the values that we embrace and exemplify to the world, our position on this matter is unequivocal: not only do we desire for all of our people— regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristic—to feel comfortable and accepted, we want them to see clear paths to career growth and leadership at B&D. We believe a commitment to diversity and inclusion makes us a better organization and, ultimately, better able to fulfill our organizational purpose.

-Paul Brailsford & Chris Dunlavey

"The leadership and information from B&D, and the clarity with which they provide it, brings added credibility to the process and ensures that a range of university stakeholders, including senior leadership and our board, are fully informed for – and confident in – their required decision making.”

B.J. Crain, Former Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration
Texas Woman’s University

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