Why launch a DE&I Initiative?

Inclusive by Design: Building Sustainable and Accessible Structures for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)

How will we make our DE&I statement come alive?

• We have formed a volunteer task force to oversee this important work
• This new task force will define success and report to the CSI Board of Directors bi-annually.

How Did We Get Here?

Several years ago, your Board of Directors created “Ends Statements” (priorities) for the organization that reference diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Members engage in a robust, diverse, and inclusive community of AEC professionals and related organizations.
• There is growth in the pool of qualified construction information and specifications professionals.

CSI seeks to be a more innovative, accessible, relevant, and sustainable organization.

We have all experienced the heightened racial and social unrest of the past few years, as well as the global economic downturns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. CSI must tap into the new potential membership audiences, leverage the diversity it already has for greater innovation, and ensure its its sustainability at a time when the very relevance of associations is being tested. This is the genesis of the business case for DE&I within CSI. To do this, we must create a culture of belonging for all people, both inside the construction community and among those who might join the construction community, were it more inclusive, particularly at leadership and management levels. 

At the June 2021 meeting, the CSI Board unanimously voted for CSI to pursue a focus on DE&I as part of its program of work. To get that work started, the Board appointed a DE&I Task Force, chaired by board member William Sundquist, FCSI, to draft a DE&I statement for consideration by the Board. This statement (in box, above) was drafted over a series of meetings in the Summer of 2021 and was approved by the full CSI Board during its August 31, 2021, teleconference. 

DE&I Resources for CSI Members

We have created and are continuing to add to our resources on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the construction industry in the CSI Learning Library. These are curated for CSI members and can provide members with the necessary tools and information to understand DE&I and to work toward the full integration of DE&I in their own workplaces.

Go here for access to the DE&I resources curated for you, our members.