Granite is demonstrating its commitment to increasing female leadership opportunities as part of Catalyst CEO Champions for Change. These CEO champions continue to advance women in their organizations at every level across the leadership pipeline. They particularly advance women in the executive ranks. Granite aims to further double down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This commitment is especially important in the midst of a global pandemic and turbulent economy. According to the newly released Prioritizing Equity at a Pivotal Moment: The Catalyst CEO Champions For Change report, women represent 27.9 percent of executives at Champion companies. This is compared with 23 percent among their global peers.
Granite CEO Kyle Larkin and more than 70 other Champion CEOs pledge to advance women into leadership roles. This initiative launched in 2017. For the first time, a subset of Champion companies provided metrics on promotions. Metrics revealed that in 2020, these companies promoted women at nearly equal rates to men. In fact, the group promoted women at slightly higher proportions than men into senior leadership positions.
“Granite is dedicated to ensuring that women have opportunities to lead, and we believe that the more we can do to include women in leadership, the stronger our company will be,” said Larkin. “The goals of Catalyst CEO Champions for Change align with our internal goal to increase women in leadership at Granite and in our industry.”
“We applaud Granite and Kyle, along with the other Catalyst Champion CEOs and their organizations for their continued commitment to DEI initiatives through the challenges of the pandemic,” said Catalyst President & CEO Lorraine Hariton. “It’s critical that we continue to develop the leadership pipeline for women, particularly women of color, if we’re going to see significant gains to build equitable and inclusive workplaces for women.”
Female leadership in the COVID era
The Champion companies also outpaced their peers in the Fortune 500 in women’s representation at the board of directors’ level at 32.2 percent compared to 26.5 percent. Women identifying with underrepresented ethnic or racial groups accounted for 7.5 percent of board members at Champion companies. This is compared to 5.7 percent at Fortune 500 companies overall.
This is an inflection point in the history of the women’s movement. Companies must address the disadvantages women endured because of Covid-19. They can do this by developing robust initiatives focusing on re-entry, recruitment, advancement and retention. The report highlights actions companies can take, including:
- Pinpointing their organization’s greatest areas of opportunity to advance women, particularly women identifying with underrepresented ethnic or racial groups.
- Creating customized solutions to foster equitable advancement, such as flexible work options and sponsorship programs.
- Tracking and measuring progress against defined goals.
Catalyst started collecting global data in 2018. Since then, Granite and the CEO Champion companies have collectively outpaced our global peers in the representation of women across the leadership pipeline. The Catalyst CEO Champions for Change companies represent more than 11 million employees and over $3 trillion in revenue globally.
About Granite
Granite is America’s Infrastructure Company. Incorporated in 1922, Granite is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States. It is a full-suite provider in the transportation, water infrastructure and mineral exploration markets. Granite’s Code of Conduct and strong Core Values guide the company and its employees to uphold the highest ethical standards. Granite is an industry leader in safety and an award-winning firm in quality and sustainability. For more information, visit graniteconstruction.com.
About Catalyst
Catalyst is a global nonprofit supported by many of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Founded in 1962, Catalyst drives change with preeminent thought leadership, actionable solutions and a galvanized community of multinational corporations to accelerate and advance women into leadership – because progress for women is progress for everyone.
According to a report from Handshake, early-career women of Gen Z value female leadership more than men.
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