'Wanting To See The Change': New Organization AEC Unites To Launch In Support Of Black Talent In CRE

A new organization seeking to empower and provide equitable opportunities for Black talent in the architecture, engineering and construction industries plans to launch with a focus on career pathways and small business support.  

AEC Unites seeks to build more opportunities for Black talent and Black-owned businesses within these fields. Set to officially launch on Oct. 3 at an event in Washington, D.C., the organization will include 12 founding firms, including Gensler, Turner Construction Co. and McKissack & McKissack.

“I think the good news is that we do have, especially in our industry, CEOs who do want to see this change,” said AEC Unites Board Chair and President Deryl McKissack, president and CEO of DC-based AEC firm McKissack & McKissack.

At a time when the AEC industry has a significant workforce issue — needing roughly 600,000 jobs filled over the next decade — McKissack believes nurturing talent and providing job opportunities is crucial to everyone’s success. 

“Out of all the minority groups, Blacks always fall to the bottom," McKissack said. She said of the 13 million people working in the AEC industries in the U.S. today, which represent 9% of the nation’s workforce, Black Americans make up 7%, lower than their share of the population at large. “If we can fix this problem [of equity] for Black people, we can solve it for all people.” 

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, McKissack explored and formulated ways to combat racism in the industry, and had conversations with her fellow CEOs. The conversations and discussions led to an epiphany: Why not combine efforts, share best practices and efforts and get “our vectors going in the same direction?” 

The organization will focus on two main pillars, strengthening and building talent pipelines from school onward to early career opportunities and executive positions, and streamlining and encouraging the hiring of Black-led firms throughout the development process.

McKissack wants to provide additional educational and mentorship opportunities. For example, a six-year-old who walks by a construction site and says she wants to be an engineer should be able to tap into educational materials and a career pathway that can help her understand the available opportunities and how to seize them.

In addition, McKissack said, AEC Unites wants to get more members of the industry to prioritize hiring Black-led firms. The group seeks to help firms apply and obtain minority certifications, which can be time-consuming for groups working across varying jurisdictions, as well as create a playbook for clients who want to run fair and open hiring processes that include more Black businesses. Ideally, McKissack said, AEC Unites could itself become a certifying agency, streamlining the process of getting approval and jobs.

This summer’s Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action at U.S. universities, which has been viewed by opponents of DEI initiatives as a sign that such programs and mandates are unconstitutional, makes the founding of AEC Unites that much more important. It has been cause for some concern, McKissack said, and discussion on strategy, but hasn’t weakened resolve.

“Regardless of how we package it, they will come after us anyway, we just have to be prepared to fight,” she said.