Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

BETA strives to align diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) into our three pillars – our employees, the communities we serve, and our clients – which is why we established a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee in 2020. The Committee’s mission is to ensure that BETA creates an inclusive environment that promotes equity in the workplace.

At BETA, we recognize our staff as our most important asset. We also recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our firm’s ability to effectively carry out our overall mission of improving communities together. Taking time to focus on DE&I initiatives allows us to build and maintain a staff that brings an assortment of backgrounds and experiences to the table – and, with this, an assortment of unique problem-solving perspectives.

BETA’s DE&I Committee meets regularly to conceptualize and implement programming that helps us meet our goals of recruiting and retaining a diverse staff, ensuring that all BETA employees feel safe and welcome, and promoting an atmosphere that allows all individuals to achieve their greatest potential.

BETA's diversity, equity, and inclusionary events and initiatives

Taking Action

Since its conception, the DE&I Committee has:

Implemented more robust recruitment strategies.
Posted regularly about DE&I-related topics on BETA’s internal communication system.
Organized a company-wide Unconscious Bias webinar.
Hosted multiple cultural heritage luncheons at each office.
Incorporated voluntary pronoun usage into email signatures and business cards.

BETA is also proud to make quarterly donations to organizations that we believe share our mission of improving communities together, while also supporting important social justice, environmental, and minority-based groups. Some of those organizations have included:

Girls on the Run RI, which inspires ALL girls to build confidence and make intentional decisions while fostering care and compassion for self and others. Trained coaches use physical activity and dynamic discussions to build social, emotional, and physical skills in every girl while encouraging healthy habits for life.
Save Bristol Harbor, an organization that is committed to preserving the health, safety, and integrity of our coastal waterways. They offer a range of educational programs for students from grade school through graduate programs.
Century Dragon Boat Club, a Rhode Island-based club founded in 2018. The club is comprised of experienced and novice paddlers who share the common goal of racing competitively. Club funds are used to purchase liability insurance, club PFDs (personal floating devices), club paddles, and jerseys.
The Asian American Civic Association, which provides limited English-speaking and economically disadvantaged people with education, occupational training, and social services, enabling them to realize lasting economic self-sufficiency.
The UConn Graduate Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. The society empowers the Hispanic community by assisting with STEM awareness, opportunity, and support and development into successful professional engineers.
The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.
The Hispanic Federation. The Federation provides resources to rebuild homes, health centers, and farms damaged by hurricanes in Puerto Rico.

Additionally, in honor of BETA’s 40th anniversary in 2022, the firm made scholarship donations to the Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and the National Society of Black Engineers.

Get Involved

BETA continues to invest substantial time and resources towards diversity, equity, and inclusion within our firm and industry. As such, we are regularly compiling and sharing resources to educate and inform our staff. We are pleased to share some of those resources here so that we can work together toward the shared goal of making our industry even more inclusive and welcoming.