Irish building and civil engineering company PJ Hegarty has been honoured for its diversity and inclusion principles and other D&I measures.
The firm has been formally accredited with the Investors in Diversity Gold award by the Irish Centre for Diversity (ICD), a charity and leading provider of D&I training in Ireland.
The accreditation recognises PJ Hegarty's commitment to embedding the principles of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement (FREDIE) within its culture and processes.
Since 2020, PJ Hegarty has explored formal ways to make its business more diverse and inclusive after recognising that diversity was not the norm and that a gender gap persisted in construction.
The ICD assessment team has recognised PJ Hegarty for implementing several progressive, strategic policies, giving the company an inclusion score of 88%, an increase of five percentage points from 2022.
The company also outperformed the average score of 79.5% across the construction and engineering industry and the national average of 78%. The inclusion score is calculated from data gathered through a staff survey.
The ICD said PJ Hegarty had provided the appropriate resources and led by example. The work also showed that team members feel they are treated fairly, with respect and are valued for their differences.
Along with progress in gender pay gap reporting, the ICD assessment team noted the company’s development of a new three-year strategy that takes account of both moral and business obligations; the introduction of updated maternity, mental health and wellbeing policies; the alignment of FREDIE principles to staff development, staff appraisals, and recruitment processes, and the offer of D&I training sessions to subcontractors and partners.
PJ Hegarty also led the industry and the national average across all four assessment pillars, including diverse and inclusive leadership; policy, practice and process; recruitment, retention and progress; and recording and monitoring.
The firm is one of just 28 organisations in Ireland to receive the Investors in Diversity Gold award.
"Our people have always been the focal point and strength of our company, and the evolution of our business by fostering a diverse, inclusive, and supportive environment to reflect their needs and societal change more broadly has been central to our culture and long-term business strategy," said Maurice Killeen, operations director at PJ Hegarty.
"We are delighted to have been awarded the Gold accreditation from the Irish Centre for Diversity (ICD), joining only 27 other businesses in Ireland who have achieved this distinction.
“The ICD has been extremely supportive throughout the process, and this award is a welcome recognition of the collective efforts of our DEI Steering Committee, in particular, ERGs and all our staff. It is a fantastic achievement to celebrate with everyone and great motivation for the future.”
Caroline Cummins, managing director of Irish Centre for Diversity, said: "PJ Hegarty's progress to Investors in Diversity Gold has been impressive. It has laid firm foundations and listened to the voice of all colleagues to ensure that there is a shared sense of belonging, and now they are proud holders of Investors in Diversity Gold.
"We look forward to sharing more of the company’s journey of continuous progress."
Established in 1925, PJ Hegarty has offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and London and employs more than 500 people. The company undertakes large-scale construction projects in Ireland and the UK.
(Pic: 1IMAGE/Bryan Brophy)
