MAWE SELECTED TO RECEIVE DJC’S BUILDING DIVERSITY AWARD

The Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity (MAWE) has been selected to receive a Building Diversity award from the Daily Journal of Commerce!

MAWE is an historic partnership between community-based organizations who advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction sector, certified pre-apprenticeship programs, the Carpenters, Operating Engineers, Laborers, other Building Trades unions, and diverse construction contractors. Worksystems supports and coordinates the efforts of the coalition.

MAWE works to promote economic opportunity and equity in workforce and contracting and develops practical strategies to address historic inequities in the region. The alliance developed Portland’s first Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) to create a framework for shared community oversight and accountability, fair labor standards, and goals and resources to increase contracting and workforce opportunities for historically underserved community members.

MAWE represents over 200,000 constituents and their families.

The goals of MAWE are to:

• Support the creation of good quality construction jobs and contracting opportunities in the Portland Metro area.
• Specifically connect these jobs and opportunities to historically underrepresented populations, including people of color and women.
• Sustain and grow the training and community infrastructure with resources in order to address the regional need for a trained, qualified, and diverse construction workforce and contractor pool.
• Work with partners, contractors and public owners to replicate best practices on construction projects and systematize those practices region-wide in order to accomplish workforce and contracting equity.

MAWE’s broad coalition of community partners work together to address the complex issues that have resulted in disparate impacts for communities of color, those with low-incomes, workers, and minority- and women-owned small businesses. The alliance is united in the belief that the benefits of the public’s investments must be broadly shared and focused on achieving equitable outcomes for communities who have historically been burdened by or currently experience displacement from public investments and development.

The DJC Oregon Building Diversity Awards and Education program celebrates and examines diversity, equity and inclusion within the local building industry. The event will include networking, food, awards and a keynote presentation. Lastly, we will be celebrating the DJC Oregon Building Diversity Awards. The Building Diversity Awards honor disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned, emerging small businesses and combat-disabled veteran-owned firms, as well as the public agencies, organizations and large private companies that support them. Firms, organizations and people are being honored for their efforts in shaping the built environment through outstanding work, leadership, mentorships, community involvement and the promotion of industry diversity.

The Honorees for 2019 are: