Inclusive Culture
Creating an Inclusive Culture Every Day
A Statement from Kathleen Flanagan, President & CEO
"Here at Abt Associates, we strive every day to create an inclusive culture in which every employee knows they are valued for the varying perspectives they bring to our work..." Read the full statement.
Enriching the Abt Experience
Employee Networking Groups offer opportunities for Abt staff to help create and maintain diverse workplaces and an inclusive and respectful work culture. They provide a platform for advocacy and support, including knowledge sharing, mentoring, networking, leadership development, and community involvement. We have Employee Networking Groups across the world, from the United States to the Asia Pacific:
Black at Abt strives to facilitate the success of Abt’s Black employees by enhancing their professional lives, creating connections, and promoting environments that welcome, value, and leverage our diversity. Our mission is to cultivate Black leaders at Abt and beyond, support our black colleagues, empower the communities where we operate, and transform our respective fields to reflect the diversity of its members.
Disability Working Group aims to overcome the exclusion of people with, or who are caring for a person with, a disability. We set up opportunities to learn through evidence how to sustain and innovate corporate practice and workplace culture, reflecting on the influence of bias and prejudice.
Emerging Leaders is Abt’s Young Professionals Group, committed to providing junior staff with support, professional development, and structure to contribute to a better Abt.
Gender Equality and Non-Violence Working Group focuses on furthering Abt’s commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and working together to help reset norms and provide equal opportunities for all. We help Abt colleagues understand why gender equality and non-violence are important, hold ourselves accountable, and support everyone in our teams as they work together to promote gender equality in our workplace and in the programs we implement.
LGBTIQ+ Working Group strives to make our workplace an inclusive and safe environment for LGBTIQ+ employees. We are focused on bringing about cultural change to ensure that LGBTIQ+ employees are accepted, included, and valued for who they are and to address the under-representation of LGBTIQ+ employees within the organisation at all levels, particularly in senior roles. The LGBTIQ+ has a confidential email group: Pride@Abt.
Mental Health Working Group aims to be the voice of staff across our programs and corporate teams that expresses their concern around mental wellbeing. We are committed to supporting Abt’s efforts to create a safe environment for staff who experience mental health conditions. Our group also helps Abt improve and develop policies and procedures around psychological safety and wellbeing.
PRISM provides and promotes LGBTQIA+ visibility among Abt staff and management to raise awareness about the workplace and social issues that affect the LGBTQIA+ community. Through networking, educational events, outreach, and allyship, PRISM strives to create a safe space for all LGBTQIA+ employees, while maintaining diversity in thoughts and ideas to help fully realize Abt’s mission.
Racial Equity Working Group brings together those passionate about racial equity, striving toward the goal of an inclusive and diverse workplace. There is a sub-group exclusively for members who are from CALD backgrounds, thus creating a safe space in which lived experiences can be shared.
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group aims to ensure the meaningful implementation of Abt Associates’ Reconciliation Action Plan – which has been approved with Reconciliation Australia. Our plan outlines our commitment to increasing the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in terms of governance, respect, relationships, and opportunities.
Somos Abt aims to support and advocate for Abt staff whose identities or heritage are connected to Latin America, regardless of where they live and work. We do this by creating a strong global network across Abt, advancing opportunities for professional development, increasing the visibility of our community at Abt, as well as promoting the diversity of our community within Abt and in the communities we serve.
Wellbeing at Abt is dedicated to guiding staff on the journey to inner peace of mind and calmness. Our objective is to raise awareness and advocate on behalf of healthy work-life balance practices and provide support for staff to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. Wellbeing at Abt seeks to bring all employees together to recognize the importance of wellness, and its many facets, globally.
Women at Abt is committed to helping Abt promote diversity and inclusion as well as professional growth and development, knowledge sharing and mentoring. The group supports all women at all stages of their career as well as all levels. The objective is through knowledge sharing and mentoring women have the opportunity to share their similar experiences. Overall, Abt as a company continues to make investments in being a leader in helping problem solve gender issues around the globe.
Promoting Equity
We are a proud participant in these efforts to achieve gender and racial equity throughout our work:
Abt Associates is the first U.S. government implementing partner to achieve EDGE certification. EDGE is the leading global assessment and business certification for gender equality in the workplace.
Our Commitment to Transparency
Across Abt, we work every day to create the diverse, inclusive, and accessible environment it takes to tackle the world’s toughest challenges. Creating a culture grounded in equity—where a team of Bold Thinkers can thrive—takes commitment and transparency. Transparency drives accountability, and we are dedicated to sharing our global workforce demographic data so both our employees and the public can see where we are and how we are progressing. We’ve made progress, but it will take continued perseverance and humility—as well as periods of discomfort—to reach our goal of greater representation and inclusion, and to ensure our company represents the communities we serve. Those communities—and our employees and clients—deserve nothing less than our full commitment to fostering a more equitable work environment and, by sharing our workforce data, we hope that we are one step closer to reaching this goal.
Abt Australia's Commitment to Reconciliation (Launch Video)
Abt’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) confirms our commitment to the reconciliation journey Australia is on and identifies focus areas where we believe we can have a positive impact and achieve best outcomes. Read more.
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Abt Associates is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. Abt is dedicated to equity across and at the intersections of gender, sex, race, ethnicity, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, national origin, military status, pregnancy status, and any other protected category or personal characteristic. We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. Our recruitment and selection procedures also reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.