Press: Runberg ranked 2nd on PSBJ’s Most Equitable Workplaces in WA State

We are honored to be a named one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s “Most Equitable Workplaces” in Washington State for the second year in a row. Runberg ranked 2nd on the list of 12 companies surveyed by Gender Equity Now.

“The design process within our firm is extremely collaborative,” said Brian Runberg, principal. “A favorite saying here is ‘all of us is smarter than one of us.’ This is not the type of studio where one person holds the pencil, and the others execute the work. Our projects are stronger thanks to the horizontal firm structure that elicits critical thinking by all, giving a voice to each member of the group.”

In a separate article How Washington’s Most Equitable Workplaces create diverse recruiting pipelines, Runberg responded:

“We acknowledge that architecture as a field has seen progression, but women and BIPOC remain underrepresented,” said Runberg. “In stark contrast to the bulk of the architectural profession, our staff is comprised of more women than men. Even more unique is the senior leadership of the firm is made up of 66% women. When it comes time to search for new team members, we cast a wide net to solicit as diverse a talent pool as possible. We stay in touch with instructors at regional universities to help us keep an eye out for rising talent.”

Runberg was also quoted in the article How Washington’s Most Equitable Workplaces have responded to 2020’s challenges, in which he responded:

“This year we have made a concerted effort to go the extra mile to help our staff use their voice and contributions to affect positive change,” said Runberg. “We encourage all staff to get involved in the community, supporting volunteer efforts with time off provided by the firm. In 2020, that included up to eight hours of office time per employee to volunteer for election efforts, and many of our staff participated in BLM marches by utilizing flexible work hours afforded by the firm.”

In addition, Runberg Architecture Group was mentioned by Sara Sanford, executive director of Gender Equity Now and architect of the GEN survey certification, in her PSBJ Op-Ed published Nov. 27, 2020: “Equity should be an imperative for employers, and it can’t wait.”