2025
Comparably’s Best Company Outlook
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Celebrating Our Differences
Fostering a Sense of Belonging
At SWCA, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to who we are and how we work. Diversity enriches our work by bringing together a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas. Equity is a vital part of our culture, ensuring that all employees have fair access to opportunities and resources, allowing them to reach their full potential. Inclusion fosters a sense of belonging, empowering everyone to contribute fully and authentically.
We are committed to employee success measured solely by contributions to advancing our scientific and technical work. By embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion, we create an environment where everyone can thrive, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to our shared goals.
We share a collective commitment to foster a culture where differences are valued, all voices are heard, and employees experience a sense of belonging. We are stewards of SWCA. By working together to advance inclusion and diversity, we will strengthen SWCA for the future. We are building a company unmatched in talent and opportunity by celebrating the potential of each employee. We empower our people to lead and interact inclusively, bring their passions to creatively serve clients, and care for the communities where we live, work, and play.
SWCA's Board of Directors
We Are OneSWCA
New Hires
Fostering a hiring environment based on fairness, transparency, and consistency allows us to identify the best candidate for the role.
63%
of 2024 interns identify as female
Supporting our diversity hiring and embodying our commitment to advancing young professionals in STEM, we hired 46 interns in 2024 from a pool of 2,665 candidates nationwide.
55%
of new hires identify as female, surpassing industry benchmarks
22%
of new hires in 2024 identify as non-white
Women in Leadership
SWCA endorses the United Nation’s Women’s Empowerment Principles. We are committed to empowering women to have an equal voice at all levels.
2025
named one of Comparably's best companies for women
Beyond our internal efforts, we partner with organizations that help increase representation, expand professional development opportunities, and support the advancement of women across our industry.
55%
of leadership positions are held by women
43%
of SWCA's Board of Directors are women
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
At SWCA, we remain dedicated to creating an environment where every employee feels a strong sense of belonging and opportunity.
$25k+
Raised for nonprofits by ERGs in 2024
We strengthened our DE&I efforts by expanding our ERGs, launching new initiatives, and fostering a culture of inclusivity through training, education, and companywide engagement.
16
Employee Resource Groups
39%
of SWCA employees are members of an ERG
Our Three Pillars of DE&I
In 2024, we shifted from a focus on Inclusion and Diversity to a more comprehensive approach, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), aiming to create a more dynamic and balanced work environment.
Talent Diversity
Diversity enriches our work by bringing together a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas.
Through intentional, strategically driven outreach, networking, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and development, we build a team of talent that increases our diversity of thinking, experience, and perspective.
Elevating Equity
Equity is a vital part of our culture, ensuring that all employees have fair access to opportunities and resources.
The elevation of Equity highlights our ongoing commitment to fairness and justice in opportunities and advancement for all our employees and underscores our investment in Total Rewards. We acknowledge that not everyone begins their journey from the same starting place, and we intentionally address and balance disparities.
An Inclusive Culture of Belonging
Inclusion fosters a sense of belonging, empowering everyone to contribute fully and authentically.
We identify and break down systemic barriers to inclusion by embedding inclusion and diversity in our company policies and practices; promoting learning and understanding from many different perspectives; and equipping leaders with the necessary tools for leading diverse teams with confidence.
Asian and Pacific Islander ERG
Mission: To connect with other SWCA employees who identify as Asian and/or Pacific Islander and become a resource for them, share relevant information about the API community with the broader SWCA community, and find ways to support API diversity both internally and externally.
Black ERG
Mission: To create a space for members to achieve their full potential through networking, learning, professional development, and mentorship. To bring awareness of Black peoples’ existence and contributions in our workplace, and bring awareness to the company of the Black experience.
Christians of SWCA ERG
Mission: To provide a place of encouragement for Christians living their faith in the workplace.
Disability and Critical/Chronic Illness ERG
Mission: To promote awareness and inclusion for people living with disabilities, critical, or chronic illnesses. We will strive for equity in opportunities and serve as a catalyst for meaningful change that not only accommodates the needs of our employees, but also improves and advances an inclusive environment that is free of all barriers.
Early Career ERG
Mission: To establish a community for early career professionals with less than 7 years of experience in their field. We seek to make career growth and mentorship opportunities more accessible, and to provide staff with the necessary skills and resources to explore their own career aspirations and pathways to success, ultimately improving employee retention within the company.
Environmental Justice ERG
Mission: To provide space to learn about and advance Environmental Justice principles within SWCA, ensuring that all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, income, Tribal affiliation, or disability, are fairly treated and meaningfully involved in the creation, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Hispanic & Other Latino Amigos (HOLA) ERG
Mission: Develop a network within the SWCA to promote its members’ cultural diversity and professional development, thereby creating a supportive environment for the Latino/Hispanic community and all ERG groups to contribute to SWCA’s North Star. We seek to embrace respect and awareness by contributing to the inclusive environment that results from a diverse community (all ERG groups) and focus on attracting the best candidates, empowering employees’ professional development, and recognizing members’ achievements.
Indigenous People of SWCA ERG
Mission: To build a greater sense of global community, the Indigenous People of SWCA ERG welcomes indigenous people from all across the Earth to our group. We aspire to support each other within a comforting space to share our diverse perspectives while learning from each other. We seek to increase our visibility, reaffirm our sacred traditions, and revitalize our values, cultures, and identities.
LGBTQIA+ ERG
Mission: To provide support and safe space, facilitate opportunities for outreach, organize fundraising for community programs, and encourage interactions within SWCA’s community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, transgender, non-binary and allied community.
Mental Health Matters ERG
Mission: To destigmatize help-seeking while providing participants with tools and support for improving and sustaining their mental health. The group provides a safe space for discussing mental health concerns and fosters supportive relationships to help employees improve their quality of life, personally and professionally.
Nature-Based Spirituality ERG
Mission: To provide a forum for SWCA employees who follow or are interested in Nature-Based Spirituality (NBS) to safely meet, discuss NBS in their lives, build community, and to honor and celebrate Nature and NBS. The defining characteristic of NBS is a reverence and respect for Nature that an individual experiences as spiritual. NBS often involves a core belief that Nature exists as an interconnected and/or sacred whole.
Neurodivergent ERG
Mission: To provide a space for any and all Neurodivergent individuals (diagnosed or not) to unmask, support each other, and destigmatize the Neurodivergent (ND) Community.
Veterans at SWCA ERG
Mission: To bring together Military Veterans and their Allies from across SWCA for the purpose of developing relationships while looking for opportunities to serve the Vet community at large by doing our part to raise awareness of critical Vet needs and looking for Vet-related Gives Back opportunities.
Women of Color in the Sciences ERG
Mission: We aim to champion the career growth and development of women of color scientists across the company. We intend to accomplish this through collaboration, dialogue, networking, and other actions.
Women of SWCA ERG
Mission: To promote, elevate, and actively connect women across the company regardless of geography or job title in a safe and shared space. Our intent is to empower SWCA women as a fully supported, positive, and powerful team within the company by providing them with resources and discussion around diversity, inclusion, gender, self-awareness, and ways to manage societal pressure.
Working Parents and Caregivers ERG
Mission: To be a space for working parents and caregivers to support each other, and advocate for a healthy and productive work-life integration.
Supplier diversity is about building relationships across all small-business categories. We maximize the use of diverse suppliers to help meet clients’ needs.
Joseph J. Fluder, III
Chief Executive Officer & President
Supplier Diversity
SWCA’s Supplier Diversity efforts demonstrate our commitment to partnering with diverse suppliers and supporting the development, growth, and expansion of small businesses across our practice. We consciously work to increase our revenue subcontracted to small and disadvantaged businesses, network to grow our database of prospective small-business subcontractors and vendors, and mentor small business contractors.
We routinely subcontract to small businesses through our Supplier Diversity Program. This program ensures that we have ready access to the most qualified partners in the following small-business categories:
- 8(a) Certified Small Businesses
- Small Disadvantaged Businesses
- Minority-Owned Business Enterprises
- Woman-Owned Business Enterprises
- HUBZone Enterprises
- Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses
- Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
If your business falls into one of the above categories, we want to hear from you!
The first step in working with SWCA is to register your firm with us. Please complete the supplier diversity form and email it to supplierdiversity@swca.com to be added to our supplier database.