Here at GTH we love what we do. And we love where we do it. The diversity of backgrounds, viewpoints, cultures, lifestyles, and experiences makes this community great and we are proud to live and work here. Our firm’s commitment to promoting diversity is reflected in the projects and organizations into which our firm and our members devote their time and energies. Ideals of diversity and inclusivity are only successful if everyone experiences a feeling of belonging. GTH embraces different points of view and encourages everyone at the firm to celebrate who they are. Everyone here belongs. As a firm we try to be conscious of the biases that exist all around us and strive to do more to create a culture of inclusivity, not only in our workplace, but in our surrounding community as well. At GTH we are different, together. We are a stronger firm because each individual contributes their strengths to create a collaborative team effort. When it comes to showing a commitment to diversity, actions speak louder than words.
In 2023, to promote the atmosphere and culture of inclusivity for all of our members, we at GTH did the following:
- Celebrated Black History month in February. We displayed art by Jacob Lawrence in our lobby which was donated by one of our members, that included lithographs of his works including “The Legend of John Brown” and “The 20’s … The Migrants Cast Their Ballots.” Our EDI committee sent out twice-weekly emails to all firm members describing the accomplishments and contributions that Black Americans have made throughout our history. These emails talked about the photographer Gordon Parks, civil rights leader Norris Herndon, blues legend B.B. King, poets Gwendolyn Brooks and Derek Walcott, the slain civil rights leader Fred Hampton, and others.
- In March, GTH celebrated Women’s History Month with our EDI committee sending out emails to our firm members about the struggles women have faced, and continue to face, and the contributions they have made to overcome barriers. The committee started by talking about the Women’s Suffrage Movement. The emails continued with talking about Dorothy Arzner, who is credited with being the “first female director in Hollywood,” Harriet Tubman, Justice Sonya Sotomayor, Thea Foss, a Tacoma historical figure, and others.
- In April, GTH held a book club discussion of Hanif Abdurraqib’s book, “A Little Devil in America: in Praise of Black Performance.”
- In June GTH celebrated Pride Month where we recognized the threats facing the LGBTQ+ community as well as honoring the resiliency of the community. In addition, our EDI sent out emails celebrating the accomplishments of Freddie Mercury, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, and others. Our EDI committee hosted a lunchtime showing of a documentary on the Stonewall riots and held a discussion afterwards.
- GTH honored Juneteenth. We closed our offices on that day and asked all our members to take time to reflect on why we are celebrating June 19th. We proudly raised the Juneteenth flag in our lobby and explained to all our members what that flag represents.
- From September 15 to October 15 we celebrated Latinx Heritage Month. Our EDI committee started that month off by sending an email out to all our members about the only Mexican-American civil rights case heard and decided by the US Supreme Court: Hernadez v. Texas. The EDI committee sent us all information about workers strikes and civil rights battles fought by our Latinx community. The Committee then sent out emails talking about Frida Kahlo, Major League Baseball star Roberto Clemente, Diego Rivera, and others.
- Throughout the year GTH recognized different special and holy days held by many within our community and these included Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah, Indigenous Peoples Day.
We, at GTH, will continue to strive to ensure that everyone who works at the firm, and all of the visitors to our firm, know that they are welcomed and respected.