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CSI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce Chair Kevin Wang, CSI, CCS®, CDT®, Principal & Architectural Specifier at INSPEC, discusses the value of diversity in the workplace, how to promote a more diverse workforce, and how the celebration of Black History Month, honoring the achievements of African Americans and their central role in US history, can help promote more opportunities for all.
What attracted you to a career in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) industry?
I’ve been a full-time architectural specifier for 18-plus years. I got into architecture because I liked building things as a kid. I’m not great at math, especially higher math, so I decided to pick something that wouldn’t include a lot of math, even though there’s more math in architecture than I expected. I guess I just found my niche here.
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What professional accomplishments are you most proud of, and what are your current goals?
Professionally, I am proud that when I decided to specialize make my career in architecture with enough proficiency to be able to take over the company that I now own which was started in 1985. With CSI, I’m proud to have been asked to serve as Dallas chapter president. I still serve on the Dallas Board and the South Central Region Board. My specific goals are to continue to serve where I can make a difference.
Who do you look to as a role model or professional inspiration?
The obvious one for me is my predecessor, Doug Hartman, who started the company I now run. He was the best boss I ever worked for. I tend to admire and try and emulate very particular traits that I observe in people, specifically integrity and kindness, and valuing the contributions of everybody on the team. That’s something I deliberately try to operate with and also spread in my interactions with others in the industry.
How do you think this industry recognizes and celebrates the value of a diverse workforce, and what more do you think it could do?
This is a tough question because, in a perfect world, diversity would be innately appreciated, and there wouldn’t have to be a concerted effort to promote it, to celebrate it, to educate about it. But obviously, this is not a perfect world, and we do have the need. Something we’ve talked about on the DE&I task force is that diversity is an admirable goal in and of itself, but shouldn’t be the overriding consideration that prevails over other factors. Individuals should ultimately be afforded opportunities they deserve and not be held back for superficial reasons. We just want to see as many qualified people being given a chance to show what they can offer.
I feel that I have seen a demographic shift in what project teams look like on the architecture side. When I first started 18 years ago, when meeting with our clients, they were typically led by a white male. Nowadays, I can anecdotally say they are 50:50, male/female, with all manner of cultures visibly represented with the project teams. So I think it's happening organically, but there are things that the industry can do to help. One of the things on the task force we’re specifically looking to address is how to get this message out that there are real benefits to not restricting yourself to certain demographic characteristics on your project teams and in your company.
What role should CSI play in the promotion of diversity, and is it really figuring out how to communicate what the ends are?
I think it is. The DEI task force was formed in the fall of 2021 specifically to study and advise the board of directors regarding the issues to help the organization raise awareness. In the study we’re doing, I think all of us who volunteered and were selected for the task force initially felt we had perspectives that would be maybe unique or helpful to forward the cause of diversity and inclusion.
One of the things I personally learned, was that there are a lot more nuanced facets to it than most people understand when they casually think about diversity and inclusion. Most often, you think about gender, race, sexual orientation. But there’s so many other aspects to people looking at other human beings and often making even subconscious judgment calls about them. We are trying with the new version of the task force to presenting the business case for diversity and the actual benefit to the organization, to the industry, to individual companies, and to everyone involved.
What do you think is the benefit to organizations like yours to adding a more diverse workforce?
The very simple answer is you’re not restricting yourself in terms of talent pool by being inclusive and considering all individuals. The biggest advantage is you’re drawing from the largest talent pool. Unless you give somebody a chance, you don't know what they're capable of contributing. It’s as simple as organizations and businesses being open to finding talent when it comes knocking on their door.
What advice would you give to young professionals considering a career in this industry?
My advice would be to understand the work you’d be doing, and if that’s something that appeals to you. You must connect with the work. I believe our industry is becoming more and more aware of diversity as a benefit for the reasons I mentioned earlier, and the natural progression of things becoming more inclusive and diverse should provide even more opportunities.
I’ve been a Star Trek fan for many years and know when the original show came out in 1966 with a multicultural bridge crew it was really cutting edge for its time. Going back and watching those shows now, there are a lot of aspects that seemed extremely forward-thinking and radical but nowadays feel very outdated. I feel at some point we’re going to look back on this time and have the same thoughts about where we were in 2022, 2023 as far as diversity goes. There’s a lot more we can do as we learn more about just what diversity includes.
As we celebrate Black History Month, honoring the triumphs, struggles, and countless contributions of of African Americans throughout U.S. history, is there a way you see how the two concepts of that recognition and supporting the value of diversity might intertwine?
I think that they do intertwine. Both my parents were born in China. I was born in this country. I feel I have roots in two distinct cultures, and I’ve always felt that growing up. As for Black History Month being celebrated as one of the many facets of diversity, I think it's important for us to embrace it and not treat it as a separate thing. Or treat diversity as a separate thing.
I don’t know how relevant this is, but the notion of cultural appropriation and who is allowed to celebrate or adopt aspects of different cultures has come up lately in discussions I’ve had in my personal life. I personally don’t have any issues with being interested in the culture that maybe anyone doesn’t have direct roots with but just connecting with on a personal level. I think the essence of diversity is understanding. I think that there is definitely a connection between celebrating Black History Month and supporting diversity in general.