Social Equity

From volunteering in our communities to actively seeking to increase diversity and opportunity in our profession, Miller Hull is serious about our role in contributing to the social and cultural health of communities through design and practice. Read on for a review of some of the ways we commit to social equity within our own business and in our community beyond.

Acknowledgement

Black Lives Matter.
Following the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the nation’s racial reckoning in the of summer 2020, Miller Hull took a hard look at our practices and policies with a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) lens. We believe that through actionable and systemic change within Miller Hull, we can shape our workplace into an equitable and safe space for Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and ultimately for all staff members. We aim to create a work environment where all staff feel valued, seen and heard.

 

Equity Lab

The mission of Equity Lab is to create an anti-racist environment within Miller Hull that empowers all individuals in our community to feel seen, affirmed, understood, valued, supported, respected, protected, and welcomed. We must continually evaluate our progress while remaining open to criticism, discomfort, and learning as we acknowledge that although we don’t have all the answers, we have an obligation to move the dial in an anti-racist direction.

By equipping our internal Miller Hull community with the tools, knowledge, and skills to better understand the necessity and urgency of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion work, we can promote anti-racism in all facets of our work and business. Equity Lab is an advisory group of individuals within the Miller Hull Partnership who collectively provide recommendations, support and guidance as we continue on our JEDI path. Equity Lab is also introspective, self-evaluating and evolving – we aim to hold ourselves and our community accountable to a high standard of anti-racist practice and recognize that as we are in the beginning of the journey, our methods and make up may change to better achieve diversity, equity and inclusion.

We believe that architecture designed by teams of diverse, multicultural and multiracial talent starts from a broader basis of understanding and results in a built environment better designed for all people.

We do the work best when we do it together. We do the best work when we include all voices.

JEDI Initiative

Miller Hull aspires to Do Good, Go Deep and Be Bold. Since we’re at the beginning of our anti-racist journey, this Initiative serves to describe what we believe is possible for us as a firm, and not what is mandated by either Federal or State law. By publishing this Initiative, we seek to set an example of racial equity, opportunity, and sponsorship for the profession of architecture. We acknowledge there will be both success and failures; we commit to celebrating our success and will create learning opportunities from our failures. Therefore, this Initiative will be a living document, which will be regularly discussed, revised, and updated, in the process of realizing Miller Hull’s potential.

Leading With Race. Equity Lab recognizes the importance of ending all forms of oppression, and in version 1.1 of the Miller Hull JEDI Initiative we have chosen to lead with race as the best way to work toward that goal. Race is unique in that there is not a single example of any system in our society that does not suffer from racial disparities in outcomes. Race is also unique in that inequities based on race exist within every other dimension of identity, such as income, gender, sexuality, education, and age. The tools we use to understand and eliminate systemic racism can also be used to understand and eliminate other systemic oppressions. Leading with race is an inherently intersectional approach that we believe provides the best way to ensure our work produces positive change in the lived experiences of every person in our community.

Miller Hull JEDI Initiative Goals

Our JEDI Initiative is broken into three key goals:

Goal 1: Miller Hull fosters an anti-racist environment that empowers all individuals in our community to feel seen, affirmed, understood, valued, protected, and welcomed.

Goal 2: Miller Hull designs equitable projects.

Goal 3: Miller Hull practices in an anti-racist Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.

Miller Hull JEDI Initiative

Additional Initiatives

Our commitment to create an equitable workplace and improve our professional industry is guided by these initiatives and certifications.

JUST

We were among the first companies to achieve a JUST label, a social justice transparency platform and disclosure tool developed by the International Living Future Institute. The JUST label provides at-a-glance information in key social justice categories, such as diversity, equity, safety, employee benefit, local benefit and community stewardship. Using the JUST label as one of our guides, we continue to improve our metrics each year as we work towards a more just workplace for our employees. Click here to view our current JUST label.

National Organization of Minority Architects

Miller Hull has committed to the NOMA NW 2020 Call to Action Pledge and the NOMA SoCal DEI Challenge 2020.

Open Studio

Open Studio is an introductory architecture program designed to provide high school students an opportunity to explore architecture as a practice and potential profession. Through outreach and education, the goal of the program is to introduce architecture to a diverse group of high-school students who may not have previously considered architecture as a career path and prepare students for a successful architectural education in college. We also offer paid internships for one high school student each summer.

Pro Bono Design Services

Since 2005, Miller Hull has participated in the 1+ program donating at least 1% of our collective working hours pro bono every year to non-profit organizations that require but cannot afford architectural services. Donating services enables us to share our professional expertise to those in need and who share a common mission supporting progressive environmentalism and social equity focused causes in our community.

Some of our 1+ projects include Bayside Community Center, Matt’s Place, Mighty House, and the ROOTS Young Adult Shelter.