Celebrating Diversity

According to Data USA, 92.7% of painters & paperhangers are men, with a majority of them being white/Caucasian.^[1] What does that mean for the remaining professionals in the industry? What is their unique experience and what can we all learn from it? We interviewed a few painting professionals who are breaking ground in this area to find out.

Spotlight: Ivoneth Mendez

Company: Diesel Painting

Position: Finance & Marketing

When Ivoneth left the corporate world to launch a painting and drywall business with her husband, she wasn't intimidated by the lack of women in the industry. "I come from a background where I was literally the only woman in the room with ten other executives, all of them men." She says that it can take some time for women to prove themselves and be accepted by their peers in the male-dominated painting industry, but the benefits outweigh the challenges. "Women and men think differently; adding women to your team brings a whole other perspective, and that is why we have grown as a company. My husband comes from a long line of professional painters, but they're all men. Since I've come on board, we've been able to take the business beyond what we initially thought was possible. Our diversity in perspectives has created a tangible business benefit for us."

Spotlight: Louis Juarez

Company: LJ Painting

Position: Partner

For Louis, a first generation American who runs a family painting business with his Mexican-American father, being a more diverse member of the industry has both benefits and challenges. He says, "We hired a guy from El Salvador and another from Mexico, it's great that we can all speak English and Spanish with each other. Everyone on our team is really easy going and ready to put in the work. There are some differences between our cultures, but it's all positive: we get to learn new things from each other." But on the flip side, some clients try to take advantage of them because of a stereotype that Latinx contractors are more willing to underbid. Louis explains, "Before I joined the business, my father did put up with a lot of demands to lower prices dramatically. But our rates are fair and we're licensed and insured. So now that I'm on board, we stand firm. We put quality over quantity." The new policy seems to be working out well––business is booming and it's all due to referrals. It turns out that working with clients who appreciate quality leads to a lot more of the same.

Spotlight: Tam Nguyen

Company: Allterior Painting

Spotlight: Jackie Thomas & DeeAnn McCoy

Company: Thomboy Properties

Spotlight: Rudy Alvarado

Company:

Why is diversity important?

In a nutshell, diversity means variety. Having a variety of different life experiences, levels of knowledge, problem-solving approaches, and cultural backgrounds benefits companies because it provides them with a workforce that has a greater ability to tackle challenges. When everyone who works within a company has had the same life experiences and shares the same way of looking at things, everybody tends to see the same solution to every problem. But every problem has more than one solution, and a lack of diversity means that your team is severely limited in their problem-solving capabilities.

Think of it this way: if the only paint color you have available is white, you're going to end up painting every property white. But what if you had a full spectrum of color to use? You might paint some properties white, but others might be green or brown in order to blend in with their natural environment. Some properties would be painted red for visibility, like fire stations or barns, and others might be painted blue to blend in with the sky. Including more diversity on your team is just like adding more colors to your palette, or adding more tools to your toolbox.

Crunching the numbers on diversity

Actively trying to have a more inclusive and diverse team on your payroll is more than just a feel-good thing to do. It turns out that having a more diverse workforce is actually more profitable too.

• Gender Diversity: Companies with more gender diversity are 21% more likely to be more profitable.
• Age Diversity: Older employees have more experience and younger ones have more tech know-how. Often, they can learn from each other.
• Racial Diversity: Companies with more racial and ethnic diversity are 33% more likely to be more profitable.
• Cash Flow: More diverse companies have 2.3X more cash flow per employee than non-diverse companies.
• Innovation: When employees feel included, there’s an 83% increase in their ability to innovate.
• Retention: Employee turnover rate in the construction industry is 25% and 65% of employees who feel excluded would like to leave their job.

For statistic sources and more information on this topic, check out the Associated General Contractors of America whitepaper: The Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion in the Construction Industry.