SOM’s Equity Action Committee is a member-driven group that advances diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our practice. This article, authored by EAC members And Emmett and Zhi Wei, appears in our 2025 Impact Report.
Design is an inherently collaborative practice. The quality, relevance, and impact of our work depends not only on the expertise we bring within SOM, but on the specialists, consultants, suppliers, and peer firms we partner with. These collaborations shape how projects are pursued and developed. They are also one of the most direct mechanisms through which the firm can broaden perspectives, elevate underrepresented voices, and participate in a more equitable design industry.
Within this ecosystem, minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE), as well as other small, disadvantaged, veteran-owned, and underutilized business enterprises (often collectively referred to as XBE firms), play an important role in the profession. Many clients explicitly require or strongly encourage participation by certified businesses, and these requirements vary by geography, market, and procurement structure. At the same time, even when certification is not mandated, collaboration with smaller, local, or underrepresented firms often adds value by bringing contextual knowledge, alternative ways of working, and perspectives that are not always present within large, global organizations.
As these programs and partnerships continue to shape how teams are formed across the industry, and to enhance our opportunities for engagement of these diverse ideas, SOM’s Equity Action Committee launched a new initiative in 2025 focused on consultant and collaborator diversity. Our goal was to examine how SOM forms teams, how diverse collaborators are brought on, and where there may be opportunities to strengthen the impact of these partnerships.
Our approach started with a discovery phase to assess current practices across offices. We identified key internal stakeholders based on their involvement in project team formation and project delivery. These included project managers, partners and practice leaders, marketing and business development teams, and colleagues in legal and finance who oversee risk, insurance, contractual structures, and financial reporting.
To guide these conversations, the committee developed a set of structured but open-ended questions. Some focused on concrete processes: how pursuit teams identify consultant partners, how those partners are vetted, and how knowledge about collaborators is shared. Others probed more qualitative dimensions, such as how teams perceive the value of diverse collaboration, what challenges they associate with working with smaller MWBE/XBE firms, and whether they have seen direct impacts on pursuit outcomes tied to the presence or absence of diverse collaborators.
Over the summer and fall of 2025, the committee conducted one-on-one interviews with more than thirty stakeholders across geographies and disciplines, revealing consistent themes. Engagement with diverse collaborators is largely shaped by procurement structure and local requirements: in markets where certification-based diversity is embedded in RFP evaluation, teams are more proactive, while in others diversity may be viewed as secondary to pursuit strategy. Recurring challenges relate to scale and capacity, as many MWBE/XBE firms are smaller practices that may struggle to meet insurance, staffing, or liability thresholds on large projects. Client expectations around narrowly defined “relevant experience” can further disadvantage firms without prior access to comparable work, reinforcing inequities where “best on paper” reflects historical access rather than actual capability.
Interviews surfaced positive examples and emerging ideas. Some teams have actively supported consultants through certification processes, creating mutual benefit by meeting project requirements while strengthening a partner’s long-term positioning. Others described meaningful co-leadership models, where diverse partners are entrusted with design responsibility and client-facing roles rather than being limited to narrowly defined scopes. There was also growing interest in expanding the definition of diversity beyond certification alone, to include emerging firms, individual practitioners, and nontraditional specialties whose perspectives can enrich design outcomes.
The initiative has moved into a second phase focused on analysis and solutions. Drawing from our notes, the committee synthesized common themes and observations to understand where current practices are effective and where opportunities exist. Based on this assessment, we have begun identifying potential paths forward. Rather than proposing a single solution, we are defining a range of approaches that can be tested and refined.
Our strategy considers near-term and longer-term impact. Near-term opportunities include low-lift actions that build awareness and fluency, such as knowledge-sharing within existing meetings, informal meet-and-greet lunches with MWBE/XBE consultants, and accessible guides to common certification types. In parallel, we are identifying internal SOM “champions” to pilot approaches and share lessons learned. At a more structural level, we are exploring scope-pairing models that support small or emerging firms and considering clearer aspirations around MWBE/XBE participation.
As this initiative moves forward, the Equity Action Committee invites engagement from across the firm. Colleagues interested in serving as champions or contributors are welcome to help shape and test potential approaches. We are also interested in hearing from all current and prospective consultants and collaborators. Internal and external perspectives on what has worked well, where processes create friction, and how partnerships can be made more effective will be critical.
As we continue our work, we see this initiative as an opportunity to strengthen how SOM collaborates, and how we deliver design excellence and advance equity within the interdisciplinary and collaborative practices that shape the built environment.
And Emmet is a Senior Marketing Specialist based in SOM’s New York office and a member of the Equity Action Committee.
Zhi Wei is a Senior Architect based in SOM’s Los Angeles office and a member of the Equity Action Committee.