Welcome to VERCIDA website.

Skip to main content
Enable Recite to make this website accessible

Jacobs celebrates Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month

Category: Generation (Age Friendly)

Diversity and inclusion

 

 

This year, we celebrated AAPI Heritage Month with two of our leaders – Julie Chang and Chen Chen – who shared their insights around belonging and how their Asian heritage has helped shape their careers at Jacobs.

 

jacobs

 

May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, an opportunity to celebrate our colleagues of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage and recommit to #StopAsianHate wherever we encounter it.

This year, we celebrated AAPI Heritage Month with two of our leaders – Julie Chang and Chen Chen – who shared their insights around belonging and how their Asian heritage has helped shape their careers at Jacobs.

 

Let’s get to know Julie and Chen:

Share a little about your background and your role at Jacobs.

Julie: I am Chinese-American, born in New York. My roots are from mainland China in Anhui province. My parents moved to the U.S. for graduate school. My current role at Jacobs is Executive Advisor to Steve Demetriou, our Chair & CEO.

Chen: I'm from Nanjing, China, and I work in Corporate Development at Jacobs (M&A, Divestiture and Equity Investment.)

 

What's your favorite childhood memory involving Asian culture?

Julie: Absolutely the food! Making dumplings, buns and porridge with my family.  The sights, the sounds and smells of the food market.  Getting together for big family celebrations that always revolved around food.

Chen: The Lunar New Year. Every year it’s time to get together with family. And delicious food!

 

How does your Asian heritage and upbringing give you a unique advantage in your career?

Julie: I am disciplined. I work hard. I also have a deep sense of community.

Chen: Diligence and persistence are two traits that have definitely helped me a lot.

 

Share a time when you have navigated adversity in your career.

Julie: With respect to racial adversity, there have been strange points where things come up.  Earlier in my career there was one assignment where someone said I shouldn’t be the project manager because "Asian women were too deferential".  Well – I became the Project Manager and the client asked that the individual be removed from the team.  It turned out our client had an adopted Chinese daughter.

Chen: One challenge for me was getting out of the comfort zone and developing new skills. I was tasked to lead an IT project a few years ago and had no prior experience. The project didn’t go well in the beginning - it was late on schedule and costs were overrunning. But I quickly adapted to learn some hard lessons, listen to others and find ways to manage through. Eventually the project was finished on time and well received.

 

Do you feel like you belong at Jacobs? And what's the impact of that?

Julie: I do feel like I belong at Jacobs and I hope that I can help pave the way for others to feel like they belong and thrive at Jacobs.  That sense of belonging helps me express what I am passionate about.

Chen: Yes, I do. By having this sense of belonging I can make a real difference professionally, because it enables me to think like an "owner" for everything I do here.

 

Why is it important to our business that people feel they belong?

Julie: We are in the business of ideas and solutions.  You need everyone’s energy and expression to come up with the most innovative solutions.  That’s why it is important that people feel they belong.

Chen: Jacobs is a people business. The identity recognition will retain and attract talent, and eventually drive performance.

 

About Inclusion & Diversity at Jacobs

At Jacobs, we understand that “inclusion” is a verb, not a noun. It means being transparent and taking action on our statements, commitments and initiatives that drives meaningful, measurable change both in our company and in the communities that we serve.

It means creating a workplace where our differences are accepted, celebrated and harnessed to bring the innovative, extraordinary solutions clients demand from us. It means creating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive — a culture that we call TogetherBeyond℠.

 

jacobs

jacobs

 

For further information on Jacobs’ Equity, Diversity and Inclusion programme and initiatives please click here.

Jacobs logo

Vercida logo

VERCIDA works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with VERCIDA to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please email [email protected] for more information.

Learn more about this employer

Jacobs

Inclusive features

  • No matching inclusive features
Engineering, Manufacturing & Utilities Jacobs

Thank you for registering on VERCIDA - the leading job site for companies that are passionate about diversity and inclusion.

  • Check out our client profiles to get the latest on their DE&I credentials
  • Look out for client benefits next to all our job specs
  • Sign up for job alerts to keep up to date on new roles as they come in
  • Search 1000s of roles from the biggest brands

Please proceed to the next step. If you are unable to complete the next stage of application please use the contact form HERE.

You will receive an email with link to reset your password.

Enter your new password