Diversity & Inclusion

“At Toll Brothers, we believe that everyone should have equal opportunities to succeed. Everyone has a right to work here and advance here. Every employee's voice and role here is important, and we want to create a level playing field. And that means acknowledging our differences and figuring out what we can do better as an organization, where we can improve.“ —Corey Tendler, Chief Diversity & Engagement Officer

Our culture at Toll Brothers is founded on principles of respect, integrity, and care. It's written into our values: Take Care of Each Other and Do the Right Thing. And we work to apply these principles every day when interacting with employees, customers, trade partners, and the community. Successful diversity and inclusion efforts benefit the entire organization. They enable us to bring in the best talent, be more innovative and collaborative, better engage with our customers, and cultivate a culture of inclusion, where people of all backgrounds and cultures feel welcome to join, stay, contribute, and grow. In short, they help us Be the Best, Delight Our Customers, and Create Value.

We believe every individual has a right to be treated with dignity and to work in an environment free from hostility and harassment, and we do not tolerate harassment of any kind, from any employee. This is underscored by clear Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies, embedded in our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, and reinforced in our Preventing Workplace Harassment training. All subcontractors are required to formally commit to adhering to our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct policies as well as to following all national and local laws. From our Board of Directors to our leadership team and associates across the country, Toll Brothers employees embrace our diversity and inclusion mission.

But it's not enough to say the words and believe in the mission. We must take meaningful steps to ensure we are cultivating a culture and community of mutual respect, equality, and understanding. Over the past few years, we've ramped up our efforts to advance diversity and inclusion at Toll Brothers. We appointed a Chief Diversity & Engagement Officer who is partnering with key groups within the organization to attract, develop, and retain diverse talent and strengthen our culture of inclusion.

Sourcing Diverse Talent

At Toll Brothers, we are committed to building our diversity pipeline and making systematic adjustments to the way we recruit and hire, beginning by searching job boards that target diverse candidates and adjusting our campus recruiting strategy to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other organizations. To help support our hiring leaders and recruiters in this mission, we are providing them with resources including guidance on sourcing candidates, reviewing resumes, interviewing, and making hiring decisions.

We've formally analyzed our demographic makeup as an organization and how our profile compares to the overall demographics in the areas where we operate, as well as the demographics of the labor market for specific jobs in those locations. As part of this effort, we have a better understanding of gender and race demographics for the available talent pool in every one of our major markets for our 10 most popular job types. We will continue to analyze this data to recognize gaps between market availability and our internal representation to identify areas in need of more focused hiring attention.

Building Empathy and Understanding

In 2020, we hosted a virtual Diversity & Inclusion Employee Panel that garnered record employee turnout and participation. Our CEO, Douglas C. Yearley, Jr., opened the event with powerful remarks, reaffirming his commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and asking employees to not just tolerate or accept one another but to take the time to truly understand each other. Five employee panelists shared their personal stories and perspectives, leading to a conversation that was both moving and enlightening. Many employees watched the panel live, and all were encouraged to view the recording to collectively increase understanding of why this work is so important.

In 2021, we're deepening the conversation by facilitating small group discussions on diversity and inclusion, so more employees have an opportunity to share their voices and to continue embedding understanding and empathy throughout the organization.

Listening to Employee Voices

We gather and analyze feedback from employees on our diversity and inclusion practices and are committed to acting on the feedback we receive. We do that through company-wide employee engagement surveys and by listening closely to a wide variety of voices across the company. That includes our Diversity & Inclusion Council, which provides strategic guidance about our plans and helps us prioritize our actions, as well as our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which help amplify the voices of employees of diverse backgrounds.

Supporting Employee Resource Groups

One crucial way we involve employees in the ongoing work of inclusiveness is through our Employee Resource Groups. All employees are encouraged to get involved in these employee-run groups, which serve to celebrate diverse backgrounds, create workplace connections, enhance personal and professional development, and contribute to our internal community as well as the communities in which we work.

We invite new hires to participate in ERGs and promote them through events like our annual Virtual ERG Fair. Our ERG chairs meet monthly to share best practices. We're proud of what our ERGs have accomplished and will continue to support and strengthen these groups.

ERG Spotlight: BELIEVE

BELIEVE (Black Employees Leading Inclusion, Excellence, Vision, and Education) organizes coffee chats with group members so employees of different backgrounds can get to know each other better and build understanding.

“BELIEVE's Coffee Chat—an amazingly simple concept—turned out to be a profound experience for me. The real power of BELIEVE's Coffee Chat isn't just in connecting two colleagues, but rather, it lays the groundwork to foster a safe and open dialogue on our own uncomfortable experiences with race—typically a taboo topic in the workplace. The conversation further reinforced for me that while we all may go through the same exact event, or face similar life challenges, some of us experience dramatically different outcomes simply due to the color of our skin.“ — Ben Webster, Director, Land Acquisition

ERG Spotlight: Toll PRIDE Network

The Toll PRIDE Network put together a moving internal video and article in celebration of National Coming Out Day.

ERG Spotlight: The Toll Women's Network

The Toll Women's Network invites all employees to virtually join in regular Career Conversations with female leaders. Employees have an opportunity to hear valuable career advice and ask questions that are top of mind for growth and development.

“When I think back on the mentors throughout my career that were most important to me, they didn't sugarcoat anything. They were intuitive enough to know when to sit, listen, and coach, and certainly intuitive enough to know when to push harder and not hold back on the critical pieces of development,“ Lisa McClelland, Vice President, Design Studios, shared in a recent Career Conversation.

ERG Spotlight: Veterans at Toll

The Veterans at Toll group features stories on our intranet of employees who have served and made incredible sacrifices for our country. Here's what one employee had to say about a recent Veteran's Spotlight of Jason Shipe, Director, Production and Quality, Atlanta.

“Jason, thank you for your service. I can't even imagine being deployed and away from family. I am so grateful for all our armed services and vets. Good job to his Toll Brothers team for continued support. It makes me proud to be a Toll Brothers employee.“

ERG Spotlight: MOSAIC

At monthly meetings for MOSAIC (Multicultural Organization Supporting An Inclusive Culture), the group celebrates the international and multicultural backgrounds of Toll Brothers employees. They work to expand awareness and knowledge of underrepresented racial, ethnic and multicultural groups to help serve our customers better, become a better corporate citizen and build a better community at work and beyond.

“At a recent meeting, I presented to the group about my recent trip to Egypt. By walking the team through photos of my family and friends, key landmarks, and delicious Egyptian cuisine, I talked about the country's incredible culture as well as shared more about who I am and what's important to me,“ said Hossam Abostate, Cost Manager, DC Metro, and Co-Chair of MOSAIC.