Diversity is the bringing together of different perspectives, points of view, opinions, solution, and
people and infusing variety into whatever you are doing. Equity is the quality of being fair and
giving all parties equal opportunities according to their privilege/oppression. Inclusion is
fairness, respect, and giving forth feelings of value and belonging in order to allow all people
access to being included. These three traits together are important to the STEM field because
they allow opportunities for short- and long-term success within the field, and promote the value
of bringing in different opinions to provide different perspectives that will allow more diverse
ideas and solutions. Being an engineer means being a problem solver, and these traits will allow
us to more diversly and effectively work together to solve problems.
Two strategies I would choose to improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at my company
are workplace strategies and retention strategies.
- Workplace strategies: I would implement this strategy by educating my employees
about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, and provide
trainings, such as sensitivity and subconscious bias training, to bring more light to the
issue and make our workplace one that is more diversity and provides equitable
opportunities to all workers. This strategy will benefit my company because it will
make the space more comfortable for workers of all backgrounds and encourage them
to do their best work and support them along the way.
- Retention Strategies: I would implement retention by taking the feedback of my
employees and applying it to the company/workplace, focusing on supporting the
balance of work and other parts of life, and promoting communication across
different positions, as well as collaboration. All of these strategies will help make the
workers at my company feel like their thoughts and opinions are heard and valued,
and also that they are valued for the work they do for the company, as well as the
skills they bring. By bringing in these strategies, they will be more encouraged to
want to stay and continue working at the company and will feel more comfortable
working there.