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Leaders around the US are wrestling with the meaning and connotation of the word ‘woke’. It means ‘being aware of inequity and injustice.’ Some politicians are using it as a weapon to attack others beliefs and actions. Some business leaders are embracing environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals but are staying away from the woke label. Why? The term has evolved from a 21st century watchword for Black Americans in the fight against police brutality and racial discrimination to conservative right culture wars. It is viewed as an insult, not a compliment.
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State of Diversity in STEM
Dr. Jenna Carpenter, Founding Dean and Professor, School of Engineering, Campbell University, shared the state of diversity in STEM fields and the impacts during her 2023 ABET Symposium keynote April 20, 2023:
- The economies of the future will be dominated by STEM. The STEM workforce must increase by 79%. The only way to accomplish this is to increase under-represented group participation (Women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans)
- At the current rate, to represent the US population in the STEM workforce by 2030 (just 6.5 years from now), the number of women must double, the number of African Americans must increase 250%, and the number of hispanics by 300%.
- This is both a supply issue and retention issue.
- Our higher educational system has used opportunity as a proxy for ability, admitting and graduating mostly white, male students from upper-middle to upper income families. Implicit bias, stereotypes, societal norms and funding have limited the opportunities (pre-engineering programs, hands-on experiences, exposure to STEM fields) for girls, African Americans and Hispanic children.
- Those under-represented persons that make it through the educational system then join work environments that are unsupportive of their differences. After a few short years, they leave the workforce or leave STEM jobs.
- This has significant competitive implications. It is estimated that if women participated in innovation at the same rate as men, there would be four-times as many inventions in the US.
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The ideas of being aware and attentive to the issues of inequity and injustice is something all leaders should strive for. Leaders play a critical role in fostering a workplace where all can contribute to success. The need to address these issues in the workplace cannot be ignored. Research points to the fact that if you want to build teams or organizations capable of innovating, you need diversity. Diversity drives teams to search for new information and perspectives, leading to better decision-making and problem-solving. As such, it can improve the bottom-line of companies and make nations more competitive. Realizing these benefits requires the right conditions and intentional execution. Otherwise, diversity can increase conflict and tension.
Executing organizational change is difficult in any situation but diversity initiatives are particularly hard. Pushback can come from groups that have benefited from privilege, those who genuinely care about diversity and those who are simply uncomfortable with the terminology. Emphasizing the business case for diversity can minimize the backlash, but not negate it. So, what is a leader to do?
First assess your own understanding of injustice, inequity and the term woke. If hesitant, explore why. This exploration prepares the leader to effectively lead the discussion and search for solutions within their own organization.
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“It is hard work, but it is heart work.” - S. Ramesh, 2023 ABET President
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Diversity Initiatives
Not all diversity initiatives are created equal. Employing a chief diversity officer is important, but not in isolation. Diversity progress is maximized when that officer works with others across the organization. Diversity training is also important, especially if employees are treated as change agents, not effective if employees are treated as culprits being punished for bad behavior. The key is to know the objectives of these initiatives and make sure they are executed in alignment with organizational goals and values.
SOS believes creating a healthy organization that works for all to compete goes a long way to creating and sustaining the more diverse workforce we need, today and the future. Contact Susan to learn how to create a healthy organization.
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References
- “ABET Announces Jenna Carpenter as Keynote Speaker for 2023 Symposium,” www.abet.org Phillips, Katherine. “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” The Scientific American, October 1, 2014.
- Schall, Susan. “Women Leaders Updated,” Essentials blog post, March 8, 2022.
- Thomason, Bobbi and Traci Sitzmann. “Business Leaders Need to Rise Above Anti-Woke Attacks,” MIT Sloan Management Review, May 10, 2023
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