Tactics Implemented at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln for Growing Inclusive Excellence in Engineering

Abstract

The percent of women and other underrepresented minorities who receive graduate degrees in engineering within the United States has been steadily increasing over the past 25 years, but it remains under 25%. Many colleges of engineering in the United States are implementing various methods to improve culture towards achieving greater inclusive excellence, helping to support women and underrepresented minorities among their undergraduate, graduate, and faculty populations. In this talk, assorted tactics that have been used at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln will be discussed, many of which could be incorporated into professional society activities. These include offering training on (a) recognizing implicit bias, (b) learning tactics to interrupt implicit bias, (c) growing the number of allies who actively support persons from underrepresented groups in our field, (d) writing diversity statements to include in job applications, and (e) mastering non-violent communication skills. Additionally regular demographic and climate surveys should be conducted to gauge the levels of diversity and inclusivity in our professional societies. Descriptions of the tactics and suggestions on how to deploy them in other organizations are provided.