Structural Engineering, Engagement, and Equity

November 2022

11/1/2022

As we near the end of the year and many companies are undergoing their annual review processes, we would like to share some tips on how managers and employees can be prepared and make the most of these meetings:
For employees:

Review your previous goals and self-assess your progress towards them
Note down your accomplishments from the past year to share with your manager
Set new actionable goals and plan periodic check-ins between you and your manager
For further tips, see this article put out by Forbes or this one from the Wall Street Journal

For managers:

Gather feedback from others who work with the employee
Be specific with feedback, both positive and constructive
Review past performance and set goals for the future

For further tips, see this article from the Harvard Business Review or this one from Forbes

Additionally, with the midterm elections coming up, we would like to share some non-partisan resources for making an informed vote:
When and where to vote:

Tuesday, November 8th
Polls are open 7am to 8pm
Find your polling place here
This is also the last day to return a mail-in ballot.

Non-Partisan Voting Guides:
CA Secretary of State website—voting guide with summaries of all the propositions, candidates, and justices.
https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/

CAL Matters—a more detailed voter guide, with candidate qualifications and stances, plus descriptions of the many propositions on the ballot
https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/

Voter’s Edge—Type in your address and find specific ballot information for your area. You can also save your choices as you go to make filling out your ballot easier!
https://votersedge.org/ca

October 2022

10/1/2022

October 15th marks the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, which started on September 15th. This month we would like to highlight the SF Bay Area chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). SHPE is a nationwide organization that supports Hispanic students and professionals to realize their full potential and positively impact the world through STEM. They run mentorship programs, organize trainings and other events, and have created a wide-reaching network to support their membership, which includes high school students in SHPE Jr. chapters, college students, and professionals.
SHPE also has a repository of research pertaining to Hispanic people in STEM from well-established organizations, which is an excellent resource for those interested in data regarding Hispanic representation in STEM fields. Some takeaways include:

One-third of all degrees awarded to Latinx folks in 2012-2013 came from just 2% of all institutions nationwide (less than 100 individual schools), most of which are designated Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI).
From 2014 to 2016, Hispanics occupied just 8% of all Engineering jobs, compared to their 16% share of the total employed population of the US.

In the last 20 years, the number of Hispanics occupying science and engineering jobs has nearly doubled.

September 2022

9/1/2022

Welcome back to the DEI Spotlight! After a short break, we are excited to continue sharing engineering-related DEI content with you, and hopefully with your input! This year, we would like to introduce a “DEI Spotlight: Industry Edition” every few months to make this space more relatable to our everyday experiences. Has your office held an unconscious bias training that you found to be helpful? Have you recently introduced the company-wide use of pronouns in your email signature? Is your firm making an effort to reduce biases in your hiring practices? Write to se3project@gmail.com and tell us how it is going and the results that you have seen; we will share them here with your permission!

Additionally, SE3 has had a strong start to the year, hosting the first session of a two-part seminar series called “Engineering Inclusive Engineers” on August 10th. Yvette Pearson, with the PEER Group, led the group through the foundation of JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) efforts and how they relate to the engineering workplace. The second session, “Identifying and Disrupting Systemic Inequities in Engineering Organizations,” will be held on September 14th; you can still register for it here. These sessions are geared towards “DEI beginners”, so please share them within your organizations to anyone who may be interested!

June 2022

6/1/2022

On June 16th, SEAONC SE3 will be hosting their first symposium in over 3 years! The theme this year is “The Past, Present, and Future of DEI in Structural Engineering.” We will highlight the committee’s previous work (including being the founding SE3 chapter and beginning the national survey), what the committee has done in the past couple of years, and explore some of the many avenues that both SE3 and the structural engineering community at large can focus on in the near future.

There will be a keynote presentation by SE3 founders and past chairs, followed by a session on the research that the SEAONC SE3 chapter has done over the past 3 years. Breakout sessions will include topics such as:

Sustainable Design and DEI
Equitable and Community-Oriented Design
DEI Initiatives and Employee Resource Groups

Additionally, a workshop will be held by the PEER Group on how to be an active ally in the workplace and there will be a panel discussion with the firm leaders who took part in the DEI Cohort program from 2021-2022.

Attending the symposium will make clear why SE3’s work, and DEI in general, should be of interest to absolutely everybody in the industry: because it touches everything that we do as structural engineers. You can learn more about the symposium and register here.

We would also like to wish everyone celebrating a joyful Juneteenth (June 19th), International Women in Engineering Day (June 23rd), and Pride Month!

May 2022 - AAPI Heritage Month

5/1/2022

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. For this month’s DEI Spotlight we would like to highlight some information about the model minority myth and how it can be perpetuated in the workplace.

Image credit: https://www.npr.org/2021/05/25/999874296/6-charts-that-dismantle-the-trope-of-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority

The term ‘model minority’ is typically used “to refer to a minority group perceived as particularly successful, especially in a manner that contrasts with other minority groups.” This has been referred to as a myth, though, since this type of characterization actually does more harm than good. To better understand how the model minority myth can flatten the experience of Asian Americans and mask the differences in histories and needs of communities, it is important to remember that Asian Americans are not a monolith and that within the “Asian American Pacific Islander” umbrella there exists a variety of ethnicities and experiences.

This NPR article breaks down some of the myths associated with the idea of the ‘model minority’:

“Myth: All Asian Americans are well educated and high earning”
- “In fact, a 2018 Pew Research Center study found that Asian Americans were the most economically divided racial or ethnic group in the U.S., with Asian Americans in the top 10th of the income distribution making 10.7 times more than those in the bottom 10th.”
Myth: Asian Americans are fairly represented in leadership positions”
- “[A recent Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH)] survey also found that almost half of Americans incorrectly believe that Asian Americans are overrepresented or fairly represented in senior positions within American companies, politics, media or other realms.

In reality, Asian Americans are underrepresented in these positions of power, holding about 3% of these positions in comparison with composing 7% of the U.S. population, a report from The New York Times found last year.”

These disparities exist within the structural engineering profession as well. According to the 2020 NCSEA SE3 Survey, Asian structural engineers are the least satisfied with their career advancement when compared to other racial groups.

For further information on how the model minority myth hinders Asian Americans’ upward mobility into leadership positions and how companies can address these issues, read this CNBC article.

April 2022 - Earth Day

4/1/2022

Image credit: https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/celebrate-earth-day-at-botanical-garden-of-the-ozarks/

On April 22nd, we will celebrate Earth Day! In this month’s DEI Spotlight we would like to discuss the concept of environmental justice and provide some examples of how the structural engineering community can play a role in and commit to a greener and more sustainable future.

Environmental justice is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” (EPA). Some examples of environmental injustices could be the disproportionate impacts felt by low-income communities in coastal areas where sea level rise will threaten their homes or the effects of harmful pollutants emitted from refineries or manufacturing plants built near affordable housing communities.

Structural engineers, and those in adjacent industries, can play a role in addressing these issues by being aware of how our projects contribute to or help mitigate the impacts of climate change. One resource is the SE 2050 Commitment Program, a response to the SE 2050 Challenge which states “all structural engineers shall understand, reduce and ultimately eliminate embodied carbon in their projects by 2050.” This program is organized by the ASCE SEI Sustainability Committee and is a great tool for understanding how the construction industry can play a role in the environmental future of our planet.

Additionally, we would like to wish a peaceful and happy Ramadan to our colleagues who are celebrating for the month - Ramadan Mubarak!

March 2022 - Women's History Month

3/1/2022

Since March is Women’s History Month we would like to highlight some resources and information about women in engineering:

The 2020 NCSEA SE3 survey determined that only 24% of the over 5,000 respondents identified as female. When looking at job titles, 37% of entry-level/staff engineers identified as female, while only 10% of principals/owners identified as female.
The Society of Women Engineers’ (SWE) article Women in Engineering: A Review of the 2020 Literature is a great resource to learn about the state of women in engineering today. The conclusion of this article challenges us to think about the barriers that are pushing women away from engineering while still considering ways we can encourage more women to be interested in the field.
SWE has also summarized a report put out by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that covers promising practices for addressing the underrepresentation of women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) fields. Some suggestions include:
- Adopting a data-driven approach to implementing institutional change by collecting information by gender and other demographic qualifiers to determine how specific problems are affecting women of intersecting identities.
- Recognizing, rewarding and encouraging DEI efforts in ways that promote cultural change. This might be within a specific company, or for organizations to encourage among their member-companies.

As always, when considering issues on the basis of identity, we encourage using an intersectional lens. As noted by SWE, intersectionality acknowledges “the reality that not all [women’s experiences] are the same and that a female identity intersects with other identities (e.g., race, sexuality, ethnicity) in ways that can complicate a woman’s efforts to enter engineering.”

February 2022

2/1/2022

February is Black History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black and African American folks in the United States. This month we would like to highlight the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the work they do locally and nationally:

Mission: “To increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”
NSBE was founded in 1974 by 6 students and their professor at Purdue University. Since then, it has grown to over 790 chapters and to 30,000 members at its height.
Although it started out as a collegiate organization, two other branches - NSBE Professional and NSBE Jr. - serve engineers wherever they are at in their journey.
NSBE provides its collegiate and professional members with leadership and technical development and training through webinars, panels, workshops and other events; access to career fairs; career mentoring; and opportunity for scholarships/fellowships among other things
There are three local chapters for those interested in joining and getting involved: San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and Sacramento

January 2022

1/1/2022

Ringing in the New Year is a time to reflect on the past 12 months and to set goals and intentions for the upcoming ones. Below are some DEI-related actions to help you and your company move towards a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace in 2022:

Continue to educate yourself on topics and issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion, specifically as they relate to structural engineering. A great way to start is by reading past DEI Spotlights, SEAONC SE3 publications and NCSEA SE3 publications.
Participate in the Racial Equity bi-monthly book club - download the meeting invitations from the SEAONC website or keep a lookout for the Zoom invitations in the monthly SEAONC Post newsletter.
Familiarize yourself with your company’s DEI statement and understand ways in which you can play an active part in accomplishing the goals that it sets forth. If your company doesn’t have a DEI statement, consider drafting one and asking others in your company to provide input.
Join or start an Employee Resource Group (ERG) or take part in other committees that organize DEI-related events and activities for your office.
Volunteer for organizations such as SHPE, NSBE, iUrbanTeen, ACE Mentor Program, Girls Inc, EAA, etc.
Join SEAONC SE3 if you would like to be more involved in this type of work and how it relates to structural engineering!

December 2021 - Winter Holidays

12/1/2021

The DEI Spotlight is a monthly forum in the SEAONC Post in partnership with the SEAONC Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity (SE3) Committee to engage our members in the mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the structural engineering profession.

As we approach the winter holiday season, we would like to acknowledge both religious and non-religious traditions and celebrations that take place around the world and that we or our co-workers might be celebrating. While many of our offices have days off in celebration of Christmas and New Year’s Day, many of our coworkers may celebrate other/additional religious events, changes of the season or other significant days. Below is a short description of some of the celebrations and holidays that are taking place around the world during this time of year:

Diwali - mid-October to mid-November - this festival of lights is a major holiday celebrated by Hindus around the world. It symbolizes peace and joy, the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness. It is celebrated by decorating one’s home with lights, candles, flowers, diyas, and lamps. Prayers are also made for health, wealth, and prosperity.
Hanukkah - November 28th - December 6th, 2021 - an eight-day Jewish celebration for the rededication of the Holy Temple. It is typically celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting and prayers.
Shabe Yalda - December 21st - a Persian festival to celebrate the end of fall and beginning of winter when the days start getting longer again. “Yalda”, which means “rebirth”, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness.
Pancha Ganapati - December 21st - 25th - a five-day Hindu celebration for the Lord Ganesha. It is typically celebrated with family gatherings, food, and the exchange of cards and gifts.
Christmas - December 25th - a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus, but has become a secular celebration in many parts of the world marked by gifts and gathering with family.
Kwanzaa - December 26th to January 1st - a seven-day celebration in appreciation of African and African-American history, heritage and culture. Similar to Juneteenth, Kwanzaa originated as a solely African-American observance and is centered on the end-of-year harvest that takes place across Africa.

What do you celebrate during the holiday season? Do you have any special traditions you would like to share? We would love to hear from you. Email us at se3@seaonc.org.

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