September 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.

This month, in honor of the start of Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15, we’d like to highlight the great 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. 
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.

​This past year, SEAONC SE3 and YMF had a great joint social event with SHPE SF Bay Area. We hope to have more events like it in the coming years to foster connections between the two organizations!
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