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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.
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the history, culture and traditions of the American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. Part of this is acknowledging and understanding the impact that we and our projects have on native land. As structural engineers, we encounter these efforts in the environmental permitting phase of new projects. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a set of guidelines that are followed to inform stakeholders and the public of the environmental impacts that a new project will have on a site and to mitigate these impacts to the extent possible. In 2018, the CEQA guidelines were updated to include Assembly Bill 52, which was created to address Tribal Cultural Resources. This update establishes a consultation process with California Native American Tribes on the Native American Heritage Commission List and creates a new class of resources - Tribal Cultural Resources (TCR) - that are protected under the CEQA guidelines. A TCR is “a site feature, place, cultural landscape, sacred place or object, which is of cultural value to a Tribe and is either on or eligible for the CA Historic Register or a local historic register.” These guidelines play an important role in the ongoing process of preserving Native American land and culture. On a more personal level, you can familiarize yourself with the Indigenous peoples and nations that occupied Bay Area land before us. Additionally, acknowledging the land on which your office or a project exists can be a first step in bringing more awareness to the importance of land preservation for native communities. The following recreational content might also be of interest during Native American Heritage Month:
October is National LGBTQ+ History Month which celebrates the advancements in LGBTQ+ rights that have occurred over the years. The month encompasses various awareness days including National Coming Out Day on October 11th, International Pronouns Day on October 20th, and Spirit Day on October 21st. This October also marks the 42nd anniversary of the first march on Washington by LGBTQ+ people and allies to demand equal civil rights. As highlighted in the June 2021 DEI Spotlight, the 2020 NCSEA SE3 survey results showed that only 3.4% of structural engineers identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or “none of the above”. Being supportive and inclusive of LGBTQ+ people in your office can help build trusting working relationships, and allows folks to bring their whole selves to work and not feel like they must hide part of who they are. The following resources provide tips and guidance on how to be an ally for your LGBTQ+ colleagues:
 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:
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! This month we’d like to spotlight the topic briefs published by NCSEA SE3, based on the results of the 2020 nationwide SE3 survey. You can find all the 2020 briefs, as well as previous SE3 survey reports on the NCSEA SE3 publications page. Some of the latest topic briefs include Recruitment and Retention, Discrimination and Harassment, and Performance Feedback. You can also catch up on the monthly NCSEA SE3 Racial Equity publication Read.Watch.Listen here.  July 26 is the 31st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which set the minimum standards required by law for public spaces to be accessible to persons with disabilities. In recent decades it has also become more common to see spaces designed under the principles of accessible or universal design. Learn more about the difference between those two principles from The Universal Design Project and check out how this can apply to buildings and other civil/architectural spaces with these recommendations from the Whole Building Design Guide.
Finally, if you want to experience some universal design for yourself, check out Berkeley’s Ed Roberts Campus, right next to the Ashby Bart station. The campus is currently closed during the pandemic, but it is an excellent example of how thoughtful design can make a space welcoming to a broad range of people. June is Pride month, and we’d like to share some resources related to the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. According to the 2020 NCSEA SE3 survey results, about 3.4% of the structural engineering community identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or “none of the above”, and 0.2% identifies as non-binary or gender non-conforming. For a useful primer on terminology that goes along with accurately talking about the LGBTQ+ community, refer to the Glossary of LGBTQ Terms put together by the organization Out and Equal. This is part of their larger Toolkits and Guides resource list, which includes great pieces on how to support nonbinary and intersex people, and other marginalized groups in the workplace.
One simple way to show allyship to the LGBTQ+ community is to include pronouns in your email signature or when meeting someone for the first time. Companies can also show allyship by adapting their internal policies to be inclusive and supportive towards LGBTQ+ colleagues. Happy college graduation month! In honor of the many graduates and students finishing their exams and preparing to enter the workforce full time or as interns, we’d like to share some resources about hiring, and specifically about hiring with DEI goals in mind.
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. In the wake of the shootings in Atlanta two weeks ago, please refer to the March 2021 DEI spotlight for resources and further reading on how to be an ally for the Asian American community in this troubling time. This month we’d like to highlight the fantastic work of the NCSEA SE3 Committee. The latest topic briefs from the 2020 NCSEA SE3 Survey have been released on Work Flexibility and Children & Dependent Care. Also check out the continuing monthly installments of Read.Watch.Listen. for many great DEI-related resources.  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 we’d like to bring attention to the recent attacks targeting Asian American seniors in the Bay Area. The Airbnb Asian@ Employee Resource Group (ERG) compiled an excellent resource list for allyship and fighting anti-Asian discrimination. For further reading on anti-Asian racism and discrimination: An interesting article about the Model Minority Myth and its influence on the apparent lack of Asian leadership in American corporate culture. Those firms that are missing out on the value of Asian leadership may have been allowing biased performance reviews to thwart advancement; this article from Harvard Business Review identifies this subtle issue with performance evaluations and how to make them less biased. 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.
February is Black History Month, so we’d like to highlight just a few of the many resources that discuss the history of Black and African American folks in the USA, both as it relates to our profession and within the broader society. For a look at the history of American slavery beginning in 1619 and its impact on today’s wealth gap or traffic, listen to the New York Times 1619 Podcast, which is part of the larger NYT 1619 Project. For a brief introduction of how race affects how we interact with and experience the built environment, watch Bryan Lee’s TEDx Talk Race, Architecture, and Tales for the Hood. (Watch time: 9 minutes) Finally, for more content from the author of last month’s SEAONC SE3 Racial Equity Book Club book Between the World and Me, read Ta-Nehisi Coates’s other novels. |
SEAONC SE3 CommitteeDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Group The SEAONC SE3 Monthly DEI spotlight is a forum to engage our members and share resources relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the structural engineering profession.
You can also find the DEI Spotlight each month SEAONC Post Newsletter! Archives
November 2022
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