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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Suggested Citation:"Executive Summary." National Academy of Engineering. 2002. Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10377.
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Executive Summary On October 29 and 30, 2001, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce brought together repre- sentatives of corporations that have been recognized for their successful diver- sity programs and members of the NAE Forum on Diversity to participate in a workshop entitled “Best Practices in Managing Diversity.” The purpose of the workshop was to identify and describe corporate programs that have success- fully recruited, retained, and advanced women and underrepresented minorities in engineering careers and to discuss metrics by which to evaluate diversity programs. The workshop was focused primarily on personnel policies and pro- grams for engineers employed in industry and consulting services. In preparation for the workshop, the committee compiled a list of companies that employ significant numbers of engineers that have been recognized for their handling of diversity issues in the workplace. These organizations were listed in the Fortune top 50 companies for minorities or Working Woman’s best compa- nies for women, have been recognized by Catalyst or the Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network for their diversity programs, are represented on the board of directors of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engi- neering, or were recommended by a member of the committee. The committee collected available information about the diversity management practices used by these companies as benchmarks for the workshop participants. These prac- tices are included as an appendix to these proceedings. The format of the workshop, which included plenary presentations followed by small group (“breakout”) discussions, was designed to stimulate interaction among participants, as well as with the speakers. At the conclusion of the 1

2 DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING workshop, the participants were challenged to implement the best practices iden- tified at the workshop in their respective organizations. NAE president William A. Wulf gave the keynote address. In it, he stressed the importance of diversity and creativity in solving engineering problems. He emphasized the advantages of engineering teams with diverse life experiences in developing innovative solutions to engineering problems and the disadvantages (opportunity costs in designs not produced) of nondiverse engineering teams. As Dr. Wulf reminded us, engineers are charged with developing elegant solu- tions that satisfy a variety of constraints, and the more different perspectives that can be brought to bear on a problem, the higher the probability of identifying the optimal solution. The opening panel of corporate executives presented examples of successful diversity programs developed by different types of employers. Mary Mattis of Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that promotes women in business, provided an introductory overview of corporate diversity management programs. Panel mem- bers represented a civil engineering consulting firm (CH2M HILL), an electron- ics design and manufacturing firm (Motorola), and a utility company (Consoli- dated Edison). The participants then reconvened in small groups to discuss the meaning of best practices and how to define success. Their discussions focused on specific programs for improving the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minorities, as well as the importance of leadership and commitment from all levels of management. A common theme of the breakout discussions was that finding and keeping good technical employees is critical to the success of a company and diversity programs contribute to a company’s ability to maintain a strong workforce. After lunch a second panel, made up of representatives of minority engi- neering societies, presented employees’ perspectives on corporate management of diversity. Leading spokespersons for the National Society of Black Engi- neers, the Society of Women Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society provided a variety of views on the impact of corporate diversity programs and the roles of associations in recruiting, retaining, and advancing employees with diverse back- grounds. Following the second panel, Willie Pearson, a sociologist and chair of the School of History, Technology, and Society at the Georgia Institute of Technol- ogy, presented his findings on the career experiences of African-American chem- ists over the last 50 years and related them to the current challenges facing minority engineers in the workplace. Civil rights legislation in the 1960s had a significant impact on the career opportunities available to African-American sci- entists, but Dr. Pearson’s research shows that even in the 1990s highly qualified minorities faced many challenges in obtaining positions and advancing in their chosen career paths.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 These presentations were followed by a second round of breakout discus- sions that gave participants a chance to focus on four specific issues: effective responses to lawsuits, affirmative action backlash, the components of effective mentoring programs, and diversity in the global marketplace. Speakers intro- duced each topic and participated in the discussions. Workshop attendees were encouraged to participate in two of the four discussion groups, and facilitators presented summaries of the discussions to the entire group. The second day of the workshop began with an address by Nick Donofrio, senior vice president of technology and manufacturing at IBM, on his experi- ences in managing diversity in the technical workforce. Mr. Donofrio’s perspec- tive embraced several points of view. He spoke as chairman of the board of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, as an executive with National Engineers Week, and as an engineer and manager at IBM. He empha- sized the business need for more technical professionals in the information econ- omy, the importance of the various groups addressing diversity issues working together, and the need for outreach programs to get young people excited about engineering. During the third and final breakout discussions, participants identified follow- up activities to address the issues of the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minorities in engineering. Although the focus of the workshop was on employment practices, much of the discussion in the final breakout sessions centered on education. Suggestions included sharing the excitement of engineering with young people, educating precollege teachers about what engi- neers do, ensuring that students receive a strong foundation in reading and com- prehension in the early grades, providing skilled math and science teachers in middle schools and high schools, improving the teaching techniques of engineer- ing faculty, and providing financial support for disadvantaged students. Jim Padilla, vice president of global manufacturing at Ford Motor Com- pany, closed the workshop with a talk on the business case for diversity. As a member of Ford’s Executive Council on Diversity and Worklife and executive sponsor of the Ford Hispanic Network Group, Mr. Padilla has led the company’s efforts to increase diversity awareness in Ford’s manufacturing plants and has participated in outreach efforts to the Hispanic and African-American communi- ties in Detroit. In his remarks, Mr. Padilla emphasized the importance of diverse viewpoints in the development of innovative products and services for a global marketplace. THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY During the workshop discussions, a common theme and four common is- sues emerged. In general, employers acknowledged that policies and programs that allow all employees to succeed in the workplace contribute to corporate success. In addition to this general principle, four issues surfaced repeatedly in

4 DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING discussions of why corporations care about diversity in the engineering work- force. First and foremost was the need for talented workers and the difficulty of finding enough qualified personnel. Workshop participants agreed that, although many corporations are being forced to reduce their workforces in response to current economic conditions, the long-term demand for engineers and other sci- entific and technical personnel will continue to increase. The United States cannot continue to rely on immigrants to fill engineering jobs in traditional and high-tech industries. A second related issue was the high cost to companies of employee turnover, including the tangible costs of recruiting and training replace- ments and the intangible costs associated with maintaining good relationships with clients and suppliers. The third issue was the perceived competitive advantage of having a diverse workforce, which enables a company to provide better service to increasingly diverse clients and markets, a business imperative for companies that provide both engineering services and engineered products. Finally, engineers with different ethnic, gender, and cultural backgrounds bring a variety of life experi- ences to the workplace that, if wisely managed, can encourage creative approaches to problem solving and design. KEY COMPONENTS OF SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE DIVERSITY PROGRAMS Speakers and participants at the workshop discussed many aspects of suc- cessful corporate diversity programs. The most frequently mentioned compo- nents are listed below: • High-level commitment. The CEO, senior management, and board of directors of the organization must demonstrate their commitment to work- force diversity, not only by issuing statements and policies, but also by making appropriate decisions and taking appropriate actions. • Clear link to business strategies. Management must show that workforce diversity helps the organization meet its business goals and is good for the bottom line. • Sustained effort. Changes in workplace cultures and behaviors do not happen overnight. Diversity programs must take a long-term approach. • Training. Managers and employees need training to address workplace diversity issues. • Employee affinity groups. Workshop participants discussed the pros and cons of affinity groups (e.g., African-American employees, Hispanic em- ployees, women, etc.). Most felt that affinity groups help organizations identify issues and communicate more effectively with stakeholders. • Outreach to the educational system. To increase the pool of future engi- neers, corporations must develop partnerships with engineering schools

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 and precollege educational institutions. Young people need a solid grounding in math and science in their elementary, middle, and high school years to have the option of pursuing an engineering career. Cor- porations can invest in the future by working with the government and universities to strengthen precollege education. • Accountability. Individuals responsible for implementing diversity pro- grams must be held accountable for results. In the business world, this means linking results and compensation. • Benchmarking against other organizations. Successful companies keep track of what the competition is doing in terms of diversity, just as they do in terms of other business goals. • Communication. Frequent and consistent communication about the goals and programs up, down, and across the organization is important to main- tain focus and ensure common understanding. • Expanded pool for recruiting new employees. Companies must sometimes look beyond traditional sources for new workers to increase diversity. • Monitoring progress. Metrics for determining success in managing di- versity can be difficult to define, and companies must consider more than the numerical mix of demographic groups in the workforce. As a rule, what gets measured in corporations gets done, so defining metrics and tracking progress are critical to keeping management attention focused on the issue. • Evaluating results and modifying policies when necessary. Like an engi- neering design project, a diversity program needs a feedback loop to ensure that the desired results are being achieved.

Introduction CORDELL REED Chair NAE Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce I’d like to give you some background on why we decided to hold this work- shop and what we want to achieve. First and foremost, because of the leadership of Bill Wulf, the president of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), increasing the diversity of the engineering workforce is a primary objective of NAE. An important component of NAE’s strategy for increasing diversity in the engineering workforce begins with bringing together stakeholders to share their knowledge, identify information and program needs, and initiate actions to ad- dress those needs. NAE held a summit on women in engineering in May 1999, which many of you attended. In September 1999, NAE held a workshop to discuss the business case for diversity. As a result of those two workshops, we found there was a large, enthusiastic group of people anxious to deal with this subject. To follow up on what was learned at those workshops, NAE established the Forum on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce to bring together govern- ment, industry, education, and academic stakeholders to review existing infor- mation and to define and initiate programs. NAE also appointed the Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce, of which I am the chair. The com- mittee puts on workshops, makes recommendations, conducts studies, and gen- erally serves as a vehicle for taking action. The Forum and the Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce hoped we could make an immediate impact by holding this workshop to share our experiences on the effective man- agement of diversity in the workforce. We are going to discuss the retention, recruitment, and advancement of people with diverse backgrounds in technical careers. The proceedings will be published by NAE in both electronic form and traditional paper form so that a wider audience can benefit from our experiences. Representatives of companies that have dealt successfully with diversity 6

INTRODUCTION 7 will describe their experiences and back up their claims with data. We’ll take a close look at metrics for determining progress and lessons learned. We will also talk about how the experiences of large companies can be used by smaller com- panies and how experiences in one type of company can be used by another type of company. We will also address some of the hard issues, such as backlash, lawsuits, and the pros and the cons of mentoring. Finally, we will have an opportunity to get feedback from women and minorities who will present their views about how well companies have been doing in their efforts to increase diversity. We hope the results of this workshop will help companies negotiate the present economic downturn and prepare for the economic recovery.

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This report contains fifteen presentations from a workshop on best practices in managing diversity, hosted by the NAE Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce on October 29-30, 2001. NAE (National Academy of Engineering) president William Wulf, IBM vice-president Nicholas Donofrio, and Ford vice-president James Padilla address the business case for diversity, and representatives of leading engineering employers discuss how to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and underrepresented minorities in engineering careers. Other speakers focus on mentoring, globalization, affirmative action backlash, and dealing with lawsuits. Corporate engineering and human resources managers attended the workshop and discussed diversity issues faced by corporations that employ engineers. Summaries of the discussions are also included in the report.

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