Practical Integration of Diversity and Inclusion

Competencies into Engineering EducationLorraine M. Herger, ABET Board of Delegates

Mercy Bodarky, IBM Research Integrated Solutions

2016

Today, we will discuss -

• What is ABET?• Introduction to diversity and inclusion• Motivating interest and action• A look at the numbers• Deeper dive - diversity and inclusion• Examining Opportunities• Role of ABET? And Survey Link

INTRODUCTION

ABET Mission• Accredits educational programs• Promotes quality and innovation in education

• Communicates and collaborates with its constituents and the public

• Assists in the development and advancement of education worldwide

• Anticipates and prepares for the changing educational environment and the future needs of its constituents

• Manages its operations and resources in an effective and fiscally responsible manner

ABET Organizational StructureVolunteer-Driven: 2,200+ Volunteers

100% of accreditation decisions are made by volunteers

Board of Directors• Elected by Board of

Delegates• Provides strategic

direction and plans• Appeals process

4 Commissions• ASAC, CAC,

EAC, ETAC• Make decisions

on accreditation status

• Implement accreditation policies

• Propose changes to criteria

Program Evaluators• Visit campuses• Evaluate individual

programs• Make initial

accreditation recommendations

• “Face of ABET”

Board of Delegates• Nominated by &

represent the member societies

• Decides policy and procedures

• Approves criteria

ABET’s 35 Member Societies

• Accredited programs by commission: ASAC: 81 CAC: 429 EAC: 2437 ETAC: 216

ABET Accreditation StatisticsAs of 1 October 2015 … 3,569 Programs

CommissionDomestic Non-Domestic

Programs Institutions Programs InstitutionsASAC 80 62 1 1CAC 377 296 52 35EAC 2071 424 366 76ETAC 581 204 59 12

Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Inclusion:Committee charge

• To review and affirm or recommend revision to ABET’s policy on diversity and inclusion.

• To reconsider ABET’s role in supporting diverse learner populations within the broad range of ABET accredited programs and to make recommendations to the ABET Councils in this regard.

The question is: can ABET, via the accreditation process, promote diversity and inclusion in technical education programs?

Diversity and Inclusion- Defined

• Diversity – Individual differences• Race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,

socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs… etc.

• Inclusion – behaviors and mindset• Promoting respect, belonging, leveraging

the value and harnessing the power of diversity to the benefit of the organization N.B. You can increase diversity, but without inclusion, it is not sustainable.

INTRODUCTION

Individual differences are not always visible

“Difference” CAN make us

uncomfortable

In Pictures…..

No Diversity (within

organization)No Inclusion

DiversityPoor Inclusion

Diversity AND

Inclusion

INTRODUCTION

In Pictures…..

Diversity does not = Inclusion

‘Diversity’ is being invited to the dance.

‘Inclusion’ is being invited to dance.

INTRODUCTION

In Pictures…..

Motivation – Inclusive Excellence• Competitive Advantage

• Demographic Imperative

• (Social Justice)

Doing things RIGHT

The RIGHT thing to do

Regardless of Motivation – Industry tells us they want and need more diverse engineers and that all engineers need to be able to work effectively in a diverse, multicultural, and global environment

MOTIVATION

The Competitive Advantage

There is significant, rigorous research that shows diverse organizations have a

competitive advantage over homogeneous organizations

MOTIVATION

We need a variety of ideas

“If everyone is thinking the same thing, someone isn’t thinking at all,” Gen. George Patton

MOTIVATION

The Powerful Link Between Diversity and Innovation• Study of 2.5M scientific articles showed that papers

with diverse authors received more citations• “Collaboration: Strength in diversity”,

R. B. Freeman and  W. Huang, 16 Sep 2014, Nature

• link between a team’s ethnic mix and highly cited papers

• Women 2.0 “….diverse founding teams of tech companies fare better. They are 33% more capital efficient, they last longer and they file more innovative patents. They make better businesses……” 

MOTIVATION

The Competitive Advantage of Diversity – The Caveat

HOWEVER…

• Research cited many benefits of diverse workplaces – provided they are harmonious

• “Cultural Disharmony Undermines Workplace Creativity”

• Research by Prof. Y.J. Chua, Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge”

• (the ‘inclusion’ difference - we’ll get back to this later)

MOTIVATION

The minority changes the majorityStudies show:• When we hear dissent from someone different

from us, it provokes more thought than when it comes from someone who looks like us

• People work harder in diverse environments, both cognitively and socially. This hard work leads to better outcomes.

• “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter”, K. W. Phillips, Scientific American, Oct 1, 2014

Diversity makes each of us perform better!

MOTIVATION

The Demographic Imperative MOTIVATION

By 2050, No One Race/Ethnic Category Will be a Majority

Source: NACME Analysis of population projections from U.S. Census, 2012.

Latino American Indian/Alaska Native Two or More RacesAfrican American Asian American/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Non-Latino White

2012 2050

MOTIVATION

Put simply, we need EVERYONE on board to

address the grand challenges of the coming decades.

MOTIVATION

Data ReviewWhere are we now?

NUMBERS

BS Degrees – we’re only tapping PART of our available talent

61%5%

13%

17%1%0%2%

General US Pou-lation

Cauc.As AmAf AmLatNAPITwo+

69%

14%4%

11%0%0%2%

Undergraduates in Engineering

Cauc.As AmAf AmLatNAPITwo+

34.5 14.5

NUMBERS

So that is ‘Diversity’ – in the sense of representation

How do we measure ‘Inclusion’

Inclusion

First– what is Inclusion?Characteristics of an inclusive team environment

• ensuring that everyone is heard and respected

• making it safe to propose novel ideas• giving team members decision-making

authority• sharing credit for success• implementing feedback from the team

Inclusion

Mitchell R. Hammer“Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity”

The growth of an inclusive mindsetInclusion

How do you measure Inclusion?

… you CAN measure ABSENCE of inclusion

Inclusion

• Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA, DLE Survey, 5 years of data, 19,580 students in 26 US colleges

• 43.6% have experienced discrimination

Discrimination on Campus Inclusion

Another measure of inclusion – persistence in the workforce• What fraction of engineering degree

holders are working in engineering jobs 5 years after graduation?- 62% of females- 79% of African American males- 90% of white males

• Only 20% of non-engineering employed women leave their fields

• Possessing an advanced degree increases a woman’s chance of leaving the engineering workforce by 165%Sources: NSF Stemming the Tide: Why Women Leave Engineering, AWIS, American Institutes for

Research

Inclusion

The cost of this exodus• To the Individual

- BS: Lower wages- MS/PhD: 2-10 years of post-baccalaureate

earnings• Government

- PhD: ~$250k to $500k• Employer

- 5 years: ~$1M• Society

- >100,000 non-practicing, STEM-qualified workers

Inclusion

Barriers to inclusion

• Unconscious Bias

• Micro-messages

BARRIERS TO INCLUSION

Objectivity is Compromised by Unconscious Biasand Cognitive Errors

• Some givens: Biases are usually unintentional. Everyone makes cognitive errors. Decisions made quickly are more susceptible

to errors and unconscious bias. Biases can be advantageous or

disadvantageous to those being evaluated.

BARRIERS TO INCLUSION

From Virginia Valian

BARRIERS TO INCLUSION

Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female Musicians

Claudia Goldin, Cecilia RouseResult:

Using a screen increased the probability of a woman advancing through auditions by 50%

So if Bias can affect what you SEE and HEAR –

it isn’t hard to understand that it ALSO affects

what you think and believe

Does it really affect our judgment?

Micro-messaging

• What are ‘micro-messages’• Subtle, usually unintended ,

unconscious messages• Sent and received EVERY

time we interact with someone

• Often results in micro-inequities

• Example: A person loses confidence because they see a skeptical response to their contributions becomes more hesitant – resulting in more skepticism

BARRIERS TO INCLUSION

Examples of Micromessages – interactions with students -• Research shows that if a student is ‘struggling’ with

answering a question, the faculty will typically ‘rescue’ them much faster if they are a woman or an underrepresented minority.

• The message – you probably can’t do it without my help. • Research shows that if a student of color answers a

question correctly, they are more likely to get a response of surprise (and also praise), but the interaction ends. A majority student is more likely be probed further to extend the interaction

• The message (to the person of color) “I’m surprised you got the answer, but don’t believe that you could go further.”

BARRIERS TO INCLUSION

How can we change this? Opportunities for change

Inclusiveness via Engineering Education• Motivate

• Why and how diversity and inclusion leads to better groups, schools, and businesses

• How inclusive behaviors benefit YOU… yes YOU, too• Educate

• Awareness of unintended bias, micromessaging, privileges, culture

• Equip• Provide tools for all students to learn and grow in their

understanding of diversity and inclusion• Practice and Model

• Inclusive classrooms, training, develop workplace competencies for diverse and inclusive environments

Opportunities for change

How can ABET motivate change?…

Role of ABET

ABET Accreditation ProcessObjectives

• Assure that graduates of an accredited program are adequately prepared to enter and continue the practice of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology

• Stimulate the improvement of technical education

• Encourage new and innovative approaches to technical education and its assessment

Role of ABET

Sample Survey Questions Role of ABET

1. Is excellence in diversity and inclusion a marker of quality that the ABET accreditation processes should consider?

YesNoMaybe (w/ text box)

2. What are your thoughts on whether ABET should require institutions to reflect on their goals and processes for continuous improvement in diversity and inclusion?

Open Text Box3. What are your thoughts on whether ABET should have criteria related to institutionally-defined metrics for diversity and inclusion?

Open Text Box4. If you think that ABET should consider diversity and inclusion in the accreditation process, in which part of the process would you require self-study? (can select multiple choices)

Criteria 1 – StudentsCriteria 2 – Program Educational ObjectivesCriteria 3 – Student OutcomesCriteria 4 – Continuous ImprovementsCriteria 5 – CurriculumCriteria 6 – FacultyCriteria 7 - FacilitiesCriteria 8 – Institution Support

5. For any criteria you selected above, please share your ideas on how this would be implemented.Open Text Box

6. Please share any other thoughts you have about the role of ABET in advocating for, or insisting on, diversity and inclusion in engineering programs. Open text Box

Survey

Sample Survey Questions

Survey

Please take the Survey!

http://www.abet.org/surveys/

Link to Survey

THANK YOU!

Questions, Comments?