Let’s address the culture-war issue
Welcome to Design World’s Engineering Diversity and Inclusion issue, a staff -driven evolution of our popular Women in Engineering issues started in 2018. The editors of Design World are honored to bring you statistics and distilled information on this topic as well as inspiring stories about engineers of various ages, orientations, races and ethnicities, neurodivergencies and abilities, and religions.
Let me be open and honest: Earlier this year, some Design World readers indicated via email-survey responses that they recoil at the idea of an issue about diversity in our industry. Others more mildly asserted that this publication is unnecessary. So, while we remain steadfast in our conviction that heterogeneous engineering teams are strongest and most just, we recognize that viewpoints and engagement levels greatly vary. We look with this installment of Design World to have a conversation with all our readers about representation and inclusion in manufacturing and automation.
Unfortunately, most politicians have only served to poison conversations about managing societal change to maximize fairness — missing the mark on real-world concerns and solutions or (most heinous) engaging in the common tactic of fearmongering used throughout the years to manipulate those who associate their status and power in society with their demographic origins.
We believe the hard work and unique talents of individuals, including white heterosexual men, matter far more than demographic origins. This issue, looking at stories of engineers from historically marginalized communities, should be considered as an addition, not a replacement, to the stories of engineers we’ve heard over the previous decades. We also scoff at strawman arguments from those who oppose inclusion initiatives — arguments that falsely assert manufacturers are somehow being forced to hire anyone other than those maximally qualified and educated to function as good engineers.
The bottom line is that diverse teams make for better engineering design. I invite you to read Caroline Criado Perez’s excellent book, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men for more on this topic. Perez gives numerous real-world examples of how input from female designers yields better end results. Similarly, our sister publication R&D World has consistently heard from its readers that various types of team diversity are essential to the success of research groups.
Now, if you’re of the mindset that the world has already evolved and this issue is beating a dead horse, I beg to differ. In an editorial on EVs a few months ago, I mentioned in passing that my husband still drives a gasoline-powered car. That small detail prompted an offensive letter from a reader canceling his subscription because I was a “fagot” [incorrectly spelled] and asserting I was going to hell — and that I should keep basic details about myself private, like in the old days.
As someone who can pass for straight and doesn’t have a tattoo that says GAY on his forehead, over the years I’ve heard unaware coworkers, advertisers, readers, and industry contacts say awful things about gay people. So at least for my community, I can say with certainty that there’s much work yet to be done to educate people on others who aren’t exactly like them.
Run through an old exercise with me and picture a doctor and a scientist in your head. How would you describe these professionals? The vast majority of people, even those in minority communities, tend to report they imagine gray-haired white men in lab coats. Did you? Much of what we conjure reflects what we see in life and what we’re shown over and over in the media. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if a young Black girl’s first thought was of an older woman who looked like her in that lab coat? It will take way more than one issue of one magazine, but I hope this is a help — one that inspires and one you will consider with heart and mind that are open and curious.
Paul J. Heney • VP, Editorial Director
[email protected]
On X (formerly Twitter) @wtwh_paulheney
Filed Under: DIGITAL ISSUES • DESIGN WORLD
