Region 1 Spring Assembly – Saratoga Springs
“Is Equal Always Fair?”
By: Sarah Dinwoodie
demonstrated the subconscious biases people
carry with them every day.
When talking about what it means to
create a culture and climate of inclusion, Dr.
Pearson shared a story of a conversation she had
with a coworker. Her coworker said to her that
she had the most secure job. When Dr. Pearson
asked why her coworker felt that way, they
responded because she is female, African
American, and disabled – she checks all the
boxes. Dr. Pearson replied “and here I thought it
was because of my qualifications”.
Ways that we can prevent biases in hiring:
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Bias training
Identify and remove biases
Use inclusive language
Bias in Advancement Opportunities – Biases in
advancement can be the result of assuming your
interest and assigning you different tasks based
on that assumption.
Ways that we can prevent
advancement opportunities:
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biases
in
Equal pay for equal work
Fair, consistent expectations
Meaningful job assignments
Diversity in leadership
Workplace culture and turnover
Pay Inequality – One of the most common
examples of pay inequality is employers who do
not want to pay women as much as men because
they do not feel women will spend as much time
working as men – specifically when it comes to
having a family and raising children.
Ways that we can prevent pay inequality
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Equal pay for equal work
ASCE Canon 8
Photo Credit: https://engineering.rice.edu/deans-staff
Dr. Yvette E. Pearson, Ph.D., P.E.F
Barriers to Workforce Diversity
There are many barriers to workforce
diversity. The top three we discussed were bias
in hiring, bias in advancement opportunities, and
pay inequality.
Bias in Hiring – Did you know statistically people
with ethnic sounding names get approximately
50% less calls for interviews? In a study that
compared potential employees with the names
“Greg” and “Emily” versus “Jamal” and “Keisha”,
Jamal and Keisha got 50% less calls.
ASCE has added an eighth canon to the
Code of Ethics. Canon 8 calls fair treatment for
all persons. Canon 8 states:
“Engineers shall, in all matters related to
their profession, treat all persons fairly and
encourage equitable participation without
regard to gender or gender identity, race,
national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual
orientation, disability, political affiliation, or
family, marital, or economic status.”
Canon 8 supports ASCE’s vision to be global
leaders building a better quality of life.