Creating a culture of diversity

A strong diversity culture, like a strong safety culture, is good for chemical process industries (CPI), the profession, and our individual career advancement. Formal ways in which companies develop and foster inclusion practices and diversity include: employee developed diversity action plans with measureable objectives included in performance evaluations; diversity councils; employee groups; diversity training committees; and supplier diversity programs. BASF has developed a Diversity Dashboard as a tool to track diversity objectives, which tracks employee diversity composition, the impact of leader behaviors in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment, and the impact of leader decision-making by unit on a monthly basis. This type of rigor in data tracking and analysis can be compared to the data tracking and analysis used in developing a strong and sustainable safety culture. Professional organizations like AIChE have an important role to play in career advancement by providing opportunities for members to further their diversity knowledge and enhance their acquired diversity traits.