Read.Watch.Listen. The (Continued) Business Case for DEI
- SE3 Committee
- Mar 1
- 3 min read
March 2025 Issue
A monthly forum to share diversity, equity, and inclusion resources.
Welcome to the next installment of Read.Watch.Listen. As we mentioned in January, this year we are reflecting on the path of DEI and the SE3 Read.Watch.Listen forum. This month we are revisiting the concept of the “business case” for DEI. One of our first posts in 2020 tackled this subject, providing resources that demonstrated “that a welcoming, diverse atmosphere fosters greater creativity, better critical thinking, and a more profitable company.” You can read the post here: November 2020 Issue.
So, how has the business case changed? DEI has certainly been debated quite a bit in the news lately, becoming rather polarized and politicized. We at Read.Watch.Listen believe diversity, equity, and inclusion endeavors are still worthwhile and have gathered some recent resources to help provide more knowledge around this important topic. To start off, last summer, Michael C. Bush published RIP to DEIB? It Was Never Really Alive on LinkedIn to argue that DEIB is capitalism at its finest. You can catch more of his insights in our “Watch” resource below. Last December, ACEC published The Impact of DEI&B Programs on Engineering Firms: A Case Study, which assessed the impact of DEI&B initiatives on the financial performance of engineering and design service firms. This timely case study concludes that these initiatives have a positive impact on the firms and their employees, clients, and communities.
The following resources reiterate these impacts and benefits, while also addressing how to adapt to this politicized focus on DEI. To paraphrase a recent podcast from BE Labs on navigating DEIB work in the first 100 days under this new administration: the focus is on us, but we should not panic. Instead, consider that we are in a place now where we get to showcase why this work is important. We need to take feedback from the external and determine how we should do this work in a way that does not derail the efforts but instead accelerates them.
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Read.Watch.Listen is a monthly forum hosted by the NCSEA SE3 Committee to share and promote conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion within the structural engineering profession. Each month, we will curate a series of articles, audio-visual and digital media to facilitate self-education in matters that affect our professional practice as structural engineers. Whether you choose to read, watch, or listen (or all three!), we hope you will join us in this important conversation. Missed the previous issue? Check out the NCSEA SE3 Committee News and Publication page.
Share your thoughts and/or recommended resources for the next issue at ncsea@ncsea.com.
What Comes After DEI – HBR
Lily Zheng is a DEI strategist and consultant, who recognizes that “DEI needs a reset. People want more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces, but the initiatives and approaches common to mainstream DEI are far from the only way to achieve them.” She has studied the benefits and pitfalls of mainstream DEI efforts and has developed a new framework, FAIR, built around fairness, access, inclusion, and representation. This new framework follows four guiding principles to achieve these results: outcomes over intentions, systemic over individual, coalitions over cliques, and win-win over zero-sum.
Estimated Read Time - 15 minutes; January 23, 2025
Rated G: Becoming Great for All- It's Time to Take Action: The Steps to Building a Strong DEI&B Plan – UKG
In this conversation between Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, and Brian K. Reaves, Chief Belonging, Diversity, and Equity Officer at UKG, the importance of making DEI a part of your culture is discussed. They advocate for focusing efforts in three areas: tying initiatives into business imperatives, working them into the operation of the company through goals, transparency and accountability, and lastly, activating the employee base around common values. This video is a part of a larger discussion between Michael and Brian. If you are interested in hearing more, you can access the full webinar with this link: Rated G: Becoming Great for All.
Originally posted May 28th, 2024; 00:07:35
Why Abandoning Diversity Efforts Will Hurt Your Bottom Line – Allyship in Action
Julie Kratz discusses “how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have become a hot-button topic in politics and at work. While some organizations are doubling down on their commitment to creating inclusive workplaces, others are quietly (or not so quietly) abandoning these efforts. But stepping away from DEI can have significant, and often overlooked, consequences for your business.” Read the full article here.
Originally aired December 8, 2024; 00:06:09
This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue of NCSEA's Structural Connection newsletter. For more information, check out NCSEA's DEI Resources.
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