I attended a talk on diversity and inclusion. Prior to attending, I was curious about the presentation, but I did not have the desire to participate. The actual presentation focused on minorization, privilege, and awareness of inclusion. The talk was very open and judgement-free. Many people participated without fear of friction among the group. I felt welcome in this environment. The presenter set the tone for the group by stating disclaimers on the communication between the class. For example, she mentioned that the topics that were learned in the presentation could be taken outside the classroom, but the specific people and events of that educational experience could not. This put me at ease to know that participation in the presentation would not ensue gossip afterwards. The class seemed to agree because the group was very active in the presentation. It was important that the tone of the presentation be open and honest because it is difficult to talk about diversity and inclusion otherwise. My feelings about the presentation change to wanting to participate and glad that I attended. I learned to think of the world through someone else’s eyes. I can see that I have many privileges, and it is important for me to take advantage of the privileges to help the minoritized party. The part of the presentation that made me think the most about my status was the color of band-aids. I had never thought about the color of the band-aid being an issue, but I can now see that the nude market is very biased towards the privileged majority. Luckily, America attempting to fix the issue one small step at a time, especially in the make-up industry. I am glad I live in a time where I can experience efforts made to improve upon the problem of seclusion and minorization. I would like to participate in the movement, and I hope attending the talk was only the beginning of my journey in college to help others.
The presentation showed me to be more aware of my peers. Everyone is unique and has some privilege and some disadvantage. The problem is people learning to accept those unique qualities. In STEM, diversity has become an overwhelming factor for hiring. Diversity in STEM is important because the wide range of ideas make for better testing and teamwork. The previous majority of STEM employees was white, male. In fact, I attended a brunch to talk with chemical engineers on their 50 year reunion, and one engineer said she was the only girl in the entire lecture. She made the interesting point that the lecturer had to hold back some of his words because there was now a girl in his class. This compared to current lectures in STEM fields is like night and day. The efforts made to include diversity in the workplace have clearly paid off. Notably, Society of Women Engineers is the largest engineering organization on campus. The work is not complete yet as there are many other gaps to fill for inclusion, but the giant strides in diversity have shown to be one step closer to an accepting and efficient world.