The desire to ensure that companies in the engineering sector employ people of diverse genders, sexualities, social background, religion and ethnic origin continues to be a hot topic.
A total of 465 of you responded to last week’s poll, which asked whether diversity is important in the workplace.
Results show that 62 per cent of respondents thought competence to do the job a more pressing issue than an individual’s social background, gender, sexuality, religion or ethnic origin.
Just over a fifth of the vote saw 10 per cent agreeing that diversity is a social imperative and that companies should do their bit to ensure that all employees work in an environment where they can contribute and flourish, whilst 11 per cent agreed that diverse groups bring different viewpoints to problem solving and therefore make the workplace more creative.
A round 10 per cent actually thought diversity to counterproductive, believing instead that people from a similar background work better together.
Furthermore, only two per cent on the poll’s respondents thought that diversity makes the workplace a more pleasant place to be. Five per cent of you didn’t agree with any of the options presented, so why not tell us what you really think below.
This is another poll that tries to reduce complex issues to over-simplified boxes to be ticked – a deplorable tendency in our limited attention span society. There will be creativity and innovation where one person sparks with another, where they feel an immediate communicative bond, where they ‘get’ what another means without having to spell it out. This is more likely where they share the same cultural background, and this in turn is more probable where they have a similar educational upbringing and childhood family situation. This is possibly going to mean the same gender and similar social background, not because other possibilities are ‘bad’ but because difference may inhibit the ‘getting’ of the other. It isn’t even a question of competence, still less the other categories on the list per se.
OK, but does this or does this not mean that Engineering offices will be getting an influx of new totty ? (Sorry !)
Seriously, I love the diversity that is becoming more prevalent in Engineering; different sexes, cultures, opinions and ways of thinking. It also helps control bad language !
Yet another attempt by ‘The Engineer’ to deviate from the implied concern of its title and stray into off topic areas. Who says the subject of this poll continues to be a ‘hot topic’? Surely NOT us, the readership?
I’ve worked in very diverse groups in software – talent and intelligence are not a function of background and they’re the only things that count.
When people have different viewpoints they can clash but if you make efforts to keep everyone friendly then it leads to much better thought out and more mature products. You must be able to avoid arguments over very basic issues and yet be able to see things differently when it comes to problems that aren’t already well understood.
Interest in the work, desire to work hard and ability are all critical because when people care more about the work than about their own egos or about getting promoted they find ways to work together very productively.
It is better to keep your skin color and handicap to yourself. Otherwise you won’t know whether you get shunned because of your ability or because of your disability.
I feel that the engineer magazine is increasingly more interested in social issues and far less in the business of engineering.
With so many interesting things going on in engineering right now the editorial staff at the engineer prefer to concern themselves with tangential issues that have more to do with general news and less to do with the supposed specialism of this periodical.
Here are some suggestions…
Nanotechnology
Artificial Intelligence
Rechargable battery technology
Nuclear Fusion
Engineering Chartership – Benefits?? regulation of engineers
trends and changes in the international patent system
Renewable energy technologies – alternatives to wind and solar
Biochemistry and engineering
Commercial enterprise and space
International regulation and engineering
Ancient engineers – e.g. Egyptian
Naval engineering – recent developments
etc etc. I could go on and on.
Diversity in the work place or gender in engineering are not topics I would highlight as of significance, and I think this is bourne out by the polls on those subjects.
I am the Chair of Balfour Beatty’s LGBT network and co-chair of the Services Divisions Diversity Committee. I cannot disagree with the comments of “Anonymous” on 30 September more strongly. Empirical evidence shows that where people from the same gender and socio-economic background work together, they generally encourage each other towards making the same decisions. They also start to lose the ability to challenge, behaving more like a club or team than a bunch of intelligent individuals. This means they start believing their own hype, and gang up on those who have a differing viewpoint. As a result, risks get missed, poor deicisions get made, and there is no one around who can think differently. So, while it may seem easier not to have to put up with that annoying person who doesn’t think like you, it comes with inherent risk. Is this a risk that corporations should really be taking? I don’t think so…
Unfortunately you are dealing with real people who have real prejudices. My experience is that engineering is dominated by fairly conservative people, especially at management level. Does diversity extend down to engineers with Asperger syndrome who were home educated?