Workforce diversity gets an additional boost
Esteban Macias and Lily Hall are part of ENGAGED, a suite of programs the college introduced in 2016 to help University of Arizona students succeed in engineering.
Women and people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds are underrepresented in the engineering workforce and its educational pathways. To help reduce this gap, the University of Arizona College of Engineering has joined the National Science Foundation's Engineering PLUS alliance to advance diversity in engineering.
“You’d think, with all the efforts put into it, the issue would be solved. But it’s not,” said ECE professor Kathleen Melde, associate dean of faculty affairs and inclusion.
NSF aims to increase engineering degrees awarded in the United States to women and students from minority groups. The goal is 100,000 undergraduate degrees in 2026 from 2021’s total of 54,000 and 30,000 graduate degrees from 21,000.
And group diversity is about more than inspiring and supporting students. A 2015 McKinsey report found that companies in the top quartile for racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have above average financial returns.
Kathleen Melde, University of Arizona Woman of Impact and winner of the college’s Outstanding Supporter of Diversity & Inclusion Award in 2023, plans to expand the ENGAGED program.
Melde has been hearing since she obtained her bachelor’s degree in 1985: “You don’t look like an engineer.”
Since Melde graduated, the percentage of women earning engineering bachelor’s degrees has grown from 15% to 24%.
“It’s happening less; we’re definitely making progress,” said Melde, who has led the college’s diversity and inclusion efforts since 2020.
College leaders focus on hiring faculty members who represent the student population, supporting the efforts of clubs dedicated to cultural communities, and administering programs that help students succeed. Not only did the college see increased enrollment in 2023, the incoming class was also more diverse than the national average, with 33% women.
The UA will share with Western region peers the successes of ENGAGED, a suite of services for engineering undergraduates who face challenges such as being part of underrepresented groups or being the first in their families to attend college. The program has served 232 students since 2021.