Race in STEM
How collaboration is the key to equitable workplaces
Steven Fuller is founder and community director of Race in STEM, a community that supports and elevates multicultural voices in the global science, technology, engineering and mathematics space. With the help of its sponsors, hosts, speakers and community members, it aims to reduce the economic and professional hardships that disproportionately affect people from marginalised backgrounds in STEM.
Since launching in 2023, the Race in STEM community has grown from strength to strength – beyond anything I could have imagined. Now that we’re part of The IN Group, we have an even greater opportunity to build connections and learn from the wider community, ultimately expanding our platform and extending our services to a wider range of clients, candidates and community members. STEM is an area that for too long, has been low on minority voices. But I’m genuinely heartened that more and more people within the STEM community want to know and do more, and it’s by effectively collaborating that we can create equitable workplaces in 2024 and beyond.
As a platform for collaboration, a catalyst for career opportunities and a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas, everything we do is based on connecting, communicating and continually learning. In the last year, we’ve been fortunate enough to be part of events such as the Dublin Tech Summit, the Black Graduate Business Conference at Imperial College London and the RQA Conference, Belfast, where thousands of attendees have heard our extraordinary speakers dissect some of the most pressing issues, and tell some of the most intriguing stories, in the STEM space.
With further events, conferences, podcasts, webinars and training sessions lined up to help support and elevate multicultural voices in STEM, connecting will continue to be an important part of our approach in 2024.
We’re a year into our journey but when the issue you face is a longstanding and complex one, the hard work’s never done. These are some of the main challenges which will form a key focus of our conversations over this year:
Uncertainty of how to approach topics of conversation in relation to DEI – that’s why discussing and normalising DEI issues, so that everyone feels comfortable talking about them, is so important.
Bullying within the workplace with no support from colleagues or HR – too many organisations are still too eager to sweep difficult conversations under the carpet rather than face a challenging issue head-on, with openness, honesty and a desire to improve.
Retaining members of staff who are of different multicultural backgrounds, especially ethnicity – it’s all very well being able to attract a diverse workforce, but if your people don’t feel they have an equal chance of progressing and are forced to look elsewhere, you’re undermining all your hard work.
Hiring diverse professionals and where to find them – we collaborate with our recruitment sister brand, BioTalent, to find, engage and place diverse talent into the STEM world.
What are my quick tips for organisations looking to find high quality diverse talent?
Think about the interview panel – is it diverse across gender and race for example?
Think outside of the box – if what you’re doing isn’t yielding the results you want, you need to change your approach and maybe look somewhere different.
Look in the right places – acknowledge that communities where you can find exceptional diverse talent won’t necessarily be on LinkedIn.
GO INTO the communities to find talent and network – speak to people, understand their aspirations and listen to their challenges.
We’re looking to make a tangible impact for 2024 by being hands-on. You’ve got to invest to reap rewards! Education is key and we’ll be exploring more coaching for clients and candidates with this in mind. We’ll also be looking to join more community groups to network and collaborate, implementing our lessons into day-to-day practices internally and externally.
Race in STEM aims to be limitless in terms of outreach, collaboration, empowerment and learning opportunities. It’s been an exciting year and we’re looking to build on this momentum to fuel our growth and strengthen our services at every cornerstone of the community. Partnerships will prove vital in this journey, as will every guest speaker, event attendee, reader, or viewer who engages with us.
