WTS CT Fall 2021 Newsletter

ROAD EATS

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Kenya Rutland, Principal and Chief Enthusiasm Officer, KJR Consulting and Steph Bogue, WTS-CT Diversity & Membership Chair

WTS-CT worked with local Girl Scout Troops to host a virtual event for girls ages 7-12 called “Road Eats.” Board members provided a 45-minute session covering the basics of Civil Engineering and “How As- phalt is Made.” The girls took a fun quiz on what makes a good engineer, watched a short video and then made “No-Bake Asphalt Cookies.” The process of making the cookies mimicked the pro- cess used to make asphalt. Girls put in as much or as little of the provided ingredients as desired. The girls then com- pared their “asphalt cookies” and talked about how adding too much or too little of cer- tain ingredients affected the cookie. By participating in this event, the Girl Scouts were able to earn an Engineering Fun Patch.

May 11, 2021

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August 10, 2021

Coffee & Conversations Following the success of the first session in the DEI Series, the Diversity & Membership Committee realized a fo- llow-up event would be be- neficial to continue the con- versation. With a total of 12 attendees, participants were able to enage in an active discussion. The group shared experiences and strategies that can be applied in daily life. Overall, the conversa- tions emphasized the impor- tance of having a continuous dialogue for these topics.

DEI Session 1: Inclusive Leadership

DEI Session 2: Navigating Bias in the Workplace This session explained how the 20 types of cognitive bias directly impact people’s thin- king, decision making, and encouraged participants to reflect on their existing bia- ses. Participants learned how these can result in different types of microaggressions and the impact they have on indi- viduals. The 55 attendees were placed in breakout groups, each with a different case study, and took a closer look at the systematic biases woven into the example scenario. This session also shared micro-in- tervention strategies to use when addressing bias.

This first session of the DEI Series was focused on inclu- sive leadership in the wor- kplace. With a total of 48 at- tendees, participants learned about the six traits of inclusi- ve leadership and worked to understand the significance of our individual leaders- hip shadow. The breakout groups allowed participants to share their perspectives and encouraged everyone to reflect on how they can apply these leadership stra- tegies.

WTS-CT Student Outreach Committee

Diversity is a fact. Equity is a choice. Inclusion is an action. Belonging is an outcome. - Arthur Chan

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