Metro Magazine, February 2020

13 FEBRUARY MARCH 2020 METRO MAGAZINE COM nections with the youth and promote the transportation industry as a desirable career option for their consideration Promoting and investing in minority focused scholarships and internship programs like the FHWA Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups the National Summer Transportation Institute Program the Garrett A Morgan Transportation Technology Education Program and the National Academy of Sciences Engineer Girl program is beneficial for both the supporting organizations and the students Additionally transportation organizations should use social media platforms to connect with younger generations to form their deliberate public perception using easily accessible tools PERCEPTIONS ARE IMPORTANT Individual perceptions are used to make judgment decisions whether those perceptions are based on facts rumors or personal experience In order for organizations to successfully improve a diversity oriented culture deliberate actions should emphasize the desired perceptions There are many ways to promote commitment to diversity which starts with a diverse hiring panel Presenting a gender balanced and diverse hiring panel is one way an organization can show their immediate dedication to diversity while also ensuring hiring decisions are not unintentionally biased To accomplish this goal organizations should ensure their hiring panels are representative of the employees they are trying to attract To understand the effectiveness of cultural diversity efforts in place organizations should conduct or participate in recurring surveys of their employees Providing employees with the opportunity to candidly share feedback related to both the culture of the mapodile organization and their personal feelings of fulfillment allows for holistic organizational improvement Sharing practices that have proven to be effective is just as important as sharing practices that were ineffective so surveys should be developed in a way that allows for the collection of all types of input Beyond the hiring panel composition it is important that organizations focus on intentionally promoting themselves to create the organizations desired perceptions If organizations are not deliberately shaping their own perception they are allowing others to define their own perceptions Through deliberate advertising and successful diversity promotion initiatives organizations have the ability to define the publics perception One way to promote preferred perceptions is through an organizations commitment to personal goal congruity GOAL CONGRUITY Various studies have shown that stereotypically females are attracted to communal goals while males are attracted to agentic goals Agentic goals are goals of independence and status while communal goals are typically focused on working with and helping others in the community While anyone in the transportation industry understands the undeniable connection with communal goals it is necessary to alter the perception of the industry to match the reality Importantly there has been experimental evidence that shows the correlation between womens interest in STEM fields and that fields ability to fulfill communal goals Therefore one way that transit agencies can specifically improve their ability to attract a diverse applicant pool is through the promotion of the community improvement opportunities that employment at their agency provides There are also ways that agencies can promote agentic goals and individual prestige which should be included in the agencys practices to ensure the attraction of the best candidate no matter their personal motivator The goal of diversity is not to make one gender or ethnicity favored over another but to include all genders and ethnicities equally Well defined and attractive policies will attract the best talent which will inevitably result in diversity POLICIES ARE NECESSARY Promoting and retaining women in the industry once you have successfully attracted them requires that deliberate fair and consistent policies be implemented within your organization It is As the importance of equity and inclusiveness continues to increase in our society Diverse solutions will undoubtedly require a diverse workforce to find the best most inclusive solutions to transportation challenges