The purposeful and proactive practices to embrace differences, check unconscious biases, unlearn discrimination, and regularly ask “is this equitable?” is what makes the work of inclusion so powerful and, quite frankly, difficult. It’s when you start thinking about your employees as more than just cogs in a wheel, but as members of your company’s community. Inclusion is where companies should be thinking about the ways in which they can dismantle systemic prejudices within their organisations. In many cases, actually fostering a sense of belonging is almost an afterthought, if a thought at all. Even those corporations able to succeed in recruiting diverse talent often neglect inclusion as a key part of the equation.

Admittedly, attracting and hiring diverse candidates can be an important albeit necessary challenge that many companies still need to be overcome. This can only be done by creating an environment that embraces differences, encourages employees to speak up, and empowers them to become more engaged.īy now, nearly all companies (should) know the benefits of a diverse workforce: enhanced creativity, innovation, and productivity, reduced employee turnover, and increased revenue just to name a few. In much the same way, diversity, equity, and inclusion should also be layered into business practices to catalyse innovation. With only around 11% of those working in additive manufacturing (AM) actually women, we really need to assess how we retain women and people of colour in our industry.ĪM creates an object layer by layer. That is the estimated proportion of women and minorities who leave the STEM field after five years, according to Erika Jefferson, the founder of Black Women in Science and Engineering in Women in 3D Printing’s 2020 Diversity for Additive Manufacturing Report.

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