There have been countless studies that suggest diversity makes companies more innovative, profitable, and a more inviting place to work.
Although our industry is already diverse in terms of gender or ethnicity, it hasn’t always done all it can to make everyone feel welcome and included. In the last few years, I’ve seen that begin to change for the better.
NACD fully supports Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in the chemical distribution industry and wants everybody attending its events and engaging with the organization to feel comfortable.
We want to do more in the future to assist our members, ensuring they have the tools to make our community stronger.
That means increasing the resources we make available and demonstrating how a diversified workforce can benefit their business and the chemical distribution industry.
As part of this journey, NACD is proudly supporting the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI). Formed in 2020 by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Chemours, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Foundation, this national program aims to increase the number of minorities students pursuing a career in STEM.
Now in its third year, FOSSI has raised over $30m to support students through STEM education at HBCUs. It has already helped around 600 scholars at HBCUs – one third of the way towards it goal of supporting 1,000 minorities students by 2025.
NACD has pledged $15,000 each year for the next four years to support the program and mentor one of these students – a young mechanical engineering major who has just started at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.
In her first year, we'll be there to support her as she adjusts to college life and, as her studies progress, we hope to provide internship opportunities and open her eyes to a potential career in chemical distribution.
It’s vitally important we do all we can to reach out to young people and foster their excitement and enthusiasm for industries relying on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
We encourage our members to get involved in this fantastic initiative as well! FOSSI has just opened applications for the next academic year and more information can be found on our dedicated DEIA page on the NACD website.
We also want to bring educators and others active in this important area to the forefront at events, so our membership can hear first-hand about the steps they can take to drive our industry forward.
We’re looking forward to being joined by consultant and thought leader, Keith Wyche, at the Annual Meeting from November 6-9 to highlight the importance of inclusion and equity in unlocking a business’ potential. He’ll be taking a deep dive into the challenges that exist, the benefits, and proven best practices to help the development of a robust and effective DEI program.
I, and the whole team at NACD, look forward to seeing you there – and if you’d like to find out more about FOSSI or NACD’s DEIA resources, visit our website or reach out to me at lschofer@acd-chem.com or Tracey Pierce at tpierce@acd-chem.com.
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