HOW DIVERSE ARE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION?

Paper i proceeding, 2023

The SEFI Special Interest Group on Gender & Diversity has recently been renamed as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, broadening the definition from a focus on gender to embrace a wider range of diverse identities - such as language and cultural background, religion, physical ability, and socioeconomic status - and to promote and support equity and inclusive practices within SEFI and beyond. In the process of redefining the Special Interest Group's mission, it has become clear that definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion may vary considerably between different contexts and institutions. Therefore, it is relevant for the engineering education community to share and examine how these terms are understood and implemented in their own institution and in other contexts around the globe. In this workshop, invited panelists from different continents and countries (United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela, South Africa, People's Republic of China), and representing different engineering education communities across the globe (SEFI, American Society for Engineering Education, Research in Engineering Education Network, South African Society for Engineering Education) presented their perspectives and experiences on diversity, equity and inclusion. This was followed by small group discussions, during which SEFI 2023 participants examined their personal and the panelists' perspectives with the facilitators. Several main conclusions emerged from these exchanges, all imbued with the awareness that context is crucial and that sustained dialogue with stakeholders across cultures and continents through various channels within and beyond the Special Interest Group of SEFI should be supported.