Inclusion in FIRST

[Kimmeh]

In response to a post I made on the Jane Cosmetics thread, I've received more than one request on how to make teams/FIRST/STEM more inclusive. (My apologies for the delay to those who messaged me!)

In the last few months, there's been a lot of talk on how to get more females engaged. I'd hazard a guess to say if we make FIRST/STEM more inclusive for EVERYONE, we'll see more females in FIRST/STEM. No one wants to be the token minority figure. Personally, I don't like feeling like I'm being recruited so I can help meet an arbitrary check mark. (She's female, in STEM, and LGBTQ!? 3x Bonus! New high score!) I'd also wager a guess that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

When I first had this in mind, I had LGBTQ students in mind, but a pm reminded me that it's more than that subset of students. It includes students from other walks of life that fall outside the norm. Maybe your team is predominately made up of members of a specific race or ethnicity. My intent is for more not to be a discussion of how you recruited the non-typical (to your team) students, but what you do as a team to make them feel welcome and included.

I only ask that you don't brush this off because "it doesn't happen on my team". Maybe you are right. But for example, sexism isn't always as overt as saying girls can't do X or boys are better at Y. But maybe instead a team lead directs a group of students the girls end up cleaning/sorting parts or making buttons while the boys' attention is refocused on something directly robot related.* Alternately, LGBTQ youth are more at risk for homelessness, depression and suicide. For many the simple act of having a place where they can be themselves and have support is a live saver. Students that identify as such often aren't obviously apparent.

Many of us mentors work with middle and high school students. We're aware how easy it can be to accidentally crush a student. At bare minimum, I'm sure that many of us can remember being told something particularly hurtful and how long that can stay with you. I'm also sure that we're aware of what being part of a team means for some students. (And some of us as well. There's a reason why we're still here.)

I can offer my suggestions, but I'm just one person, so I figured I'd open it up to CD.

Here's some questions to get you started:

What have you done to be more inclusive?
What worked and what didn't work?
How do you address problems on your team?
Students: Do you speak up if you have a problem?

If yes, how did you go about it? Did you talk to a mentor and have them handle it on your behalf? Did you bring it up yourself? Etc.
If not, why?

If you'd like to remain anonymous, PM me your post and I'll post it on your behalf. (Mods, is that okay? This can be a sensitive subject for some, and I can appreciate the fact that not everyone is comfortable being identified.)


* Actual situation that happened to me, repeatedly. Sure, someone needs to do it. But why did it always end up being me?