INTRODUCTION
Research data show there are significant connections between diversity, equity, sports and success. However, the data also show a lack of equity and opportunity for women and minorities in sports tech, STEM-related fields, and the corporate world. We believe that increasing awareness about the gap is a key step in closing it. We’re excited to have you join us in being part of the change!
PROJECT 3 INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Pick a topic from one of the following options:
Option A: Check out our list of facts and stats on this page about issues related to gender diversity and industry dynamics in professional businesses and education. Your goal will be to share the challenge or barrier and your discussion will be around potential solutions.
Option B: Pick a company that you admire because of their dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion or choose one from our list on this page. Your goal will be to identify one or two actions they are taking to address diversity, equity and inclusion and your discussion will be how you think it creates impact and drives change (or not), and whether you think it would be beneficial for other companies to adopt similar programs and solutions.
Step 2: Create your presentation
If you’d like to use our template, click here or go to your Project 3 email. You will find a link to a powerpoint presentation that can also be converted to a Google workspace presentation, or Keynote presentation. You may create as many slides as you want, but we recommend aiming for 4-8 slides.
Proposed Outline:
Slide 1 - Title slide
Slide 2 - Set up/Show the problem (or Identify the Corporation)
Slide 3 - Additional relevant information or context
Slide 4 - Recommendation or ideas on how to fix the imbalance/ideas
Slide 5 - Ask for input from your audience
Slide 6 - Invitation to continue the conversation with the WiST community (free) by signing up via the “Join” button on our home page.
Is creating a presentation not your thing? Scroll down after Step 4 to see alternative possibilities.
STEP 3: Find Your Audience
You can share your presentation and lead a discussion with and group where you feel comfortable. It could be your team (ask your coach), your class (ask your teacher), a club (ask your faculty sponsor), your friend group, your family or any other group you think would be interested in the information. Tell your coach/teacher/sponsor that you are working on a project about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace for the WiST NextGen Ambassador’s Program. Ask for 15-20 minutes of time to give your presentation (5-10 minutes) and lead a short discussion (10 minutes).
STEP 4: Share Your Presentation With Us
After you’ve given your presentation, please email it to us at nextgen@womeninsportstech.org. This is how we’ll know you’ve completed the project and we’ll email you back your Certificate of Accomplishment that you can post on your LinkedIn page and add to your college applications. Yay!
And if you’d like, shoot us a message on the slack channel about how the presentation went. We’d love to hear about your success!
OTHER OPTIONS
Is creating a presentation not your thing? Alternatives to this presentation:
Write an OpEd piece for a newspaper or another LinkedIn post incorporating the data provided, share it with us on the Slack channel and email the link so we can send you your certificate.
Create a set of 3-5 reels or posts for your favorite social media channel sharing the data and ideas for solutions. Be sure to @womeninsportstech and include the tags #changetheratio and #culturematters. Email the reels/posts as screen shots or attachments so we can send you your certificate.
Another idea? Please let us know! Email nextgen@womeinsportstech.org
FACTS for OPTION A
This presentation is meant to be brief so plan to focus on just one fact or statistic and one or at most two related questions. We’ve offered a few questions after each of these facts as examples, but we encourage you to ask your own. For each item we’ve also linked to the data if you’d like more context to add to your presentation.
THE PAY GAP
In 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned, according to an analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 42 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2020. Link to the data. Why do you think women are paid less for the same work? What can companies do to close the gap? What can women do to close the gap? Why is progress towards closing this gap so slow?
THE STEM GAP
In 2018, the median annual earnings of those with bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields ($60,800) were higher than the median annual earnings of all bachelor’s degree holders. Link to the data.
Do you think this means everyone should get STEM degrees? Why or why not? Why do you think people with STEM degrees get paid more? Does knowing this information influence what you want to study in college? Why or why not?
Overall, a higher percentage of bachelor’s degrees were awarded to females than to males in 2015–16 (58 vs. 42 percent). However, in STEM fields, a lower percentage of bachelor’s degrees were awarded to females than to males (36 vs. 64 percent). This pattern—in which females received higher percentages of bachelor’s degrees overall but lower percentages of bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields—was observed across all racial/ethnic groups. Link to the data. Why do you think more men than women pursue STEM degrees? What is the impact of this gap? Is it a big deal? Do you think high schools can help close this gap? How? Do you think colleges can help close this gap? How? Who else might be able to help close this gap?
THE LEADERSHIP GAP
Companies with more than 30 percent women executives were more likely to financially outperform companies with fewer women executives. In the case of ethnic and cultural diversity, the business-case findings are equally compelling: in 2019, companies with the most diverse teams outperformed those with the least diverse by 36 percent. Link to the data Why do you think companies with diverse executive teams perform better?
Across a global data set, between 2017-2019, gender diversity in executive teams moved up just one percentage point—to 15 percent. More than a third of the companies in our data set still have no women at all on their executive teams. This lack of material progress is evident across all industries and in most countries. Link to the data Why do you think that this gap is still an issue given the data that companies with diverse team deliver better performance? What can companies do to help close this gap? Who else might be able to help close this gap?
According to research conducted by Ernst & Young, there's one trait that is shared by a disproportionately high number of female executives. Many are all former or current athletes. The research found that 94 percent of women who hold C-suite level positions are former athletes. There's an irrefutable correlation between athleticism and business success. Link to the data How do you explain the correlation between being an athlete and business success? Are their personality traits that are developed as part of athletic participation that contribute to successful leadership? Do you feel that women are encouraged to participate in sports? What might be done to increase sports participation among women?
POSSIBLE COMPANIES FOR OPTION B
You are also welcome to select another company you admire. Usually a search for their name and “diversity” or “inclusion” is the best way to see if they share their position on this important topic on their public website. Questions you might consider: How much detail does this company offer about its diversity and inclusion programs? Do they describe real programs, initiatives and results or do you suspect it’s just marketing language? How transparent is this company about its overall diversity? Do they share their numbers? Do they share their progress? How effective do you think this type of transparency is in terms of increasing diversity? Does the way the company represents its commitment to improving workforce diversity and creating an environment where everyone can thrive change the way you feel about the company or brand? How? Do you think other people feel the same way?