In the MIT School of Engineering, we believe that engineering is a creative and collaborative endeavor in which the best solutions arise from a rich diversity of perspectives, discussion, and inquiry. We are committed to increasing diversity by fostering a community of opportunity and by providing the intellectual stimulation of a diverse school and campus environment, both in the classroom and where we work and live.

The Office of Engineering Outreach Programs has developed and implemented a range of outreach programs and services to provide access to the intellectual stimulation of our campus community to a younger audience. These programs work with middle and high school students, including those from underrepresented segments, to equip them to enter and succeed in postsecondary engineering education. Their programs include Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science, MIT Online Science, Technology, and Engineering Community, and the Saturday Engineering Enrichment and Discovery Academy. There are a range of other K–12 STEM outreach programs across the MIT School of Engineering, including the Women’s Technology Program the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Program.

The MIT School of Engineering has made steady progress in recruiting and retaining faculty, students, and staff that have been traditionally underrepresented in engineering. Yet there is still much to be done as we continue to build a diverse and inclusive community.

The MIT School of Engineering’s departments, labs, and centers have reaffirmed their pledge to pursue the recommendations from MIT’s “Report on the Initiative for Faculty Race and Diversity.” The goal of the work is to yield long-term positive change in the MIT environment, to improve the climate at MIT for minority faculty and all faculty with regard to matters of race and ethnicity, and to ultimately achieve long-standing and sustainable increases in overall numbers of underrepresented minority faculty members in order to realize the benefits of diversity in education.

Ongoing Priorities & Goals for the MIT School of Engineering

Priority: Seek to increase the number of underrepresented minorities and women within our community of faculty, students, and staff.

Goal: Establish and maintain programs, groups, and initiatives to broaden participation. Continue to provide new faculty with excellent mentorship. Pursue ongoing review and improvement of our recruitment, hiring, and retention practices.

Priority: Ensure that our values guide decision-making and inspire advancement of a community where everyone can thrive.

Goal: Continuously examine current policies, procedures, and departmental data within the context of diversity and identify opportunities for improvement and set plans of action within the MIT School of Engineering.

Priority: Be a community that is empowered and engaged, inclusive and diverse, and welcoming to every member. Genuinely model the ideals of well-being, diversity, inclusion, and empowerment.

Goal: Maintain and deepen meaningful collaboration with community members at MIT on the mission of increasing diversity; partners include the Institute Community and Equity Office, the Office of Minority Education, and the Disability Employee Resource Group.

Equity 

A range of government agencies provide additional resources for students and/or employees who have concerns of sexual misconduct or other forms of gender discrimination. Among those agencies, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides informational materials on civil rights compliance and equal opportunity in programs receiving NASA grants and other federal financial assistance.

In an effort to help students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics gain greater awareness of their rights under civil rights laws such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, NASA has provided the following documents to better inform and assist students (as well as administrators and faculty), in understanding and executing their rights, roles, and responsibilities under the law:

• Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity in NASA Assisted Programs: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Related Laws
• Equal Opportunity in NASA Assisted Programs
• Title IX and STEM: Promising Practices
• Title IX and STEM: A Guide for Conducting Title IX Self-Evaluations

Resources

The School of Engineering has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, a Faculty Gender Equity Committee, and a Staff Advice and Implementation Committee. The School has made a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and aims to enable and foster a deeply inclusive, respectful and caring community, where each community member feels enabled and supported to thrive and contribute fully. 

Visit the websites for MIT’s Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO), and Institute Discrimination and Harassment Response Office (IDHR) for more resources and information on these topics.