Team Internship Program - Boeing

Background: 

How can this inclusive vision come to fruition here in Southern California, home to approximately 23 million people of diverse backgrounds, where the proportion of Hispanic population will soon surpass the white majority?

As a global company, Boeing has set the following six DEIA targets:

1. Increase black representation rate in the U.S. by 20%
2. Achieve parity in retention rates of all groups
3. Close representation gaps for historically underrepresented groups
4. Eliminate any statistically significant differences between the working experience of underrepresentation and at-representation groups. 
5. Advance common understanding, shared experiences and mutual respect.
6. Report diversity metrics and progress annually

Challenge Statement:  

How can Boeing attract individuals from underrepresented communities in Southern California to its workforce? 

Understanding the Context

Boeing has provided information about its current initiatives and programs. However, company histories help us understand why certain communities are not active participants or common targets for recruitment and retention. To find innovate solutions to this issue, we need to know the context of this problem, or in other words:

• What do we already know?

• What do we need to know more about or understand better?

• What are the concepts, events, people, places, etc. that are involved?

• How are these concepts related to one another and/or my issue?

We also can look at our areas in terms of the research:

• Generational obstacles
  • Lack of familial knowledge (cultural and social capital)
  • System barriers for women in STEM
  • Lack of Sense of Belonging for Hispanic, Black, female, etc. students in STEM

  • maximize synergies with respective cultural norms and practices (i.e. collectivism vs. individualism)?

• Financial obstacles
  • Lack of economic pathways to STEM
  • Cost of STEM degrees vs others
  • Economic expectations of graduates and new STEM workers

  • STEM training be structured so as to streamline learning and provide early hands-on experience so as to accelerate the payoff (s.a. “Boot camp”)

• Mindset
  • Deficit thinking and unreasonable expectations based in whiteness
  • Lack of Sense of Belonging for Hispanic, Black, female, etc. students in STEM
  • Successfully graduate in STEM
  • incentivize and encourage those working toward STEM education and career advancement?
• Media Representation/Image
  • System barriers for women in STEM
  • Lack of Sense of Belonging for Hispanic, Black, female, etc. students in STEM
  •  increase exposure to the talents of underprivileged communities
• Educational obstacles
  • Lack of Hispanic, Black, and minority higher education graduates in STEM
  • multiply inclusive support for educators in the K-12 system