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September 3, 2022

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Key to Strengthening Chip Industry Events

The chip industry loves its events. From conferences to expositions to webinars covering all aspects of the microelectronics value chain, this industry makes a practice of regularly gathering great minds to discuss the latest technological advances, workforce development programs, government policy changes, and everything in between.

Events are critically important. They are where relationships are formed, solutions developed, and new collaborations born. But not all events are created equal. Many industry gatherings suffer from a particular challenge, one that confronts the microelectronics industry as a whole and undermines its ability to fully thrive: a lack of diversity. If you look at most events that are not specifically targeted to a particular demographic (such as women), you will find that the panelists, speakers, and attendees skew heavily toward white and Asian men, and away from women and most people of color, illuminating the work still ahead for the industry to make it more diverse. The stats below help illustrate the challenge:

  • InclusionWomen occupy only 25% of computing-related jobs in the U.S., with just 3% of those jobs held by Black women. Women account for only 14% of the U.S. engineering workforce. And only 22% of C-Suite leaders are women.
  • Black people comprise less than 7% of the tech workforce. Latino/a/x people make up 8%. There are zero Black CEOs among Fortune 500 tech companies. 
  • 83% of tech executives are white.

The lack of inclusion and sense of belonging in the tech industry costs companies an estimated $16 billion each year due to turnover alone. And new data from SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) suggests that turnover stemming from racial inequality in the workplace may have cost U.S. organizations up to $172 billion over the past five years. And though women have been battling wage disparity for decades, in computing they still earn only $0.88 for every dollar their male colleagues make. Consider what that means in decreased earnings over a lifetime.

With the U.S. shifting toward a more ethnically and culturally diverse population, the semiconductor industry must attract more diverse talent to address current and future workforce shortages and reach its full potential. Diversity also matters to the bottom line: Diverse companies perform significantly better than their less diverse peers. According to the Deloitte Review, organizations with inclusive cultures are two times as likely to achieve financial targets, six times more likely to be agile and innovative, and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes.

DEI chart

How is this data relevant to events? Industry events signal market direction, showcase advances, provide a public face for microelectronics, and illuminate thought leadership and role models in high tech. It is critical to feature speakers representing diverse backgrounds for several reasons:

  • Diversity feeds innovation and creativity. Sessions and conferences can be more engaging and thought-provoking if you have more diverse perspectives and ideas.
  • Attendees need to see people who look like them on stage to feel a sense of belonging. This is called representation. If attendees do not see themselves reflected in speakers and panelists, they can feel marginalized and out of touch with the industry. Often, event speakers are business leaders. When people see speakers who look like them, they are far more likely to imagine themselves in leadership roles and be inspired to pursue those opportunities, potentially contributing to greater industry diversity and worker retention.
  • Diverse ideas are key to solving problems. Research shows that when a group of people is struggling to develop a solution, their odds of finding the answer double when an outsider – someone not of the same demographic or identity – is brought in to help.

One chief goal of events is for attendees to explore cutting-edge ideas and form new collaborations. They also expand individual and collective thinking. Attracting a diverse mix of both speakers and attendees is an excellent way to achieve that goal.

Another challenge is that the chip industry is saddled by a meritocracy mindset. The thinking goes that event speakers must always invite the best and brightest with the loftiest titles. The race, gender, abilities, or identity of potential speakers is often an afterthought.

When it comes to the representation of women and people of color in the chip industry, females face an uphill battle from an early age. Studies show the girls and youth of color are steered away from math, science, technology, and engineering (STEM) from an early age. For a girl or a young person of color, the unconscious bias of teachers and administrators who inadvertently steer them to other disciplines is a roadblock to their pursuit of a STEM education. With the vast majority of notable inventors, scientists, and mathematicians not women or people of color, girls and youth of color can struggle to imagine themselves in those roles.

And yet, women, people of color, and other historically excluded groups are the very cohorts who can help the industry think differently, approach problems in new ways, and inspire innovation. If the semiconductor industry continues to rely on the same familiar voices at events, it risks marginalizing people who could make profound contributions to the industry's future. If the industry can advocate for a greater diversity of speakers at events, it can begin to change its own mindset about representation not only for the social good but to its great benefit.
 

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The SEMI Foundation is here to help. Our suite of workforce development initiatives includes two vital resources: the SEMI Roadmap to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the SEMI DEI Toolkit. The Roadmap makes the case as to why the semiconductor industry needs to embrace DEI, and describes ways to monitor a company’s progress. The Toolkit is a comprehensive list of assessments, resources, research, and articles designed to support any person or company on a DEI journey. The Toolkit includes the SEMI DEI Event Guidelines, including a how-to guide for recruiting more diverse participants as panelists and speakers.

The SEMI DEI Event Guidelines offer recommendations such as:

  • To create the most diverse and inclusive event, you must start at the beginning: The planning committee itself needs to be diverse. Events reflect those who plan them. 
  • Encourage keynote speakers to integrate DEI themes into their talks as appropriate. Plan DEI presentations on the main stage, during the heart of the programming, not as a breakaway session.
  • When courting speakers, encourage companies to recommend thought leaders from underrepresented populations.
  • Ensure that panelists – not just moderators – represent diverse backgrounds to enrich the thought leadership.

Events are a critically important opportunity to strengthen the chip industry by showcasing a diversity of compelling thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators. All companies and event organizers can invest in diversifying their speakers, panelists, and attendees – and in doing so invest in the future of the microelectronics industry.

To learn more, explore the SEMI Foundation’s website or reach out to Foundation staff for support at semifoundation@semi.org.

Michelle Williams is deputy director of the SEMI Foundation.