Fostering Diversity Is Noble and Timely

Waves of change continue to ripple with both our workforce and our customers. These waves of change come in many forms, including gender, age, generation, ethnicity and language. As we move deeper into the New Millennium, we must adapt to these changes. At SCTE two diversity fronts that receive attention are gender and language. Gender changes are happening in the technology and engineering areas. A recent Associated Press report noted the following: It is important that we send the message of welcome to these new engineers. At SCTE, gender diversity is apparent at the highest level of participation—the SCTE Board of Directors. Women and minorities each year have the opportunity to run for election to the SCTE Board. Of the current 17 members, three are women. At our board meeting at Cable-Tec Expo in June, the SCTE Board elected all three to each assume one of the six officer or Executive Committee positions chosen. SCTE’s involvement in diversity spans a variety of initiatives. Programs such as the annual Women in Technology Award, SCTE Operaci�n Espa�ol and the annual Young Engineer of the Year Award serve at the core of our diversity efforts. The annual Women in Technology Award began in 1995 as a multiorganizational effort among SCTE, Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT) and Communications Technology magazine to acknowledge the achievements of one woman who has demonstrated outstanding personal and professional growth and significantly contributed to the cable telecommunications industry. Operaci�n Espa�ol is a workforce development and diversity program targeted to cable’s Spanish-speaking engineers and technical professionals. In 2003, SCTE Operaci�n Espa�ol earned a National Association for Multiculturalism in Communications (NAMIC) Excellence Award. SCTE Operaci�n Espa�ol also earned two Cable & Telecommunications Public Affairs Association (CTPAA) Beacon Awards in March for launching SCTE’s Spanish-language version of the Broadband Premises Specialist (BPS) certification in November 2003. The Young Engineer of the Year Award recognizes engineers under 30 who have demonstrated outstanding achievement within cable telecommunications. At SCTE’s Cable-Tec Expo 2004 in June, SCTE set new diversity precedents. The first, in partnership with the Kaitz Foundation, was the Cable-Tec Expo session "Supplier Diversity Connection—Cultivating Diverse Vendor Relationships." This was a first-time Expo event aimed at opening up opportunities for women- and minority-owned businesses interested in serving the engineering segment of cable. Also at Cable-Tec Expo, we offered for the first time a stand-alone Spanish-language Expo Proceedings Manual. And this month at the annual Diversity Week in New York, SCTE will produce a technology and diversity panel on the triple play at the NAMIC Conference. We hope you’ll join us to discuss how we can all encourage diversity. We are committed to doing our part in seeking new ways to integrate diverse groups into the cable telecommunications engineering mainstream for the betterment of everyone in our great industry. John Clark is SCTE president and CEO. Email him at [email protected].