• 
  The Plastics and Beyond Podcast is an SPE Podcast hosted by Lilian Judy and curated to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion in the manufacturing industry.
• 
  Winning Strategy - Diversity and Inclusion Enrich Business Returns
  (Plastics Engineering)
• 
  PlastiVan Partners with Detroit STEM Project to Reach Students in Urban Settings
  (Plastics News)
• 
  Debating Diversity on the Trade Show Floor
  (Plastics Today)
• 
  Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters
  (McKinsey & Company)
• 
  Par-ity Podcast - A Community of Like-minded Women and Men to Achieve Workplace Parity
• 
  Privilege Walk Activity — Dolores Huerta
  “It's a real first step to being able to understand what it means to be a person of a different background, to understand different perspectives, and to not see people through their skin color, or gender but through their genuine experience as a human being .”

DEI Articles

Respect Others As You Respect Yourself
Amanda Peak, Technical Specialist, Baerlocher USA
I had a great time delivering a presentation at a recent SPE event and I received a lot of positive feedback from the audience. My goal was to deliver a logical and easy-to-understand presentation, blending older concepts of the topic I discussed with new ways of thinking. The topic was a basic tutorial for people new to the industry. I hoped that they would be excited and inspired about the technology and possible applications that I spoke about. Most of the audience believed that my presentation hit the mark, but I faced unwarranted criticism during the question-and-answer session. 

Can We Begin Treating Each Other More Respectfully Again, Please?
Pat Farrey, CEO, SPE
Regular readers of Plastics Engineering know that I am a proponent of the principles of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). I believe that any professional society, whether business or industry, is better if its workforce is diverse, its opportunities for success and advancement are equitable and its conversations are inclusive. Recently, some companies and DEI experts have begun adding a "+R" to their work, reflecting a commitment to fostering workplace diversity, equity, inclusion + respect. 

BASF Hosts SPE Junior Researchers with STEM Aspirations
Coatings World
BASF recently hosted students from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Junior Researchers Program along with other students in the community for hands-on learning experiences in the labs at the BASF site in Wyandotte. 

ANTEC® Report: Disabled Are a Productive Workforce
SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals
Keynote speakers on the first day of ANTEC® included several who discussed employment strategies to overcome a tight labor market. In a previous posting we highlighted Lloyd Martin of CKS Packaging, who detailed the company’s “second chance program” that recruits the homeless and nonviolent offenders for company jobs—workers who now account for over 10 percent of the 3,000-plus workforce in the firm’s 26 plants.

ANTEC® Report: The Homeless And Nonviolent Offenders Are A Talent Pool
SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals
The job market is tight. Recruiting, training and retaining workers is a challenge. No surprise then that employment strategies were among the topics discussed by keynote speakers on Day 1 of last week’s ANTEC conference, held June 14 to 16, in Charlotte, N.C.