The Institute - December 2021 - 52

IEEE.TV
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
ability to listen to, and empower, all
stakeholders.
Supporting diversity
IEEE has supported diversity and
inclusion for many years through
numerous efforts and programs. A
number of committees within IEEE
have been doing important work in
these areas over the past few years.
Along with many other dedicated
volunteers, 2019 IEEE President José
M.F. Moura and Andrea Goldsmith,
chair of the IEEE Ad Hoc Committee
on Diversity, Inclusion, and Professional
Ethics since its inception in
2019, were key leaders.
Building on this momentum, a new
IEEE's
Commitment to
Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion
IEEE'S MISSION to foster technological
innovation and excellence to benefit
humanity requires the talents and
perspectives of people with different
personal, cultural, and technical backgrounds.
In support of this mission-and
to aid our members and volunteers-it is
vital that members have a safe and inclusive
place for collegial discourse and that
all feel included and that they belong.
IEEE reinforced its support for diversity
and inclusion in 2019 when the IEEE
Board of Directors adopted the following:
" IEEE is committed to advancing
diversity in the technical profession, and
to promoting an inclusive and equitable
culture that welcomes, engages, and
rewards all who contribute to the field,
without regard to race, religion, gender,
disability, age, national origin, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or gender
expression. "
52
THE INSTITUTE
DECEMBER 2021
Last year the three presidents
of IEEE emphasized that commitment
with the following: " IEEE is,
and remains, strongly committed to
diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we
see no place for hatred and discrimination
in our communities. "
Both statements reflect IEEE's
longstanding commitment to engage
diverse perspectives for the betterment
of the engineering profession
and ensure a welcoming environment
that equitably engages, supports, and
recognizes the diverse individuals
dedicated to advancing technology for
the benefit of humanity.
I think it was very important for
the organization to make these public
statements, as it shows that IEEE
believes that embracing diversity and
inclusion as organizational values
is a way to intentionally increase its
website launched this year contains a
wealth of information, resources, and
tools for members, volunteers, and the
broader community. The site highlights
ongoing efforts by various IEEE groups
that are taking action to foster a
diverse, equitable, and welcoming environment.
I truly hope this website can
help raise awareness of the importance
of diversity and inclusion in creating
technology to benefit humanity.
Another important step in
IEEE's collective journey toward
an inclusive and equitable culture
includes recent revisions to the IEEE
Publications Services and Products
Operations Manual [page 60]. The
revisions permit authors to change
their preferred name-whether it be
due to marriage or divorce, religious
conversion, or gender alignment. IEEE
will modify the metadata associated
with their IEEE publications upon
successful validation of the identity of
the requesting author.
Given our mission, IEEE collaborates
globally with all our stakeholders
and must seek to maintain an open
and inclusive platform for our authors.
These revisions recognize the importance
that authors place on managing
their own name and identity.
The importance of codes
An organization's ethics speak to how
it supports diversity and inclusion. I
am proud to say that IEEE is ahead of
many professional societies in having
a code of ethics and a code of conduct,
both of which were revised last year.
https://www.ieee.org/about/diversity-index.html https://www.ieee.org/about/diversity-index.html http://www.IEEE.TV
The Institute - December 2021

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