MECOP DEI Statement
Yuliya Dotter, Executive Director - MECOP Inc.
Published: April 13th, 2023
The following is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement on behalf of the Executive Director of MECOP, Inc., the Board of Directors, and the Diversity Committee.
At MECOP, our purpose is to develop the highest level of engineering and business graduates by bridging academic theory with industry reality. In achieving our purpose, we acknowledge the critical role that the involvement of diverse backgrounds and perspectives plays. It is our endeavor to cultivate a diverse, inclusive, and equitable future workforce through the fostering of our values of transparency, open communication, and belonging.
Our commitment to DEI begins at the top. We strongly believe that inviting diverse perspectives leads to improved ideas and problem solving, as well as a more productive workforce overall. We believe that expanding the diversity amongst our member organizations and internship candidates will help ensure our future success and ultimately strengthen the lives of individuals. Additionally, we continuously encourage the open exchange of ideas to cultivate a positive intern experience.
To reinforce our commitment to DEI, MECOP developed a Diversity Committee composed of participating member representatives that review and continuously increase our DEI understanding. The mission of this committee is to create implementations towards providing the most positive, inclusive experience we can for our employees, member organizations, and interns. Most recently, our committee has implemented required training on cognitive and structural bias and on equitable interviewing practices.
We are committed to ensuring that our member organizations treat all individuals with dignity and respect. It is our expectation that our member organizations will not discriminate based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, marital status, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, political or religious affiliation, veteran status, socio-economic status, or disability.
We are immensely proud of our continued commitment to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive experience for all parties involved with MECOP. We invite you to embark on this journey with us.
Yuliya Dotter
Executive Director - MECOP Inc.
Definitions
MECOP defines Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as:
Diversity
Diversity means honoring and including people of different backgrounds, identities, and experiences collectively and as individuals. It emphasizes the need for sharing power and increasing representation of communities that are systemically underrepresented and under-resourced.
Equity and Equality
Equity is the effort to provide different levels of support based on a party's specific needs to achieve fairness. Equity acknowledges that not all people, or all communities, are starting from the same place due to historic and current systems of oppression. While equality emphasizes fairness, it can work only if everyone starts from the same place and requires identical resources. We must first ensure equity before we can enjoy equality.
Inclusion
Inclusion is a state of belonging—it is a state of being valued, respected, and welcomed. Inclusion should be reflected within MECOP culture and practices, as well as within our industry partnerships that support a diverse workforce that encourages participants to achieve their full potential. We build a culture of belonging by actively inviting contributions towards an environment that allows all parties to thrive.