June 2021 – One year after the murder of George Floyd, and the many lives lost that prompted the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, we take this moment to reflect and recommit ourselves to standing against racial injustice and supporting a world that is more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

We also acknowledge with sadness the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, and we reach out in solidarity with and support for our Asian students, colleagues, and friends.

We reflect on the history of systemic racism and seek to increase the representation of Black, African American, Hispanic, Latinx, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander students in impactful roles at U.S. and global businesses.

As we connect for our work, we reflect on the Land Acknowledgement Statement developed by the MIT Indigenous Peoples Advocacy Committee (IPAC) in part with MIT’s American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Native American Student Association (NASA) and other Indigenous MIT students/alumni:”MIT acknowledges Indigenous Peoples as the traditional stewards of the land, and the enduring relationship that exists between them and their traditional territories. The land on which we sit is the traditional unceded territory of the Wampanoag Nation. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced occupation of their territory, and we honor and respect the many diverse indigenous people connected to this land on which we gather from time immemorial.”

The CDO team is approaching our work with renewed appreciation for our students’ experiences and we see our role as active allies and partners in this work, particularly related to systemic bias in hiring and building more inclusive and equitable workplaces

Our Commitment to Diversity is guided by MIT Sloan’s Report of the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and our support for our friends and colleagues of color.

In order to drive change, we understand that our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion must be intentional, ubiquitous, sustained, and systemic.

Since April 2020, we taken a number of action steps to drive change and create a more diverse and inclusive community for students and staff; as well as to engage in meaningful partnerships with employers and alumni to support diversity and equity in the recruiting process.

We took action to broaden our perspective and engage new voices by:

• Convening a CDO DEI working group and participating in DEI activities across MIT Sloan and MIT, to learn how to better support URM and BIPOC students, to educate ourselves on ways to reduce bias and combat inequity, and to contribute to knowledge on issues of pay equity.

• Participating in a 21-Day Equity Challenge to bring greater awareness of social and racial inequities, and opportunities for allyship.

• Organizing quarterly Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion events to facilitate conversations between students, faculty, and our Employer Advisory Council

• Launching our first National Alumni Career Pathways survey to gather longitudinal career data, including demographic data, to give us insights into career opportunities/pathways and compensation for all our graduates, including first-generation, URM, BIPOC, and intersectional graduates.

• Coordinating conversations with employers on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Recruiting,” led by our Associate Deans for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Professors Ray Reagans & Fiona Murray

• Partnering with the Alumni Affinity Council to promote the Affinity Council Career Series, to serve the needs of the URM community at MIT Sloan seeking opportunities in Investment Banking, Management Consulting, Venture Capital, Impact Investing and Entrepreneurship.

• Organizing the first Career + Identity series to hear how identity is impacting BIPOC students in their career exploration and job search, and to discuss how to evaluate a company’s DEI commitment, how to spot racial gaslighting, and how to identify allies in the recruiting process and supportive organizations.

• Collaborating with MIT Sloan Human Resources, our Associate Deans, and the Career Leadership Collective, to evaluate and develop our talent strategy.

At MIT Sloan, we embrace and value the contributions of each member of our community. We support an equitable experience for students of all backgrounds, cultures, and identities. We know that we invent, innovate, and work better when we work together.

We see you. We stand with you. We support you.

As a group of individuals and as an office, we stand with our students against racial injustice.

We serve as your career advisors, and we also stand as your allies.

We see you, we stand with you, and we are actively working to support these intentions with action.

The CDO

We are inspired by the thought leadership and action orientation of our Associate Deans, Ray Reagans and Fiona Murray, and the impact of their work on both curriculum and community: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/diversity/standing-together

We are excited to welcome Bryan Thomas, Jr. as the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – a new position that will accelerate the community’s efforts to build DEI across all dimensions. Bryan will join MIT Sloan this summer, and brings experience leading graduate education programs and diversity at Stanford. At MIT, he will collaborate with MIT’s Institute Community and Equity Office as part of a cohort of new associate deans for diversity, equity, and inclusion from each of MIT’s schools and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.

We are supported in staying informed on DEI topics by MIT Sloan’s research and publications, including those shared through the MIT Sloan Ideas Made to Matter site, in particular, their Diversity and Bias Cut topics:

• Diversity | https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/diversity

• The Bias Cut | https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/bias-cut

We have created a Diversity and Inclusion Community on Your CDO:
https://cdo.mit.edu/channels/diversity/

The Diversity and Inclusion Community connects students to professional organizations, clubs, research resources, and articles on diversity and inclusion, as well as a select group of alumni, our MIT Sloan Industry Advisors, who have volunteered to be resources to students on diversity career topics.

The MIT Sloan Alumni Affinity Group Council exists to connect alumni across multiple generations to serve the needs of the URM community at MIT Sloan. The CDO collaborates with the MIT Sloan Alumni Affinity Council to promote their events and bring Sloanies together to make connections.

2020-2021 Affinity Council Career Series Events: Investment Banking, Management Consulting, Venture Capital, Impact Investing and Entrepreneurship.

MIT Sloan is a global community, and we celebrate the student clubs that support engagement and representation of all students in this community. They are valued partners in our work, sharing feedback and perspectives, and engaging in honest conversations about ways we can do better to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in our career community.

We recognize the growth mindset required to make changes and we are aligned in our shared commitment to build a more inclusive community.

We know that we don’t have all of the answers; but we are grateful to learn from each other and to engage in building a constructive culture where each member feels included and appreciated for the unique talents they bring to the community.