Diversity helps workers find a place they know they belong

The plastics industry has "huge gaps" in diversity that impact the way it's perceived by diverse young people looking for direction in their careers.

"That's become a driving force for me as a professional working in STEM and the plastics industry," Lilian Agyemang-Yeboah, applications engineer at Entegris Inc., told Plastics News.

"I want to be able to be that representation for any other girl that might be in college or even high school and wants to see someone that looks like them [in STEM industries]."

Agyemang-Yeboah is a recent addition to SPE's diversity, equity and inclusion advisory board and host of the new "Plastics and Beyond" podcast, which she hopes will "push people to start having those conversations in the plastics and manufacturing industry," she said.

Originally from Ghana, Agyemang-Yeboah moved to the U.S. originally to study chemical engineering. When she shifted to plastics engineering, because it better suited her interests, she noticed a difference in the level of diversity in her classrooms.

"In my first co-op I was the only girl on the team, the only Black girl, which felt awkward," she said.

"There were a lot of other Black girls in [chemical engineering] compared to plastics," she said.

"There already exists this feeling of being so small in a room full of white men in the classroom. … It took me a while to open up and even participate in class because I was really intimidated. Also being from a country in Africa and having an accent, I was very insecure about that."

She also found that many of her peers in the space had mentors who encouraged them and made them feel like they belonged.

"I wanted to find someone who looked like me and I couldn't find anyone who looked like me," she said. "It made me question if I was in the right field. … It always made me feel like maybe I should jump ship."

Three years into pursuing her education, she saw a Black woman, a plastics engineer, on a panel in one of her classes. Although she didn't get a chance to talk with her directly, Agyemang-Yeboah said that seeing "the mere physical representation of [herself] in this person" satisfied a need for belonging.

"I was so excited, learning about her journey and knowing where she was in her [career]," she said. "Seeing her speak and knowing that she's in my industry and she's actually climbing to the top was very fulfilling for me."

Agyemang-Yeboah recently started creating content for social media to reach college and high school students looking for career options and guidance.

"I think we fail to realize where the work starts," Agyemang-Yeboah said. "It's not always in the rigid form we expect it to be in."

While visits to schools are important, she said, children can be inspired by something they see on social media or TV.

"You should try to extend your reach," Agyemang-Yeboah said. "Learn to break the ice and go to a space where you might think this is more entertainment or fun."

In her personal time, she's also mentored young women interested in STEM over summer breaks through virtual visits.

"[I'm] putting myself in spaces where I can help as much as I can," she said.

Meanwhile, Agyemang-Yeboah is in the midst of starting the Women in Engineering Mentorship Organization with her co-founder Cecilia Odonkor. Also from Ghana, Odonkor is a biomedical and electrical engineer who now lives in Canada. WEMO is aimed at bringing STEM awareness and technical training to young women in Africa.

"In one of my very first classes [in the U.S.] most of the people who grew up in America had a stronger background in topics or classes I didn't have," she said. "Just … recognizing the gap in knowledge I had compared to other students … I realized I wanted to create a space to bring that knowledge to someone who doesn't necessarily have the means to spend thousands of dollars on education, travel overseas and spend four or five years in a country that is not theirs.

"I want to be able to mentor them and provide some technical training … teach young kids about the industry, the different engineering disciplines and what they do … and try to get more interest in engineering from young girls in Africa," she said.

Agyemang-Yeboah plans to host workshops to introduce women to robotics and environmental engineering, offer panel events and one-on-one mentoring, put together cleanup programs and help communities tap into sustainable energy.

"The negative stigma on plastics in general is making it harder for people to want to pursue plastic engineering," Agyemang-Yeboah said.

"Even when I introduce myself to people sometimes, I say I'm a plastics engineer, and the first question is trying to attack me, asking me why aren't we recycling more or why aren't we finding better materials to use," she said. "It's always, 'Why aren't you doing enough?'

"That could push someone away from [the industry], but for me, I find it a challenge," she said. "I like having these conversations with people … helping them identify gaps in some of the [information] out there.

"The media puts out one particular image of plastic and doesn't always share the full story," Agyemang-Yeboah said. "I see a lot more conversations being had by people who are not in the industry, which is ironic.

"The industry needs to do better to change the narrative … and to foster more conversations," she added.

In Agyemang-Yeboah's time on SPE's DEI board and hosting her new podcast, she said she's learned a lot about "the different types of diversity that exist."

"Most of the time when you say diversity, people think of gender and race, but there's more to diversity," she said, such as age and disabilities.

"That's something a lot of people aren't privy to knowing. One in four Americans are disabled and it doesn't have to be a physical disability, there are other types."

Younger employees have different priorities and working styles than older generations, she said. "A lot of younger people are staying with companies for shorter periods," she said.

When young talent hears about salary differences between similar positions or start to feel stagnancy, they're more likely to look for a new job than stay out of loyalty, she said. "The older generation thinks you need to work for a company for a few years and give the company a good amount of time to give back to you," Agyemang-Yeboah said. "The way we think is different; we want more of a challenge. Most of the time I'm asking my manager for more to do or what can I do to achieve a next level of my career.

"What is going to make me stay especially when … most of the time the companies aren't doing much to keep us motivated," she said.

Because younger people share more information about their pay rates, work-life balance and experiences at certain companies, workers are going to seek out better opportunities for themselves, she said.

"It's important for people to see … why you can't just have older white men running a company and telling [employees what] to do … when they don't even understand how their employees think," Agyemang-Yeboah said.