The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has implemented a diversity process model that urges people to accept, understand and value differences, said Col. Andre Sayles, head of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at West Point.
“Treat other people the way you would have them treat you – if you were in their place,” Sayles said.
Sayles said this rule – called the “rainbow rule” – acknowledges the fact that people come from varying backgrounds and will inevitably be different.
In his speech, sponsored by the Texas A&M engineering department, Sayles explained his approach to organizational diversity, which integrates diversity into the military and other organizations by teaching members of an organization to become a part of the organization’s culture.
“We’re putting the burden on companies to be diverse, but the process needs to start in the colleges and universities,” Sayles said. “We need to deliver students who can understand diversity. Then it goes out into the workplace, then back to the home and then to the schools.”
Sayles defined diversity as differences in people that can have an impact on the effectiveness of an organization and said that diversity is everyone’s business – not just leaders’.
Sayles, an engineer, said achieving diversity is an “engineering-like process” and could be attained by looking for solutions to problems.
Sayles said efforts to promote equal opportunity have made little progress in the past 25 years. He said race-related groups, such as the National Society of Black Engineers might not be entirely beneficial.
“There’s a thin line between nurturing and separatism,” he said.