Imagine the following: a young woman, as she provided safety support for a large construction project, was told by her client that she couldn’t leave the trailer where she worked because it “wasn’t safe” for her to do so alone. When she volunteered to take on a project, the client told her that she would be “too much of a distraction” for workers at the construction site. Five years later, this woman had progressed to a leadership role. She was one of only two women directors in her organization. Among her immediate colleagues, she was not only the sole woman but the youngest employee by at least five years. Although she had the support of her organization’s leadership, a colleague began to act differently toward her. He made passive-aggressive comments about her work and her approach to her job. He tried to provoke others to question the validity of her viewpoint or the importance of her contributions. He even emailed one of her superiors, telling them that her advice and guidance was wrong, even though she had spoken with the supervisor and obtained their approval. When this woman was more than 15 years into her career, she joined a team on which, again, she was the only woman. This time, her colleagues asked her for her thoughts and opinions and selected her to participate in conversations that impacted the future of the team. The company thrived and retained business because of the positive and successful relationships she had forged with clients. She was respected and rewarded for her performance, and her colleagues looked to her for help and advice. This woman’s story—or part of it, at least—is my own. And I’m certain that if you ask other women colleagues, they’ll tell you very similar stories. The occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) profession remains a male-dominated field, although significant progress has been made in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Since March is Women’s History Month in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, it’s even more relevant to discuss the treatment of women in OEHS. But unfortunately, there is still a long way to go before diversity, equity, and inclusion won’t be goals to be met but achievements to celebrate. The Omaha, Nebraska-based organization Inclusive Communities defines diversity as acknowledging that differences between individuals exist, embracing difference rather than rejecting it, and recognizing that not only do all people look different, but they think and feel differently too. Equity can be confused with equality. While equality strives to put everyone at the same level, equity gives everyone the tools, resources, or opportunities they need to reach their goals. Finally, for a workplace to be inclusive, its culture must recognize all employee groups represented in the organization and make resources available that allow all employees to be supported, valued, respected, and given all possible opportunities for engagement. DISPARITIES IN REPRESENTATION AND PAY To put it simply, the U.S. has a gender and race “gap.” According to the latest population survey from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 161,037,000 people aged 16 or older working in the country. Of the approximately 370,000 people working in OEHS, about 21 percent are women. BLS finds that while approximately 79 percent of the employees in the industry are white, only 9 percent are Black or African American, a proportion that is 27 percent lower than the U.S. average. Only 13 percent of the employees in the industry are Hispanic or Latino, a proportion that is 30 percent lower than the U.S. average. Global consulting firm McKinsey & Company’s Women in the Workplace 2023 report, released last year, provides insights into how women are represented and treated in the corporate America workforce. Their research shows that the number of women compared to men who work in entry-level positions is almost equal, with men making up 52 percent of this demographic and women 48 percent. These numbers diverge as workers move up the career pipeline—at the senior manager or director level, 64 percent of positions are filled by men and only 36 percent by women. At the C-suite level, women fill only 28 percent of positions. McKinsey’s report also found differences between the representation of white workers and workers of color. The number of women of color in the corporate workforce is shockingly low—they fill only 18 percent of entry-level positions and only 6 percent in the C-suite. Representation for men of color is little better, as this demographic also fills 18 percent of positions at entry level and only 15 percent in the C-suite. The job data site Zippia estimates professional demographics based on a database of profiles. Zippia reports that men comprise 95.7 percent of profiles belonging to people with “certified industrial hygienist” as their job title. (Note that Zippia’s statistics are not intended to reflect the demographics of professionals with the CIH credential.) The site also estimates that men represent 78 percent of profiles that list users’ profession as “environmental health and safety manager.” Only 12 percent of profiles with the title “environmental health and safety manager” and 10.8 percent with “certified industrial hygienist” listed Hispanic or Latino users, and only 4.9 percent of profiles with “environmental health and safety manager” and 6.5 percent with “certified industrial hygienist” belonged to Black or African American users, Zippia estimates. Workplace equity is not about the rise of one group at the cost of another, it’s about acknowledging the fact that we need truly representative thought and perspectives in our organizational leadership. To achieve that, all employees must have a seat at the table.