Initially awarded in 2018, the Carver-Curie Award is named after George Washington Carver, a scientist born into slavery in the 1860s, and Marie Curie, a two-time female Nobel Prize winner from Poland. The achievements of these two world-class scientists epitomize the advantages that diversity and inclusion offer the chemical industry and the world.
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The recipient of the Carver-Curie award is selected from the top 100 chemical companies with a billion dollars or more in sales by a wide-ranging committee of industry chief executives. The evaluation criteria include: demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion; diversity within corporate leadership and the board of directors; hiring practices; business methods and standards; employee groups and opportunities that support a more diverse and inclusive workforce; public support and, commitment to diversity and inclusion. The 30 highest ranked companies are then selected and representatives from each company vote for the 10 top chemical companies achieving diversity and inclusion. The awardee is the company that receives the most votes.
BASF was the 2020 recipient of the Carver-Curie Award given by the Chemists‘ Club. BASF exemplified diversity and inclusion through establishing policies that allowed them to initiate what they preach. BASF analyzed their data and realized that there was a lack of diversity and inclusion in their company despite being opened to all backgrounds. Patricia Rossman, BASF‘s chief diversity and inclusion officer said We were still hiring ’ourselves‘ despite saying we were open to the best talent from all backgrounds. The company instructed that 50% of interviewees alongside interviewers for all roles be of a diverse background which increased diversity the company was seeking in its talent pool. BASF also took action to increase their inclusion activity after the killing of George Floyd which raised the conversation in the workplace. BASF has put an emphasis on leader action and accountability. The company looks to create the right environment by developing practices to raise awareness of culture experience and empathy levels of their leaders. Lastly BASF has created a three year plan that focuses on the infrastructure to align with the diversity the company is trying to achieve. They hope to create designated spaces to accommodate the diverse pool such as nursing mothers, prayer rooms, and gender neutral facilities. All these actions demonstrate the road to the expanding of diversity and inclusion in the workplace which were recognized by the chemical industry.
Dow Chemical was awarded the Carver-Curie Award in 2019 by The Chemists‘ Club. This was only possible through the years of increasingly demonstrating commitment to diversity and inclusion. Starting in 2014, Dow Chemical‘s CEO Jim Fitterling, and vice chairman and COO at the time came out in a live broadcast on the National Coming Out Day, inspiring hundreds of employees to join Dow‘s LGBT employee resource group. 3 years later, in July 2017, Karen Carter was named the chief inclusion officer, where she showcased an even greater commitment to diversity and inclusion via business strategy and results. Fast forwarding to 2019, Jeff Tate, Dow Chemical‘s vice president accepted the award and stated innovation must be driven from every voice around the table. By continuously displaying a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion over the years, Dow Chemical was recognized for their achievement in diversity and inclusion within the chemical industry.
ExxonMobil was the 2018 awardee of the Carver-Curie Award. ExxonMobil strives to create and maintain a diverse workforce through a range of programs, activities and investments. For example, ExxonMobil participates in various recruiting activities such as Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities, National Black MBA Association, National Society of Hispanic MBAs and many more. Additionally, ExxonMobil supports local employee networks such as Asian Connection for Excellence, Black Employee Success Team, Global Organization for the Advancement of Latinos and many more. As shown, ExxonMobil is committed to building not only a talented but diverse workforce where everyone has the chance to excel based on their performance. Their global policies promote diversity and inclusion and prohibit any form of discrimination and harassment. Based on their commitment to diversity and inclusion, they were acknowledged and awarded the Carver-Curie Award.
