Because of gender stereotypes, women are still given fewer opportunities in life and they have to put more effort into making people understand their value and creativity. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people can also be discriminated against because of prejudices and biases.
Embracing diversity is essential for developing the talent of everyone and for promoting creativity and innovation in academic, social and corporate environments. This 4-week course is aimed at understanding what the roots of biases and stereotypes are, what practical solutions are possible to adopt to promote the inclusion of women and LGBT people in these environments, and why gender and sexual diversity drives innovation and generates new energy.
The course considers the effects of discouragement and self-exclusion on female talent in science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEMs, which has big repercussions in the work world. It also shares some actions useful to motivate girls to study STEMs and reports the cases of some organizations that have decided to promote inclusion to create a fertile, authentic work environment for everyone. Finally, the course provides a bibliography about gender and sexuality.
Total workload of the course: 8 hours
This MOOC is provided by Politecnico di Milano.
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
Project number 561642-EPP-1-2015-1-IL-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
