Alumni Digest.

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Beyond diversity

A welcoming and inclusive workplace requires a willingness to change the status quo. Published in Alumni Digest as verified reporting from the University of British Columbia.

A welcoming and inclusive workplace requires a willingness to change the status quo.

In the September issue
Beyond diversity
A welcoming and inclusive workplace requires a willingness to change the status quo. Improving employee diversity has often been pushed as the cure-all for creating equitable and inclusive workplaces. And yet when people are hired into a new workplace, they are often expected to assimilate to its cultural norms. The challenge is that while the creation of a diverse workforce is a positive step, it takes more to create a workplace culture in which all employees can thrive. Photo: Reporting: Richard Littlemore. Source image retained for editorial review; rights clearance is still required before any broader reuse.

The context

Where the work begins

For Pamely Keung, the test is whether steamed oat milk holds its foam over espresso without separating. As director of research and development at Earth’s Own, the double UBC alum works at the point where formulation, manufacturing and consumer experience meet.

The work

In the field

The article describes years of trials to balance nutrition, taste, structure and reliable production. It also places that work in a wider university–industry relationship: research becomes useful when it can survive contact with a real process and a real customer.

The takeaway

What follows

The latte is the visible endpoint. Behind it are experiments, constraints and a chain of decisions that most drinkers never see.

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