NSC Announces Diversity in Safety Scholarship Funded by Chemours
Applications are currently being accepted until April 1, 2024.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Jan 09, 2024
The National Safety Council (NSC) is committing to a more diverse occupational safety and health workforce with the Diversity in Safety Scholarship Funded by Chemours.
According to a recent release, the initiative aims to address the underrepresentation of people of color in safety professions by awarding five academic scholarships to individuals pursuing undergraduate degrees at historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic serving institutions. Chemours, a chemicals company based in Wilmington, Delaware.
“Chemours is committed to championing and advocating for an inclusive, diverse and equitable workforce, and we’re excited to partner with the National Safety Council to launch the Diversity in Safety Scholarship,” the company’s Chief People Officer Ron Charles said in a statement. “Safety obsession is a deeply rooted value at Chemours, and we believe that promoting and fostering the next wave of diverse leaders can meaningfully contribute to a safer workplace.”
Recent research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) highlights the disparity in how the Black and Hispanic communities are represented in sectors such as construction and extraction. While 47 percent and 42 percent of individuals in these fields are Black and Hispanic, respectively, they represent only 7.6 percent of the nation’s safety specialists and technicians.
Moreover, other BLS data indicates a rise in workplace fatalities among Hispanic and Latino workers. In 2021, these groups accounted for 22 percent of workplace deaths, with many of these tragedies taking place within industries such as transportation, material moving, building and grounds cleaning, maintenance, installation and repair.
“Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever before. Fostering a community of safety leaders who reflect this diversity is imperative to making our workers safer,” NSC President/CEO Lorraine Martin said in a statement. “Additionally, increasing the number of diverse safety professionals in workplaces – big and small, local and global – equitably benefits the health, wellbeing and safety of workers everywhere. At NSC, we wholeheartedly believe that and commend Chemours for their investment in safety through this new scholarship, which will support the NSC mission of making people safer and saving lives.”
Applications for the Diversity in Safety Scholarship Funded by Chemours are open until April 1, 2024. More details about NSC scholarship opportunities are available on the NSC website.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.