Career Equity & Inclusion through Wellbeing:
An Alternative Approach Amid a Shifting DEI Landscape
ABOUT THIS SESSION:
“College career centers face unprecedented challenges in providing equitable professional support to diverse student populations. Recent estimates indicate that ~15% of employers are scaling back DEI initiatives, while more than 20 states have legally restricted or banned these efforts at public institutions (Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, Feb. 2024). These factors, coupled with economic uncertainty and geopolitical volatility, underscore the complexity of addressing equity gaps in employment and compensation, and the unique barriers facing students from marginalized backgrounds.
At Babson College, our Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A¬Æ) approach empowers us to swiftly respond to this shifting legal, economic, and geopolitical landscape. At Babson’s Undergraduate Center for Career Development (UGCCD), Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) principles are integrated into every facet of our work. Recognizing the intersectionality of student identity and wellbeing, and greater mental health concerns among students from marginalized backgrounds, we launched initiatives embedding wellbeing into our career offerings, yielding advancements in career access, equity, and inclusion.
As a diverse global community, we embrace our differences as strengths while acknowledging the complexities they present. By fostering understanding through listening, data, and campus and community collaborations, we are building bridges of understanding, despite societal division around DEI. Pursuing DEI goals through wellbeing fosters safe, open communication, enhances engagement, builds trust, and cultivates shared goals at a time when college campuses are experiencing the impact of a polarized national and global climate. Wellbeing as a shared goal offers unity over division and propels meaningful progress in career equity. “
PRESENTED BY:
BRENDA KOSTYK
Associate Director, Identity, Ability & Wellness, Partnerships & Advising at Babson College
ABOUT BRENDA:
Brenda is an insightful, trusted career advisor to students seeking meaningful careers that align with personal identity and prioritize health and wellbeing. With strong experience in career advising and employer engagement, and a deep commitment to fostering equity, access and inclusion, she has a proven track record of successful collaborations across campus and with community partners to create innovative and targeted programs to meet the evolving and diverse needs of undergraduate learners.
Brenda’s work focuses on developing programs aimed at dismantling barriers to career success, particularly for students with one or more marginalized identities, including students with disabilities, first-gen students, those struggling with mental health and wellbeing, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+. She works closely with identity-based student groups, such as Semillas Society (first-gen) and PRIDE (LGBTQIA+). Brenda advocates for the integration of universal design principles, along with ability and wellness initiatives, into career events, thereby creating greater access to opportunities and inclusive, safe, supportive environments where all students feel they belong and are comfortable engaging and exploring their identity and career choices.
She has represented Babson College at national and regional conferences including National Association of Colleges & Employers Conference, Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants Educators Conference, Class Action’s First Gen Summit, and National Career Development Association Conference. Beyond higher education, her early career was in accounting and finance. Brenda earned a BA in American Studies from Colby College, MS in Accounting from the University of Hartford, and MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College.