Photos: Rubber Division leads by example as rubber industry evolves, diversifies

For more than a century, the North American rubber industry looked a certain way. It comprised people who looked alike and thought alike, namely white men with backgrounds that afforded them opportunities for education and career mobility.

That's changing. In some ways it may feel as though the change is coming slowly. In others, it may feel rapid. But for those who are driving the change, this feels like the moment to act.

Men and women whose careers have been defined by first and onlys—the first Black male to have this leadership role or the first female to hold a certain title—are working to ensure that they are not the lasts and alones. They have a vision for a more inclusive and diverse industry, and part of that involves their work with the ACS Rubber Division, a leading organization bringing together professionals from around the globe.

When it comes to driving the rubber industry toward a more diverse and inclusive tomorrow, the Rubber Division is leading by example with leaders such as Lakisha Miller-Barclay. Not only did the organization recently choose a Black woman to lead it—Miller-Barclay is the association's executive director and CEO—its staff is made up almost entirely of women.

Miller-Barclay remembers walking into her first Rubber Division meeting 14 years ago and seeing that she was the only woman in a room full of "white, middle-aged men." She was comfortable in the situation because she had been there before.

"I was raised in places where I was the 'only,' " Miller-Barclay said. "I've been used to being the 'only' since I was 6 years old."

She isn't the only in those meetings anymore, because the association has worked to change that.

Beyond its staff, the Rubber Division has diversified its executive committee. It has brought more women and individuals of differing races and backgrounds into the decision-making process.

Getting here, though, has meant breaking through some barriers.

Career goals

Throughout her career, Terry DeLapa found herself cracking and breaking glass ceilings, though it wasn't something she ever set out to do. Instead, the business leader in North America for Alpha Technologies focused on her career and what jobs she felt best positioned her to reach her goals.

"It never dawned on me I couldn't do what I wanted to do," DeLapa said, noting that growing up, her family was filled with strong, determined women who built careers outside the home.

DeLapa's determination to succeed ultimately led her to become the first female sales representative for several companies. It also opened the door to her becoming the first woman to chair the Rubber Division in 2015.

"I couldn't believe it," she said of the Rubber Division first. The association, after all, was more than a century old when she stepped into the leadership role. "I thought, 'you have got to be kidding me.' "

As chair, DeLapa made it a priority to celebrate the women industry-wide who were driving innovation and sales. She helped to organize a special display at the International Elastomer Conference that spotlighted women throughout the industry.

That initiative didn't sit well with at least one person, who accused DeLapa of "playing the woman card" to get attention and improperly leverage her leadership role.

"I have never played the woman card," DeLapa said, recounting that moment. "I may have been the first woman (to serve as Rubber Division chair), but I was not going to be the last. I was going to hold the door open for every other woman."

Holding the door

DeLapa's opportunity to serve as Rubber Division chair was the direct result of someone before her holding open a door, creating an opportunity for someone who didn't look or think exactly like them. Opportunity, after all, is at the heart of creating diversity within a company or organization.

That's the way Leonard Thomas saw it, anyway. In 2013 he became the first Black male to chair the Rubber Division, and he was determined to bring more diversity to the association by encouraging more people to get involved.

"During my chairmanship, I noticed this: I noticed it was mostly men," said Thomas. "I thought that we needed some diversity here, so as chair, I went around recruiting females.

"I wanted more Black males to be involved," Thomas added, "but there weren't any to be found. They weren't coming to meetings and the ones who did, didn't want to get involved (in a leadership) capacity."

Thomas—who began his career with Goodyear, later worked for Caterpillar and retired from there in 2010—said his leadership opportunities within the Rubber Division were the function of friends and mentors who held doors open for him and encouraged him to walk through them. He wanted to do the same for others. While the men who came before him may not of have looked exactly like him, their willingness to embrace his ideas and visions were critical.

There's pride in Thomas' voice when he talks about his friends and the impacts they have had on his career. He's quick to credit Charles Rader, Leo Goss, Bill Stahl, John Long, Mark Petras, David O'Brien, Carl Caputo and Paul Glasgow for their support.

And that, he adds, is exactly what the Rubber Division needs—men and women who are willing to see strengths in others and encourage them to lead the industry forward. It also requires an understanding that an array of perspectives and experiences enrich the organization's focus.

To achieve this, he said, the rubber groups have important roles to play.

Better advocates
Rubber groups are in a unique position to reach their own communities, Thomas said. Not only can they work to bring more diversity to the Rubber Division through their recruitment efforts, they have opportunities to encourage minority students and those from underserved, non-suburban areas to consider rubber industry careers.

Kim Dempsey-Miller, this year's Rubber Division chair, agreed. If the rubber industry is going to continue to thrive, it needs to diversify, she said. And that means reaching students at middle schools and high schools with information that proves STEM education, and specifically careers in the rubber industry, can lead to rewarding career opportunities.

"I think it has to happen at the junior high and high school levels," said Dempsey-Miller, an investor and technical resource manager with RecycleDelphia, a startup tire recycling company. "That is most important for the rubber industry. We offer scholarships to college students, but it has to happen a lot sooner."

Dempsey-Miller believes that exposing students to the ways in which the industry impacts their lives every day can make a big difference. Once they understand just how much the industry has to offer and how much they can thrive as professionals, they are more willing to pursue careers in the sciences.

Connections are key to sharing that information, Dempsey-Miller said, and the professionals involved at the rubber group level are uniquely positioned to impact their communities in positive ways through outreach.

Thomas' career is proof of just how important those connections can be. His career path began with the support of a trusted adviser.

"As a young Black man, I had a counselor who told me science was the way of the future and I believed that person," Thomas said. "They told me, 'you can make a living, be successful and give something back to the world in the sciences.'

"I want (the Rubber Division) to do for others what it has done for me," Thomas said. "I want others to see what I see within the Rubber Division itself and get involved. That will take local rubber groups themselves to get involved."

A global industry

If the Rubber Division is going to grow, and if the rubber industry is going to strengthen, it needs to diversify. That means working to encourage a more diverse group of young adults to consider rubber industry careers. It also means thinking more broadly when it comes to association membership.

"I think we need to understand that our industry is a microcosm of the world," Dempsey-Miller said. "If we take a snapshot of that microcosm, we can begin to identify what is missing in our own picture."

Last year, the Rubber Division partnered with England-based Rubber Heart to establish a more visible presence globally, especially throughout the European region. Gail Reader and David Cawthra, founders of Rubber Heart, have strong ties not only throughout Europe, but also throughout Asia and the natural rubber industry.

That, Dempsey-Miller said, is a start.

"We need to make ourselves look like the world," Dempsey-Miller said. "I think, when people of other backgrounds see people who look different and sound different … standing up for the organization, they will feel emboldened. … We aren't going to excel if we don't step outside of the parameters we currently exist in."

Throughout North America, the rubber industry is changing. DeLapa, Thomas and Dempsey-Miller all say they have seen more women establish careers in the industry in a variety of areas.

But there still remains a lower number of Black chemists, engineers, scientists and sales representatives.

Jim Fitterling, chairman and CEO at Dow Inc., noted in a Nov. 16 tweet that 18 percent of chemical engineers are women and just 11 percent are Black. He pointed to this statistic as one of the reasons he advocates for more diversity in the sciences.

Thomas, an advocate for the rubber industry, sees similar demographics playing out.

"I have seen more women come into the rubber industry," Thomas said. "Not more Black males. They are not involved in Rubber Division companies. … I see some of them in upper management sometimes, but they don't want to get involved."

Dempsey-Miller has been vocal about the need for Black women to be represented throughout the industry.

A natural leader, she's never been afraid to speak up when she feels her voice is needed. One of those opportunities came during the virtual Women of the Rubber Division (WORD) event, held during the 2020 International Elastomer Conference. The Rubber Division debuted a video it had created in conjunction with R.D. Abbott to celebrate the ways in which women are driving the industry.

As the video concluded, Dempsey-Miller used a chat function to let those attending the program know she didn't see any Black women in the video.

"You don't identify with things that don't affect you," Dempsey-Miller said. "All of my life I have been on the periphery in terms of representation. When I made the comment I made, I wanted it to sting a little bit. … I haven't seen images of myself (in this industry) for almost 40 years."

Diversity, inclusion and equity

So what does it take to ensure that more women and minorities are represented in the industry? Miller-Barclay admits there are no easy answers. What she does know is that it's going to take a concerted effort.

The organization's WORD and Young Professionals initiatives grew from an understanding that various demographics throughout the industry need safe places where they can find support, make connections and be honest about their experiences.

Working to ensure the next generation of rubber industry professionals is more diverse than the one before is only part of the plan. Miller-Barclay noted that truly building a diverse industry will require inclusive leadership at the highest levels of business.

"One of the things I think we forget is the equity part of it," Miller-Barclay said. "It doesn't help anyone to get a Black woman on your team and then not give her an opportunity to make decisions or drive change."

Miller-Barclay's assertion that inclusiveness is more than diversifying on paper in C-suites and board rooms was backed by a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review. The study notes that leaders who seek to listen, encourage empathy and strive for diversity better position their companies for success.

"Simply throwing a mix of people together doesn't guarantee high performance; it requires inclusive leadership—leadership that assures that all team members feel they are treated respectfully and fairly, are valued and sense that they belong, and are confident and inspired," Juliet Bourke and Andrea Titus wrote in an article published in March 2019.

According to the study, which surveyed 4,100 individuals, teams with inclusive leaders who demonstrated empathy, humility and genuine desire to diversify reported they were higher performing and made high-quality decisions. They also were more likely to exhibit collaborative approaches to their work.

That is the kind of leader that Dempsey-Miller wants to be as chair this year.

"I am purposely going to seek all different sorts of backgrounds and religions and get them involved in the industry," Dempsey-Miller said of her goals. "I want to leave a legacy."

Leaving a legacy means encouraging and inspiring others to push the rubber industry forward. The Rubber Division has worked to be more inclusive, but there is still work to be done. And everyone, Thomas adds, plays a role in making that vision a reality.

"We are on the right path," Thomas said. "We can't let go. We have to continue to move forward and understand that this is not over with yet."