AWESOME Speaks with Lillian Dukes about Black History Month

Early in my career, I was headed down the engineering track. While pursuing that, I discovered opportunities in a couple of roles in supply chain. I have always been very inquisitive about new opportunities and new challenges – and I learned I really enjoyed it. It fed my need for challenges, learning some new aspects of the business, and I used my training as an engineer to transition into supply chain.

Much of my supply chain knowledge came through self-education and on-the-job training and experience in additional training after I got into supply chain. Still, I also transitioned back out of supply chain. I’ve been in and out of supply chain and find myself now squarely set and running operations, which has the supply chain as part of my responsibilities. But also, I have engineering, planning, and everything that goes along with running operations.

The supply chain piece of my journey has been very instrumental in where I am today, as well as the engineering and other detours I’ve taken. Before even envisioning where my career was going, I grew up in a very large family, with a number of brothers. And that helped set a foundation for me to navigate in a male-dominated environment. It doesn’t teach you everything, but it helps you to start to feel comfortable in that environment and learn how to make room for yourself per se as you work through the different aspects of it.

Early on, it was navigating a field or discipline that I wasn’t formally trained in and having to go out and seek that training to excel in that particular area. Also, I was in organizations and industries where few people looked like me, and I was encouraged to press my way into those environments and make room for myself. Mentors, sponsors, and people in my network were very, very instrumental in that progression. Moving from level to level and position to position with a solid support network is just priceless. When you talk to other people, I think you’ll hear a common theme that it’s not something that you do on your own. And if you don’t have other people encouraging you or pulling for you, it can be very difficult to make your way. It’s incredibly helpful to pick up the phone and have a conversation with someone in your network when you run into challenges.

It was hugely helpful. Even today, you get to certain roles, and you think, I’m getting there, I’m making it…and you still have people in your network who are really pulling for you. They’re happy to see what you’ve achieved, and they lend themselves, whether it’s their voice or some other type of assistance, to help you be successful. The one thing that has been consistent, regardless of the level, is you hear people talk a lot about having a seat at the table. I had a mentor who pointed that out to me to make sure I was taking a seat at the table when I came into the room. I have also learned that you have to have a voice in the room. Sometimes you can be sitting there, and you have a seat, but you’re not being heard.

That’s frequent and has been throughout my career. It still is the case in my career. It’s just heartbreaking when you look back. It’s nice to forge new territory, but you hate to have to admit that we’re in 2023, and there are still so many the firsts…the only ones there. Sometimes it can be a bit exhausting because you realize there’s still such a long way to go.

I think we have to continue to build and encourage sponsorship – people who are there and willing to advocate for you when you’re not in the room. They can be people in influential positions within an organization who can be part of making sure people of color, women of color, and women in general, have the exact same opportunities as their counterparts, and that they’re not made to feel uncomfortable being in a room where they’re the only ones. If you’re someone that hasn’t worked a lot with females as a counterpart or people of color as a counterpart, then there’s a tendency to migrate to what’s comfortable for you. Put yourself out there, get a little uncomfortable, and start to bring other people into the conversation.

Two things come to mind. Black History Month, for me, is a bittersweet time. It’s nice to remember the many achievements blacks have made over time, the many things they have done, and the sacrifices made for others to come along. It’s a very encouraging and powerful time of remembrance. But, with that comes the realization and awareness that there have been many, many difficult and tragic times as we examine some of the challenges blacks have endured through the years. Some still exist, and it’s hard to stomach sometimes. It’s a bittersweet time remembering the good times, which are wonderful, but there are still many things out there that sadden me. They are painful to watch and admit that these things happened. And some of these things continue.

There’s still a big gap between diversity and equity. Some organizations are focused on diversifying their leadership team and workforce, but there’s not as much focus on actually making sure those individuals feel included. You bring individuals into your organization, nothing changes from a cultural standpoint. And then people deemed as outsiders still feel like outsiders, so they’re not going to stay. There has to be a concerted effort around creating a culture where people truly feel like they are included and a part of the organization and not there just to represent progress for the company.

It’s huge. It’s not just hiring, but taking it a step further and making sure you have an environment where people feel comfortable, they feel a part of it, and they don’t feel like outsiders in an organization where you’re trying to give the impression that they are truly part of the culture that you have there.

It’s the same focus and attention that all companies have. You have to have representation at all levels of the supply chain. When you’re trying to create a diverse candidate pool, ask people in your network if you know any females who are representative in this particular field, if you know anyone of color, or if you know anyone with a specific background. A lot of times, it’s “No, I don’t know anyone. I know some men, but I don’t know any women.” It’s a bit of a struggle, sometimes, finding that diversity of candidates to present opportunities to. If it’s difficult, people might give up and just go the easy route. You really have to be intentional about saying, “I’m not going to make a decision until I truly have a diverse slate of candidates to consider,” and that may take you longer.

There are a lot of conversations in my space, the aviation industry, and we’re suffering from a lack of mechanics. They’re very rare…there are some, but they’re very few. It’s an area where we can be intentional about sharing those opportunities at lower levels, in schools when kids are just ripe for trying to consider their options. We really have to start reaching them a lot earlier and exposing them to it. I think the efforts that are done by some organizations are great, it’s just not enough. It’s just not a big enough footprint to really make an impact. As companies, we need to start looking at what we can do together to expand that voice into the educational system. And making sure women, young girls, and people of color really understand the full scope of the opportunities out there and hear from individuals who walked that road before them and can give them some insight into the opportunities that may be there.

That’s a tough question for me because in aviation, there are very few black females in leadership even today. I think if I look at it from a gender standpoint, there are different organizations, like Women in Aviation, that are all specific to the aviation spectrum. We recognize that we have got to come together and make a difference. We’re stronger as a combined voice than we are individually. Through those organizations, as women continue to use their collective voice and make inroads into the things women need to have access to and young women need to be exposed to, we’ll continue to make some progress. But we still have a lot of work to do.

Evolvement in organizations like AWESOME, are some of the few places where female leaders can connect with others, whether in our industry or our particular field, and have conversations, compare stories, ask questions, and build our network. That’s hugely important and very encouraging to all of us to have that resource to lean on.