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Karen S. Carter
Karen S. Carter
01:16

Karen S. Carter

Dow

"I just try to make the biggest difference possible with the time that I have on the planet."

Career Roadmap

Karen S.'s work combines: Business, Travel, and Working with Others

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Day In The Life

Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief Inclusion Officer

I make sure all of the company's team members feel included, valued, respected, and appreciated.

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Day In The Life Of A Chief Human Resources And Inclusion Officer

My Day to Day

My days are filled with engaging with people, either in meetings or organically. I have a list of people every week that I reach out and call to check in on. These calls don't have an agenda—I'm just checking in and letting them know that I'm thinking about them. In the evenings, I spend time catching up on emails.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

While this isn't Noise I heard directly, there's a misconception that success looks a certain way. Success can only be defined by you and there are multiple paths to get there. Don't let someone else define that for you. College is one path but it's not the only. Two-year schools are one path but not the only. Trade schools are one path but not the only. Life is short. Find something that you love and be the best at it that you can be.

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Marketing

    Howard University

  • Graduate Degree

    International Business

    DePaul University

Learn more about different paths to this career

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    I grew up in Wichita, Kansas.

  • 2.

    I earned my bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University—it was important to me to attend an HBCU so that I could be around successful people who looked like me.

  • 3.

    After undergrad, I earned a master’s degree in international business from DePaul University.

  • 4.

    I built my career with The Dow Chemical Company and have been with the company for 28 years.

  • 5.

    Most of my experience with Dow has been on the business side, managing profit and loss.

  • 6.

    In 2017, our CEO asked me to become the company’s first chief inclusion officer to make sure we had a strategy focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

  • 7.

    I did that for about 18 months before expanding my responsibilities to chief human resources officer.

  • 8.

    I’ve been fortunate to travel around the world with Dow and am excited to ultimately return home to Wichita in the future.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Society in general:

    Success looks one way.

  • How I responded:

    While this isn't Noise I heard directly, there's a misconception that success looks a certain way. Success can only be defined by you and there are multiple paths to get there. Don't let someone else define that for you. College is one path but it's not the only. Two-year schools are one path but not the only. Trade schools are one path but not the only. Life is short. Find something that you love and be the best at it that you can be.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

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  • I moved to Shanghai, China, with Dow and was excited to do so. However, it did get overwhelming at times. It was a culture shock. When I felt too overwhelmed, I would just take some time to isolate in my flat and regroup before going back out there.

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