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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional societies (ProS) are uniquely positioned to foster national-level diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) reform. ProS serve broad memberships, define disciplinary norms and culture, and inform accrediting bodies, thus providing "excellent leverage with which to design and promote change" (National Academy of Sciences et al., 2005). ProS could be instrumental in achieving the DEI culture reform necessary to optimize engagement of all STEM talent by leveraging disciplinary excellence resulting from diverse teams. Inclusive STEM culture reform requires that underlying "mental models'' be examined (Kania et al., 2018). The "Inclusive Professional Framework for Societies (IPF:Societies)" can help ProS change leaders (i.e., "boundary spanners'") and organizations identify and address mental models hindering DEI reform. "IPF:Societies" uses four "I's"--Identity awareness and Intercultural mindfulness (i.e., equity mindset) on which Inclusive relationships and Influential DEI actions are scaffolded. We discuss how "IPF:Societies" complements existing DEI tools. We explain how "IPF:Societies" can be applied to existing ProS policy and practice associated with common ProS functions (e.g., leadership, membership, conferences, awards, and professional development). Next steps are to pilot "IPF:Societies" with a cohort of STEM ProS. Ultimately, "IPF:Societies" has potential to promote more efficient, effective, and lasting DEI organizational transformation, and contribute to inclusive STEM disciplinary excellence.

One of the problematic features of the increasingly influential discourse of student employability in higher education is the widespread conception of "skills" as de-contextualized bits of knowledge, ability, and disposition. Instead, how particular competencies are valued, defined, and utilized in practice is deeply shaped by sociocultural, political, and situational factors. The effect of these influences is especially relevant for communication skills, which are widely viewed as critical for employability. In this study we examine how nursing and engineering experts and novices conceptualize communication within specific situations. The data highlight distinct ways respondents define communication and the role of contextual and cultural factors in shaping these perspectives, and how views of "acceptable" communication risk reifying norms of dominant classes while ignoring cultural variability.