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Data-Driven DEI: The Tools and Metrics

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Data-­Driven DEI
Data-­Driven DEI
The Tools and Metrics You Need
to Measure, Analyze, and Improve
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DR. RANDAL PINKETT


Copyright © 2023 by Randal Pinkett LLC. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.


Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in


any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or
otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,
without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment
of the appropriate per-­copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive,
Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-­8400, fax (978) 646-­8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com.
Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-­ 6011, fax (201)
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Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley
& Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used
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John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-­in-­Publication Data:

Names: Pinkett, Randal, author.


Title: Data-driven DEI : the tools and metrics you need to measure,
analyze, and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion / Dr. Randal
Pinkett.
Other titles: Data-driven diversity equity and inclusion
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, [2023] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022053754 (print) | LCCN 2022053755 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119856870 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119856931 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119856924 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Diversity in the workplace--Technological innovations. |
Multiculturalism.
Classification: LCC HF5549.5.M5 P57 2023 (print) | LCC HF5549.5.M5
(ebook) | DDC 658.3008--dc23/eng/20221109
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022053754
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022053755

COVER ART: © ZHENGSHUN TANG/GETTY IMAGES


COVER DESIGN: PAUL McCARTHY
To the entire BCT Family—­past and present—­without whom this
book would not have been possible, and especially to my
brother and business partner—colleague and college classmate:

Lawrence Hibbert

Data-­Driven DEI is a direct result of the mission and vision


we set out to accomplish when we began our
social entrepreneurship journey
more than three decades ago centered on the
African philosophy of Ubuntu:

I am because we are!
Contents
AC KN OWL E D GMEN TS xi
I N T ROD U CT I ON xiii

0 STEP 0: DEI Incentives—­Self-Reflect and Introspect 1


Dimensions of Personal Transformation 2
What Are Your Personal DEI Incentives? 5
Crafting a Personal DEI Mission and Vision 7
Establishing Personal DEI Aims 8
Dimensions of Organizational Transformation 9
Dimensions of Personal and Organizational Transformation 12
What Are Your Organizational DEI Incentives? 14
Crafting an Organizational DEI Mission and Vision 15
Establishing Organizational DEI Aims 18
DEI Aims vs. DEI Objectives 18
Comprehensive Personal and Organizational DEI Assessment Framework 20
Entering the Five-­Step Cycle of Data-­Driven DEI 22
1 STEP 1: DEI Inventory for People—Seek Understanding 23
Personal DEI Assessment Framework 24
Understanding Preferences and Competences 25
Preferences 25
Competences 26
Preferences vs. Competences 27
Conducting a Personal DEI Assessment 27
Assessing Your Preferences 28
Assessing Your Competences 43
Assessing Your Preferences and Competences 52
A List of Personal DEI Assessment Tools 53
Choosing the Right Personal DEI Assessment Tool for You 64
Mitigating Data Bias—­Part 1 70
Researcher Bias 71
Confirmation and Attribution Bias 72
1 STEP 1: DEI Inventory for Organizations—Seek Understanding 73
Organizational DEI Assessment Framework 74
Conducting an Organizational DEI Assessment 75
Phase 0: Inventory Preferences and Competences 79
Phase I: Administer DEI Culture and Climate Survey (Quantitative Data
Collection) 80

vii
viii Contents

A List of Organizational DEI Assessment Tools 84


Phase II-­A: Perform DEI Human Resources (HR) Policies and Practices
Assessment 96
Phase II-­B: Perform DEI Benchmarking or Ranking 98
Phase III: Analyze DEI Quantitative Data 102
Phase IV: Conduct DEI Interviews and Focus Groups (Qualitative Data
Collection) 106
Phase V: Analyze DEI Qualitative Data 121
Phase VI: Analyze DEI Mixed-­Methods Integrated Data 124
Phase VII: Deliver DEI Assessment Report 129
Mitigating Data Bias—­Part 2 131
Selection Bias 131
2 STEP 2: DEI Imperatives—­Determine Priorities 133
DEI Objectives and Goals 134
Establishing DEI Objectives 136
Setting DEI Goals 141
3 STEP 3: DEI Insights—­Identify “What Works” 159
What Are “What Works” Models? 160
“What Works” Models for People 161
“What Works” Models for Organizations 164
4 STEP 4: DEI Initiatives—­Take Action 167
DEI Strategies and Measures 168
Personal DEI Strategy Framework 169
Developing a Personal DEI Preference and Competence Model 171
Designing a Personal DEI Learning Journey 175
The Five Dimensions of a Personal DEI Learning Journey 176
Examples of Personal DEI Strategies 177
The Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to a Personal DEI Learning Journey 179
Organizational DEI Strategy Framework 181
Examples of Organizational DEI Strategies 182
Determining DEI Strategies 189
Formatting Your DEI Strategy Statements 189
Examples of Personal DEI Strategies 189
Examples of Organizational DEI Strategies 190
Defining DEI Measures 194
Formatting Your DEI Measures Statements 194
Personal DEI Strategic Plan Example 195
Organizational DEI Strategic Plan Example 199
5 STEP 5: DEI Impact—­Evaluate Results 205
DEI Data Reporting 206
DEI Scorecards 207
A Personal DEI Scorecard 208
An Organizational DEI Scorecard 212
Contents ix

DEI Dashboards 214


A Personal DEI Dashboard 214
An Organizational DEI Dashboard 215
Creating a DEI Scorecard or Dashboard 223
Visualizing Data 224
Decide What Story You Are Trying to Tell with the Data 224
Choose Your Mix of Quantitative and Qualitative Data Visualizations 225
Developing Effective DEI Scorecards and Dashboards 233
Choosing between DEI Scorecards and Dashboards 236
Determining DEI Impact 237
Collecting New Data 237
Evaluating Results 241
Generating Findings 246
The Power of DEI Storytelling 247
DEI Data Storytelling 248
Continuing the Five-­Step Cycle of Data-­Driven DEI 253
6 Conclusion: The Future of Data-­Driven DEI 255
DEI and Equitable Analytics™ 256
Step 1: Determine the Focus of Analysis 257
Step 2: Build a Causal Logic Model 257
Step 3: Develop an Analytical Framework 258
Step 4: Conduct Precision Modeling 259
Step 5: Perform an Equity Assessment 260
Step 6: Produce Actionable Insights 262
DEI and Deep Learning 263
Large Language Models 264
Large Language Models and DEI 265
DEI and Transparency/Ubiquity 267
DEI Integrated Platforms 268
DEI and DNA 270

NOT E S 271
ABOU T TH E AU T HO R 277
I N D E X 279
Acknowledgments
D
ata-­Driven DEI has leveraged the contributions of countless individuals and
organizations. First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank all my col-
leagues at BCT Partners, including the executive leadership team, leadership
team, DEI community of practice, and various lines of business that reflect our leading
expertise in diversity, equity, inclusion, research, evaluation, analytics, learning, and
beyond. Our mission at BCT Partners, to harness the power of diversity, insights, and
innovation to transform lives, accelerate equity, and create lasting change, and our
pioneering work that spans the globe in service to this mission, undergird everything
captured within this book.
At BCT, I am enormously grateful to Lawrence Hibbert, president, for our part-
nership and his leadership; Peter York, principal and chief data scientist, for his input,
reviews, and feedback; Damita Byrd, senior director of DEI, David Hunt, senior direc-
tor of health equity, and Riikka Salonen, managing director of health equity, for their
advice and assistance; Jaan Bernberg, for leading the development of the scorecards,
dashboards, and mobile app mockups; Stacey Gatlin and Stephanie Snider, for help-
ing coordinate the numerous moving parts; and Kate Jordan, Patricia Neuray, Tanisha
Washington, Freida Hughes, and Amira Pinkett, for their support of the website. I
would like to thank my colleagues at our joint venture partner, N-­Touch Strategies,
including Natasha Williams and Dr. Jenae Harrington, for their contributions to the
research and development. I would also like to thank BCT’s clients, who have been
essential and instrumental to the growth of our data-­driven DEI work and more, ex-
pressly Milton Anderson, managing partner at Korn Ferry and former executive vice
president and chief administrative officer at RWJBarnabas Health; Leah Wallace, for-
mer senior vice president of workforce development and DEI at Citigroup; and Dennis
Pullin, president and chief executive officer and Rhonda Jordan, executive vice presi-
dent and chief human resources officer, at Virtua Health.
I am especially thankful to my mentors, Vincent R. Brown and Dr. Janet B. Reid,
and our colleagues Patricia Melford, LaToya Everett, Pamela Ramsey, A ­ ngie Dodge,
and Lena Ryals at VRBC and BRBS World; Steve Mahaley at Red Fern and Allison
­Mahaley at Red Fern and The Dialogue Company; Dr. Amanda Felkey at Lake Forest
College; Ann Herrmann-­Nedhi, Karim Nehdi, JT Thompkins, and Anne Griswold at
Herrmann International; Julie O’Mara, Alan Richter, and Nene Molefi, authors of the
Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB), and Sudeep ­Mohandas
at the Centre for Global Inclusion; Edward Boon at Promote International; Larry
Mohl at Rali; Emily Aiken at IDI LLC; Lamont Robinson at RLC Diversity; Richard A.
Kreuger and Mary Anne Casey at the University of Minnesota; Dr. M ­ ichael McAfee,
Josh K­ irschenbaum, Michael Hassid, and Jennifer Tran at P ­ olicyLink; Gamiel Yafai at
Diversity Marketplace; Jane Wesman and Andrea Stein at Jane Wesman Public Rela-
tions; and Sheilisa McNeal-­Burgess.
Thank you also to the entire literary team at Wiley, including Richard Narramore,
Deborah Schindlar, Dawn Kilgore, Michelle Hacker, Jeanenne Ray, Jozette Moses,
­Michelle Hacker, Gayathri Ganesan, Philo Antonie Mahendran, Jessica Filippo, and
Kate Wimpsett. I am eternally indebted to Mike Campbell, former acquisitions editor
at Wiley, for not only being the catalyst for this book but also for being a tremendous

xi
xii Acknowledgments

thought partner, prompting me to think deeply and critically about the book’s fram-
ing, and helping strengthen its content by challenging my ideas in very positive and
powerful ways. This acknowledgment is a minor gesture compared to your major role
in bringing this book to fruition.
Last, but certainly not least, to the extent this book was a formidable undertaking,
I am deeply appreciative of my entire family and village of friends, including my lov-
ing wife, Natasha, children, Amira, Jaz, Marquis, and Aniyah, and above all, God, with
whom all things are possible, for the strength, the space, the stamina, and the support
to see it to completion.
—­Dr. Randal Pinkett
www.randalpinkett.com
www.bctpartners.com
www.datadrivendei.com
Introduction
DEI is a journey, not a destination.
DEI can be measured and managed.

W
hen I first met Steve, he and his organization were in a very difficult situa-
tion. Steve had been long criticized for his lack of leadership, particularly
with women and people of color, while he maintained that his management
style was an effective one. His team was dysfunctional and lacked cohesion and trust.
Moreover, while Steve’s team bore some diversity, he was a member of the organiza-
tion’s senior leadership team, which bore little to no diversity. In stark comparison,
their employee base and the communities surrounding their office locations reflected
the full range of societal diversity. Like many organizations, while they had good inten-
tions to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), their efforts had largely failed
due to a lack of acknowledgment and agreement about the issues they were facing,
and the impact was severe. Employee engagement was low. They were losing people of
color, particularly in middle management. They were under significant pressure from
employees to diversify their senior ranks and create a more inclusive culture. Steve
knew that he and his organization desperately needed help, and he lobbied to hire my
firm, BCT Partners, to help his organization improve their DEI.
After engaging in several conversations with leaders about their mission and vi-
sion for DEI, our next step was to conduct several assessments: an implicit bias and
cultural competence assessment for all leaders and managers, and a culture and cli-
mate assessment for the entire organization, including a survey, interviews, and focus
groups. I vividly recall two pivotal moments in the early stages of this engagement.
The first pivotal moment was with Steve in a one-­on-­one coaching session where we
discussed his implicit bias and cultural competence assessment results. He was stunned.
Not only did the data clearly affirm his blind spots, particularly on matters relating to
race/ethnicity and gender, but also his inability to navigate differences. The data cata-
lyzed a personal epiphany. Thereafter, Steve was motivated to do the personal work of
DEI, which is often the most challenging yet impactful, by undertaking a journey of per-
sonal learning, development, and growth. Today, he is seen as a more competent, cred-
ible, and capable colleague in the eyes of his peers (and a better person in the eyes of his
friends and family) and has the tools, data, and metrics to know he is making progress.
The second pivotal moment was when my colleagues at BCT presented the results
of the culture and climate assessment to the organization’s senior leadership team. I
could feel the tension in the room. We knew there was resistance to DEI in the senior
ranks and, as a result, the assessment experienced significant delays. In fact, one of
the reasons we administered the implicit bias and cultural competence assessments for
leaders and managers was to meet people like Steve where they were in their DEI jour-
ney while opening a candid dialogue about their commitment to DEI (or lack thereof).
This was a very data-­driven organization that prided itself on science, evidence, and
xiii
xiv Introduction

facts. They grilled our data science team about their sampling techniques and statistical
analyses. They challenged them on their assessment methods and analytical models.
They prompted them to probe deeper into their facts and their findings. By the time
the tense meeting was over, the senior leadership team was convinced that they had is-
sues, and they committed to undergoing change. The data catalyzed an organizational
commitment. They were invigorated to do the organizational work of DEI, which they
acknowledged would be a marathon not a sprint. We proceeded to work with them to
develop and execute a DEI strategic plan that led to several DEI initiatives along with
the key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge progress, measure results, and demon-
strate impact. Today, they have proudly been recognized as one of the top companies for
their corporate diversity practices and among the top employers for women, people of
color, veterans, working families, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
My experience with Steve and his organization speak to a very valuable lesson:
data matters to DEI.
To be clear, data is not the end-­all and be-­all to DEI. It is not a panacea, nor do I
intend to frame it in this way. The point of this book is that data, while not the entire
DEI puzzle, is a very important piece.
W. Edwards Deming is frequently and incorrectly quoted with the famous phrase
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Ironically, Deming’s full quote is, “It is
wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” According to the
W. Edwards Deming Institute, “Dr. Deming did very much believe in the value of using
data to help improve the management of the organization. But he also knew that just
measuring things and looking at data wasn’t close to enough. There are many things
that cannot be measured and still must be managed.”1 Fortunately, DEI is not one of
those things, as you can measure it and manage it. There are several factors that contrib-
ute to a successful personal and organizational DEI journey, and data is one of them.
I liken data to the instrument panel on a plane. Long before there were instru-
ment panels, people were able to fly planes. It was significantly harder without the
instrument panel. Instrument panels have made the journey more efficient and ef-
fective at every step along the way. Similarly, improving DEI can be achieved without
data, but it is significantly harder. Data makes the journey more efficient and effective
at every step along the way.
It is also important to acknowledge that data has its own shortcomings and imper-
fections. It is not neutral. At different points throughout this book, I address the topics
of “data bias” and “algorithmic bias”—­those are how data carries and inherits its own
assumptions and biases, as a reflection of human assumptions and biases. I will help you
to recognize different kinds of data and algorithmic biases, and how to mitigate them lead-
ing to deeper understanding and greater impartiality along your Data-­Driven DEI journey.

Societal Trends and DEI


Three societal trends speak to the growing importance of DEI:

1. Diversity of People: Diversity is growing across our globe including with respect
to race and ethnicity. It is predicted that the world’s middle-­class population will
STEP 0

DEI Incentives—­
Self-Reflect and
Introspect

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.


Organizations don’t change. People change.

INCENTIVES
Self-Reflect & Introspect

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Factors


Drive the Pursuit of DEI DEI Mission &
Vision

DEI
Profile &
Baseline
1
DEI INVENTORY
Outputs & Seek Understanding
Outcomes
(Perform Assessment)

5 2
IMPACT IMPERATIVES
Evaluate Results Determine Priorities
Data-Driven
DEI
DEI TM Objectives &
Goals

DEI
4 3
Strategies &
Measures INITIATIVES INSIGHTS
Undertake Action Identify “What Works”

DEI
Promising &
Proven Practices

Data-­Driven DEI—­Step 0: DEI Incentives

1
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
THE “LAURENTIC” ON THE STOCKS.
From a Photograph. By permission of Messrs. Harland & Wolff.

Two interesting new ships were commissioned in 1909 by the


White Star Line, for the Liverpool-Quebec service, named
respectively the Laurentic and Megantic. An illustration, showing the
former on the stocks at Harland and Wolff’s yard, Belfast, is given
opposite page 210. The Laurentic and Megantic are, as to hulls,
sister ships, and each has a tonnage of 14,900, thus being among
the largest steamers in the Canadian trade. But whilst the latter is a
twin-screw ship propelled by reciprocating engines, the former has
three screws and a combination of reciprocating engines and a low-
pressure turbine, being the first large passenger steamship to be
designed with this ultra-modern method. Each of the “wing”
propellers is driven by four-crank triple balanced engines, the central
propeller, however, being driven by the turbine. The object aimed at
by this novel hybrid method was to retain the advantages of the
carefully balanced reciprocating engines, but at the same time to
obtain the benefit of the further expansion of steam in a low-pressure
turbine, without having to employ a turbine specially for going astern.
The reciprocating engines of the Laurentic are adequate for
manœuvring in and out of port, and for going astern, since they
develop more than three-quarters of the total combined horse-power.
This steamship, single-funnelled and two-masted, measures 565 feet
in length, and 67 feet 4 inches in width, and besides having
accommodation for 1,690 passengers, carries a large quantity of
cargo. Like many other big steamships that we have noted in the
course of our story, she has a double cellular-bottom which extends
the whole length of the ship, being specially strengthened under the
engines. Her nine bulkheads divide her up into ten water-tight
compartments. It will be noticed that the rudder has gone back to the
ordinary type common before the introduction of the balance
method. Notice, too, that the blades of the propeller are each bolted
to the shaft, and that the latter terminates in a conical shape now so
common on screw-ships. This is called the “boss,” and was invented
by Robert Griffiths in 1849. It was introduced in order to reduce the
pressure of the water towards the centre. This method was first tried
on a steamer in the following year at Bristol and afterwards on
H.M.S. Fairy. By reason of its shape, it naturally causes less
resistance through the water.
Whilst these lines are being written, there are building at Harland
and Wolff’s yard still another couple of ships for the White Star flag,
which, if not in speed, will be the most wonderful, and certainly the
largest ships in the world. After the Baltics and Mauretanias one
feels inclined to ask in amazement: “What next, indeed?” They will
measure 850 feet long, 90 feet broad, and be fitted with such
luxuries as roller-skating rinks and other novelties. They will each
possess a gross register of 45,000 tons. (By way of comparison we
might remind the reader that the Mauretania has a gross register of
33,000 tons.) Named respectively the Olympic and Titanic, they will
be propelled by three screws, and have a speed of 21 knots, so that
besides being leviathans, they will also be greyhounds, and are
destined for the Southampton-New York route. The first of these, the
Olympic, will take the water in October, 1910, and some idea of her
appearance may be gathered from the illustration which forms our
frontispiece. Like the Laurentic, these ships will be fitted with a
combination of the turbine and reciprocating engines, and will thus
be the first ships running on the New York route to have this system.
Their builders estimate that the displacement of each of these mighty
creatures will be about 60,000 tons, which is about half as much
again as that of the Baltic. Each ship will cost at least a million and a
half of money, and it will be necessary for each of those harbours
which they are to visit to be dredged to a depth of 35 feet. It is a
complaint put forward by both ship-builders and owners of modern
leviathans that the governing bodies of ports have not shown the
same spirit of enterprise which the former have exhibited. To
handicap the progress of shipping by hesitating to give the harbours
a required depth, they say, is neither fair nor conducive to the
advance of the prosperity of the ports in question, and on the face of
it, it would seem to be but reasonable that if the honour of receiving
a mammoth liner means anything at all, it should be appreciated by
responding in a practical manner. In New York Harbour this fact is
already recognised, for dredging is being undertaken so as to
provide a depth of 40 feet.
At the present moment the Cunard Company are also engaged
in replenishing their fleet, consequent on the removal from service of
the Lucania, the Umbria, the Etruria, and the Slavonia. An 18,000
ton steamship, to be called the Franconia, is being built by Messrs.
Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Ltd., the firm which turned
out the Mauretania, and will be ready some time in 1911. This latest
addition will not, it is understood, be a “flyer,” for her speed is
believed to be less than 20 knots, and it is therefore probable that
she is intended to replace the Slavonia. But it is supposed that
another vessel is to be built presently to relieve the Mauretania and
Lusitania, or to co-operate with them, and that her speed will be 23
knots, though it must not be forgotten that this ship will not be built
with the help of Government money, but will be purely and solely a
commercial transaction.
In the meantime German enterprise shows but little signs of
lagging. The Hamburg-American Line are understood to have
ordered from the Vulcan Yards at Hamburg a new passenger liner of
more than 800 feet in length and a displacement of between 45,000
and 50,000 tons. Her speed is to be 21 knots. Herr Ballin a couple of
years ago had a similar project in view, and entered into a contract
with Harland and Wolff for building the largest ship in the world, to be
called the Europa. But the condition of the Atlantic passenger trade
became unfavourable for the enterprise, and the contract was
annulled. The contract now goes, not to Belfast, but to Hamburg, for
the Belfast yard has no slip vacant for several months to come. It will
mean, therefore, that this Europa, which is destined to excel the big
Cunarders in size though not in speed, will be the largest
undertaking that German ship-building yards have yet had to face,
for the biggest merchant ship which up till now they have turned out
is the George Washington, of 26,000 tons. Since the Deutschland
lost the honour of holding the “blue ribbon,” the Hamburg-American
Line have not worried much about recapturing the first position in
speed. Economy plus a first-class service would seem to be the
modern combination of influence that is dominating the great
steamship lines. Speed is a great deal, but it is not everything in a
passenger steamship, and whether the limits have not already been
surpassed, and the Mauretania and Lusitania with their high speeds
and enormous cost of running will presently be regarded rather as
belonging to the category of white elephants than of practical
commercial steamships, time alone can show.
After all, the Atlantic and the other oceans were made by the
Great Designer as barriers between separate continents, and
although we speak of them casually as rather of the nature of a
herring-pond, and build our big ships to act as ferries, yet are we not
flying in the face of Nature, and asking for trouble? In the fight
between Man and Nature, it is fairly plain on which side victory will
eventually come, in spite of a series of clever dodges which
throughout history man has conceived and put into practice for
outwitting her. You can fool her very well in many ways for part of the
time; but you cannot do this for ever in every sphere. When we read
of fine, handsome, well-found modern liners going astray in the
broad ocean, or of excellent, capable little cross-channel steamships
foundering between port and port, without any living witnesses to tell
how it all happened, we have a reminder that the ways of man are
clever beyond all words, but that Nature is cleverer still. What the
future of the steamship will be no one can tell. Already ship-builders
profess themselves capable of turning out a monster up to 1,000 feet
in length. But whether this will come about depends on the courage
of the great steamship lines, the state of the financial barometer, and
any improvements and inventions which the marine engineer may
introduce in the meantime. Perhaps the future rests not with the
steam, but the gas engine: we cannot say. It is sufficient that we
have endeavoured to show what a century and but little longer has
done in that short time for the steamship. Sufficient for the century is
the progress thereof.
CHAPTER VIII
SMALLER OCEAN CARRIERS AND CROSS-
CHANNEL STEAMERS

Although it is true, as I have already pointed out, that the North


Atlantic has been the cockpit wherein the great steamship
competition has been fought out, yet it is not to that ocean alone that
all the activity has been confined. Because of the limitations which
the Suez Canal imposes it is not possible to build steamships for the
Eastern routes of such enormous tonnage as are customary for the
North American passages.
In the course of our story we have seen the beginnings of the
principal steamship companies trading not merely to the west, but in
many other spheres. In tracing the history of steamship companies
as distinct from that of the steamship herself, we are immediately
confronted with difficulties, for the company may be older than
steamships of any sort; or, again, the company may be of
comparatively modern origin, yet from the first possessed of the
finest steamships, of a character surpassing their contemporaries.
For instance, one of the very oldest lines is the Bibby Line to
Rangoon. This was founded as far back as 1807, yet it was not until
1851 that it adopted steam. The White Star Line, as we have seen,
was previously composed of sailing vessels, and its first steamship,
the Oceanic, did not appear until 1870, but when she did make her
appearance, she surpassed anything else afloat by her superior
virtues. To take, therefore, a chronological survey of the
establishment of the steamship organisations would be to convey
nothing satisfactory to us in our study of the evolution of the
steamship, but nevertheless, we may pertinently set forth some of
the more venerable but no less active steamship lines of the present
day.

THE “MOOLTAN.”
From a Photograph. By permission of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

In addition to those already mentioned whose coming certainly


was intimately connected with the evolution of the steamship, we
might mention Messrs. George Thompson and Company’s Aberdeen
Line, which at one time was famous for its fine fleet of sailing ships.
This line was established in 1824, the year of incorporation of the
General Steam Navigation Co. Six years later the Harrison Line
arose, though the Allan Line, which dates back to 1820, did not run
its first steamer until 1854. The well-known Hull firm of Messrs.
Thomas Wilson and Sons appeared in 1835, and the African
Steamship Company three years earlier. In 1849 the City Line, now
amalgamated with the Ellerman Line, was founded, as also were
Messrs. Houlder Brothers. The Anchor Line came in 1852, and the
Castle Mail Packets Company, which is now amalgamated with the
Union Line to form the Union-Castle Line. The British East India
Company dates from 1855, and the Donaldson Line a year earlier.
The year 1856 saw the inauguration of Messrs. J. T. Rennie and
Sons’ Aberdeen Line to South Africa, and in 1866 the Booth Line
was first started, whilst the Collins Line had been formed in 1850, the
Inman Line the same year, the North German Lloyd in 1858, the
Compagnie Transatlantique in 1861, the National Line in 1863, and
the Guion Line (originally Williams and Guion) in 1866. Some of the
last-mentioned are now extinct, and have been dealt with in another
chapter. Within the last few months the P. and O. Company have
absorbed the Lund Line, and the shipping interests of the late Sir
Alfred Jones have been consolidated by Lord Pirrie, whose name is
so well known by his close connection with the firm of Harland and
Wolff. During 1910 another Atlantic service was inaugurated by the
appearance of the Royal Line, which the Canadian Northern Railway
Company is running between Bristol and the Dominion. Their two
ships the Royal Edward and the Royal George were originally built
under different names for an express service between Marseilles
and Alexandria, but that venture was not found profitable. They have
recently been modified to suit the North Atlantic route and are
representative of the finest examples of the modern steamship,
though not so large as the biggest liners. Propelled by turbines
driving triple screws, they have all the luxury of the most up-to-date
ships, with lifts, wireless telegraphy, special dining-room for children,
cafés and many other up-to-date features. The Royal Line is thus
another instance of a new steamship organisation stepping right into
the front rank at the first effort. If it is alleged that some of the older
lines engaged on the South Atlantic and Eastern routes have not
shown that same progressive spirit which the North Atlantic
companies have exhibited, at least recent ships have shown that
everything is being done which can be expected, short of reaching
the mammoth dimensions of the Atlantic liners. Passengers
voyaging to Australia, India, South Africa, and South America, for
example, realise that they are destined to remain at sea for a long
period, and the question of the utmost speed is not of primary
importance. Owing partly to the American spirit of speed and the
much shorter distance which separates the two continents, the
voyage between England and New York has become rather an
elongated channel passage than a journey in which one settles
oneself down for weeks, and the incentives to make it shorter still are
never for a moment wanting.
The recent additions to the P. and O. fleet are indicative that
progress is not confined to any one route. A new epoch in the history
of this company began when the first of their “M” class was added.
Reckoning them historically from 1903 these are the Moldavia,
Marmora, Mongolia, Macedonia, Mooltan, Malwa, Mantua, and the
Morea. The smallest of these, the Moldavia, is of 9,500 tons; the
largest are the last three mentioned, which are of 11,000 tons, and
though wireless telegraphy has not played the same conspicuous
part as on the Atlantic, yet this is now being installed in all the P. and
O. mail steamers on the Bombay and Australian routes. Two new
steamers, also of the “M” class, are being built, to be called
respectively the Medina and the Maloja, which will be thus fitted. It is
no doubt owing to the slowness with which Australia, India, and
Ceylon have adopted land installations that a corresponding
reluctance has been found in the case of the steamships to adopt
what is so significant a feature of the modern steamship. The
illustration facing page 216 shows one of this “M” class, the Mooltan,
coming to her berth in the Tilbury Dock, whilst the opposite
illustration will afford some idea of the starting platform in her engine
room. Her measurements are: length 520·4 feet, beam 58·3 feet,
and depth 33·2 feet; her tonnage is 9,621, with an indicated horse-
power of 15,000. She was built in 1905 by Messrs. Caird and
Company, of Greenock. It was owing to the increase in size of the
new P. and O. ships that the comparatively recent transfer was made
of the company’s mail and passenger steamers from the Royal
Albert Dock to Tilbury.
THE STARTING PLATFORM IN THE ENGINE ROOM OF THE “MOOLTAN.”
From a Photograph. By permission of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

The Union-Castle fleet is composed partly of those ships which


belonged at the time of amalgamation to the old Castle Line, and
partly of those which were of the Union Line. In addition to these,
new steamships have been since brought out to swell the list. The
depression in South Africa consequent on the Boer War
necessitated a careful consideration before the addition of other mail
steamers, but the Balmoral Castle (see opposite page 220), which
was completed in 1910, and her sister the Edinburgh Castle, are the
largest and most powerful vessels employed in the South African
trade. This Balmoral Castle has a gross tonnage of about 13,000,
with an indicated horse-power of 12,500, and is fitted with twin-
screws. Fitted, of course, with water-tight bulkheads and cellular
bottom, every modern improvement has been taken advantage of in
her internal arrangement with regard to the service for which she
was built. The Balmoral Castle has a deck space larger than that
usually given in this line, the first and second class having practically
the whole of the boat deck; whilst by joining the poop and
promenade deck the third class have their deck space doubled. She
is installed with the modern loud-speaking telephones between the
bridge and engine-room and the extremities of the ship. Wireless
telegraphy has not been installed, but a room has been specially
built and equipped if it is decided hereafter to adopt this apparatus.
On the fore-mast head a Morse signalling lamp has been placed for
long distance signalling, and a semaphore after the Admiralty pattern
on the bridge for short distance signalling. She is propelled by two
sets of quadruple-expansion engines, and has ten boilers.
The White Star Line, in addition to their regular mail and
passenger service across the North Atlantic, have three special
freight and live-stock steamers—viz. the Georgic, of 10,077 tons, the
Cevic of 8,301 tons, and the Bovic of 6,583 tons—all of these having
twin-screws. Besides these they possess four ships engaged on the
New Zealand route, five on the Australian trade, besides two smaller
ships for freight.
We have already mentioned the Ivernia and Saxonia as
belonging to the intermediate, economical types which the Cunard
Company own in addition to their bigger liners. They also carry on a
Mediterranean service from New York to Gibraltar, the Italian and
Adriatic ports, to Algiers and Alexandria. The North German Lloyd
Company also own a number of smaller steamships employed in
intermediate service to ports other than those served by their fast
liners, the largest being of about 6,000 tons.
The American Line, which was formerly the old Inman
organisation, own besides the Philadelphia, already discussed, the
New York, the St. Louis, and St. Paul, but the last two, each being
only 11,629 tons, are the largest of their small fleet. Besides the
Anchor and the Allan Lines and the new Royal Line the Canadian
Pacific Railway now maintains a long connection by steamship and
railway from Liverpool right away to Hong Kong through Canada.
The Empress of Britain, with her quadruple-expansion engines and
twin-screws, is one of the finest steamships on the Canadian route.
THE “BALMORAL CASTLE.”
From a Photograph. By permission of the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co.

We could continue to deal singly with all the steamship lines


which have now sprung into existence, with the fine ships of the
Atlantic Transport Line, whose Minnehaha, in the spring of 1910, had
the misfortune to run on to the Scillies during her voyage from
America to this country. We might instance the Holt Line, the Nelson
Line, and other enterprising organisations, but such matter would
hardly come within the scope of our subject, which shows the
manner in which the steamship has developed into so useful an
institution. Since we have now been able to witness the manner in
which the steamship has been adapted for service across the deep,
wide ocean, let us, before we close this chapter, take a glance at the
way in which she has also become so indispensable for those
shorter but no less important cross-channel passages.
THE “CAMBRIA” (1848).
From a Painting. By Permission of the London & North Western Railway.

ENGINES OF THE “LEINSTER” (1860).


From the Model in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
At an earlier stage we saw that the cross-channel steamship
service owed its inauguration almost exclusively to that shrewd
Scotsman, Napier, who, after devoting a great amount of patient
study to the subject, evolved the Rob Roy. But we must not omit to
give credit also to others whose work in this connection has been of
such historic importance. From about the second decade of the
eighteenth century there had been a service between Holyhead and
Dublin, carried on by means of sailing packets, as there was, indeed,
between Scotland and Ireland, as well as England and the
Continent. Then had come the first steam service when the Talbot, of
156 tons, built in 1818 at Port Glasgow, for David Napier, began
running in the following year between Holyhead and Dublin. In 1819,
also, was inaugurated the Liverpool and Dublin service, and in 1823
one of the oldest steamship companies still in existence, the Dublin
Steam Packet Company, was formed. It must be recollected that the
journey between London and Dublin was a long and tedious one, for
there was no railway, and considerable sums of money were
expended in order to improve the road between Holyhead and the
English capital. The sailing packets took on the average about
twenty hours to cross the Irish Channel. The Royal William, already
alluded to when we discussed the first Atlantic steamers, was one of
the early steamships of this City of Dublin fleet. In 1836, when
George Stephenson proposed the construction of the Chester and
Holyhead Railway, he intended that the company should also
provide ships between the latter port and Ireland, but the various
steamship companies opposed this until 1848. The London to
Liverpool railway was opened in 1838, and so, since the Liverpool to
Dublin route was the quickest way to get from London to Ireland,
Holyhead was given the cold shoulder for the next ten years. But
when the continuous railway was opened between London and
Holyhead, the popularity of the Welsh port returned, and the
directors and principal shareholders of the Chester and Holyhead
Company, who had formed themselves into a small independent
company, ordered four new vessels, the Cambria, the Anglia, the
Hibernia, and the Scotia. Of these the first is illustrated herewith.
These ships were 207 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 14 feet deep, with
a draught of 8 feet 10 inches. They had a gross tonnage of 589,
carried 535 passengers, and possessed the remarkable speed of 14
knots. Instead of the slow passages of the old sailing packets these
four ships lowered the average voyage to 3 hours 34 minutes. In
1859 this Chester-Holyhead railway was amalgamated with the
London and North Western Railway, and in 1863 the latter
introduced a new type of craft, with the same speed as before, but of
700 tons. Both a day and a night service were presently instituted,
and this service has continued to be one of the most efficient and the
fastest of all the cross-channel ferries from this country. Of four new
vessels which were built for the Holyhead-Kingstown service in 1860
we may mention the Leinster. She was a large vessel for those
times, with a displacement of 2,000 tons, and constructed of iron.
The illustration facing this page shows a capital model of her
engines, which were of the oscillating type, and since we have
previously described this kind it is hardly necessary to deal with them
now, further than to remark that they gave the ship a speed of nearly
18 knots.
Coming now further south, it will be remembered that Napier’s
Rob Roy, which had first plied between Greenock and Belfast in
1818, was in the following year transferred to the Dover and Calais
route, and was thus the first regular steamship to open the mail and
passenger service between these ports. This was followed for a long
time by other steam “ferries,” some of which were Government mail
packets, and others were privately owned. The General Steam
Navigation Company, which had been formed in 1820, and
commenced its steam coastal trade, was not long before it had
inaugurated a service between London and Hamburg, and by 1847 it
had steamships running between London and the following ports:—
Hamburg, Rotterdam, Ostend, Leith, Calais, Havre, as well as from
Brighton to Dieppe, and Dover to Boulogne. These were all paddle-
steamers until the screw was introduced in 1854. In April of 1844
their paddle-steamer Menai was advertised to leave Shoreham
Harbour, calling at Brighton Chain Pier—or rather Brighthelmstone,
as it was then still known—and thence proceeding to Dieppe. She
was thus the first channel steamer to run between these places.
It was not until the old stage-coach had given way to the railroad
that the numbers of travellers between England and the Continent
increased. By June of 1843 the South Eastern Railway had reached
Folkestone, and in February of the following year it had also joined
Dover. The London, Chatham, and Dover Line was of later date, and
did not reach Dover until 1860, where they were able to put to the
best use their capable fleet of passenger boats which steamed to
Calais. But in 1845 the South Eastern Railway had, like the Chester
and Holyhead Line, formed themselves into a separate company, to
run a line of steam packets, owing to the fact that the successors to
the Rob Roy were deemed unsatisfactory, and endless objections
were made by the complaining passengers who reluctantly crossed
the choppy waters of the English Channel. Previous to this date the
South Eastern Railway were wont to hire steamships to carry their
passengers between England and the Continent to Boulogne,
Calais, and Ostend. When their line had joined up Dover they started
running from there to Calais with their own boats in two hours,
twenty-eight minutes, calling at Folkestone on the way for twenty-
eight minutes. The first of these steamboats were the Princess Maud
and the Princess Mary. The run from Dover to Ostend took four and
a half hours.
In 1848 the Admiralty, which had been responsible for the steam
mail packets service (as also we have seen earlier in this book they
had charge of the transatlantic mails), handed over their charge to
the Post Office. But neither of these Governmental branches was
able to make a success of this, and after a time the Post Office
withdrew their mail packets and in 1854 put the carrying out to
contract. A Mr. Churchyard was accepted as the contractor, and his
agreement continued until 1862. It will be recollected that two years
previous to the latter date the London, Chatham and Dover
Company had connected their line to Dover, and they obtained the
contract in succession to Churchyard for carrying the mails from
Dover to Calais. At the same time the South Eastern Railway
Company withdrew their steamboat service to Folkestone. It should
be mentioned that the General Steam Navigation Company had also
withdrawn from this route owing to the competition on the part of the
railway companies, who were in a superior position by being able to
run their passengers on both their own railways and their own
steamboats.
The general character of these early cross-channel steam-craft
was very similar to that of the Cambria. Some of the steamboats
employed on this Dover-Calais route have been marked by the
possession of exceptional features. It was in 1875 that the Bessemer
was designed with the object of making the dreaded passage across
the Straits of Dover less disagreeable and free from the infliction of
sea-sickness. To this end she was given a unique apparatus which
was to swing with the motion of the vessel, and in such a manner
that the passengers would always be kept on a level, however much
the ship might roll. She was built double-ended, so that she would
not have to be turned round when she reached the French port. But
emphatically she resulted in a complete failure, for not only was this
ingenious deck found to be unworkable, and had to be fixed, but the
Bessemer collided with Calais Pier, and succeeded in knocking away
about fifty yards thereof.

THE “ATALANTA” (1841).


From a Painting. By permission of the London and South Western Railway
Co.
THE “LYONS” (1856).
From the Model in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

THE “EMPRESS” LEAVING DOVER HARBOUR.


From a Photograph. By permission of the South Eastern and Chatham
Railway Co.

Another ingenious vessel on this service was the Castalia. She


was a twin-ship composed of a couple of hulls. Those who crossed
in her about the year 1876 found her very comfortable, and she was
so steady that comparatively few of her passengers were sea-sick,
but her drawback was that she was not fast. The genesis of this
double-hulled ship was in order to obtain greater steadiness, and the
experiment was first tried by fastening two Woolwich steamers
together, having first removed the inside paddle-wheels. Following
up this, the same principle was exemplified in a ship called the
Express, which had been constructed for a firm that became
financially embarrassed, and she was accordingly taken over instead
by the owners of the Castalia, and became the famous Calais-
Douvres, which most of my readers will well remember. She was
certainly a fast ship, but her life was not devoid of adventures. In
May, 1878, she collided with Dover Pier through her steering-gear
going wrong, her main engines having previously broken down. She
was subsequently repaired and did well until 1887, when, worn out
by active service, she was withdrawn, having proved an expensive
boat to run, and obtained an unenviable reputation for a large coal
consumption. The Castalia was withdrawn in 1878, and became a
floating small-pox hospital on the Thames, where she remained for
about twenty years, and was finally towed therefrom to Dordrecht by
one of that fleet of Dutch tugs which we shall mention in a later
chapter as being famous for the towage of big docks. In the course
of time new and improved Channel steamers continued to be put on
this Dover-Calais route, and in 1899 an amalgamation of interests
owned by the South Eastern and the London, Chatham and Dover
Railways took place, so that now the two fleets are under one
management. Within recent years they have shown a very
enterprising spirit by leading the way in placing turbine steamers on
their route, and the illustration on the opposite page shows their
turbine steamer Empress clearing out of Dover Harbour. In general
character we may take the appearance of this vessel as typical of
the more modern cross-channel steamers which now ply also on
other routes owned by the various railway companies. The fine
service of steamboats, for instance, possessed by the Great
Western, Great Eastern, the Midland, the London and North
Western, the Great Central, and the London and South Western
consists rather of miniature liners of a very up-to-date type. Not
merely wireless telegraphy and turbines have been introduced into
the cross-channel steamers, but every conceivable regard for the
comfort of the passengers has been taken commensurate with the
size of the ships, and the special work which they are called upon to
perform.
We have addressed ourselves especially to the services
between Dover and Calais and between Holyhead and Dublin, for,
owing to their geographical character, these two are naturally the
most important and the most historic. The custom of railways being
owners of steamships has continued, the chief exception being the
Great Northern Railway. The Newhaven to Dieppe route is of
comparatively modern origin, and it was not until 1847 that the
London to Newhaven line was completed. During the following year
there were three steamers running to Dieppe from this port, but at
first the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was thwarted
owing to legal difficulties, and properly their service dates from 1856,
for at one time they were compelled to run a service under different
ownership from their own. The model shown opposite page 226
shows the packet steamer Lyons, which was built in 1856 for the
Newhaven-Dieppe service. She was a paddle-boat of 315 tons
displacement.
Between England and the Channel Isles connection in the pre-
steamship days was kept up by sailing cutters. After that the
Admiralty conveyed the mails from Weymouth to Jersey and
Guernsey by ships of the Royal Navy, and one of these—the Dasher
—was until recent years employed in watching the oyster fisheries
off Jersey. But in 1835 a steam packet service was started from
Southampton to Havre, twice a week, and between the Hampshire
port and the Channel Islands, which was owned by the South of
England Steam Navigation Company, while a rival came forward in
the British and Foreign Steam Navigation Company, which ran to the
Channel Isles. One of the earliest steamers belonging to the former
company was the Atalanta, of which we give an illustration opposite
page 226. She was afterwards lengthened, and as thus altered she
appears in our illustration. Her days were ended as a coal hulk in
Jersey.
From 1838 to 1845 the mail service between England and the
Channel Isles was carried on from Weymouth, but in the latter year
this service was transferred to the South Western Steam Packet
Company, and remained exclusively with the Southampton steamers
until 1899, when the joint running of the Channel Islands service by

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