New Study Finds Sexual Assault Awareness Programs Are Effective in Reducing Incidents on Campus

In the wide-ranging campaign to reduce and eliminate sexual assaults on college campuses, many educational institutions have created training and awareness programs that students are required to take during orientation programs. The question is: Are these programs effective in reducing sexual assaults

Read more here http://www.wiareport.com/2014/09/new-study-finds-sexual-assault-awareness-programs-are-effective-in-reducing-incidents-on-campus/?utm_source=Women+In+Academia+Report&utm_campaign=0d8b776244-Women_in_Academia_Report_6_14_116_13_2011&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_83e3ee48f9-0d8b776244-225669673

The persistent gender gap in income and earnings

The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual reporton income and poverty in the United States. According to data in the report, the median income for women who worked full-time, all year-round in 2013 was $39,157. For men who worked full-time, all year-round the median income was $50,033. Thus, women earned 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.

The gender gap in income is wider for families. In 2013, the median income for married-couple families in the United States was $76,509. For single-parent families where a man was the head of the household, the median income was $50,625. For single-parent families where a woman was the head of the household, the median income was $35,154.

Read more here http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.pdf

OF RECORD: Sexual Harassment Policy PDF Print Issue

The University of Pennsylvania is committed to maintaining a diverse, respectful and safe campus environment for all members of our community. The Principles of Responsible Conduct outline the expectations articulated in a variety of University policies, including those related to preventing and responding to sexual harassment, sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking.  The Principles of Responsible Conduct may be found at www.upenn.edu/audit/oacp_principles.htm or by contacting the Office of Audit, Compliance and Privacy. In addition to reminding us of our rights and responsibilities, our policies describe the resources available for information, support, and addressing concerns and complaints. The Offices of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, Staff and Labor Relations in the Division of Human Resources and the Vice Provost for Faculty are among those available to respond to questions or provide additional information. 

Sexual Harassment Policy 

I. Conduct

      Our community depends on trust and civility. A willingness to recognize the dignity and worth of each person at the University is essential to our mission.

      It is the responsibility of each person on campus to respect the personal dignity of others. We expect members of our University community to demonstrate a basic generosity of spirit that precludes expressions of bigotry.

      Penn properly celebrates the diversity of its community. We come to Penn from many different backgrounds and include different races, religions, sexual orientations and ethnic ancestries. Learning to understand the differences among us, as well as the similarities, is an important dimension of education, one that continues for a lifetime. Tolerance alone, however, is not enough. Respect and understanding also are needed. We should delight in our differences, and should seek to appreciate the richness and personal growth which our diversity provides to us as members of this community.

      The University is committed to freedom of thought, discourse and speech and the attainment of the highest quality of academic and educational pursuits and daily work. Policies and regulations implementing this commitment include the Statement on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, the Guidelines on Open Expression and the Code of Academic Integrity.

      The University also has established policies on behaviors that interfere with these freedoms. Foremost among these policies is the University’s Statement on Non-Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, national or ethnic origin, handicap or disability.

      The University also has adopted the following policy concerning sexual harassment. The terms “harassment” and “sexual harassment” as used throughout are defined as a matter of University policy and are not necessarily identical or limited to the uses of that term in external sources, including governmental guidelines or regulations. 

- See more at: http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v61/n07/sexual-harassment-policy.html#sthash.cDLZRaBf.dpuf

“Ferguson: Why We Still Need Affirmative Action"

Ferguson: Why We Still Need Affirmative Action





By Ahmed Younies
President and CEO
HR Unlimited, Inc.





A. Civil rights unrest flashback:

For many, the uproar over the Ferguson police response to protests in the days following Michael Brown's killing brought about flashbacks of the struggle for racial justice, which resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Prior to the Civil Rights Act decades of racial segregation mandated by the Jim Crow laws took place at the state and local level and in all public facilities. The separation eventually led to substandard conditions for African Americans.  Discrimination was a natural byproduct of the segregation laws and was evident in housing, bank lending practices, employment, and union practices. African Americans were also denied the right to vote.

The inception of the Civil rights Act paid off for the nonviolent movement led by the Reverend Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. The nonviolent protestssucceeded in major accomplishments, including: the judicial victory in Brown v. Board of Education, which abolished the legal doctrine of "separate but equal" and made segregation impermissible; the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination in employment practices and public accommodations; the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other equally important achievements.

In theory, the Civil Rights Act was a significant evolution in our society.  However, the effect of years of oppression and disenfranchisement of African Americans could not possibly dissipate immediately upon the enactment of the 1964 CRA.  It will take time to heal and to fulfill the promise of this nation -life, liberty and the equality of opportunity for all.

The images of battle-ready law enforcement personnel confronting peaceful demonstrations in Ferguson were strangely reminiscent of those callous and racist tactics used against protestors during the Civil Rights movement in the 50’s and 60’s.  It is a reminder that despite the tremendous progress this nation has made in many areas of race relations, counting the election of the first African-American President, we are not quite there yet.Racial segregation in our society persists to this day, and so does the need to address it.  

Since the start of the Civil Rights Act, we have witnessed riots that have typically been provoked by police brutality against a minorities (mainly Africans Americans) where they feel they are marginalized.  

In Ferguson, the police force is nearly all white, as are the elected officials controlling the city government; the population is almost two-thirds African Americans; and these disparities have created a great deal of tension between the police and the African-American community.

That's not a natural institutional arrangement. Political bodies tend to at least roughly resemble the electorate. It's uncommon for majorities to be under-represented as they clearly are in Ferguson.

The Demographic shift, coupled with a long institutional lag, is also responsible for thedisconnect between the police and the community they serve. Sometimes, that disconnect becomes violent. Young African American men often have good reason to fear the police.  They feel subjugatedand are routinely targeted by law enforcement even within their own communities.

Conversely, so few of police officers have ever been young African American men, exacerbating the extremely high racial tensions.

B. Challenges:

Municipalities tend to reflect their electorates, but with a lag. The city of Ferguson experienced significant population shifts to mostly African Americans. It is almost impossible to replace current white police officers with African Americans, who aremore demographically fitting. Why is that? Here are just a few reasons:

− You can’t simply fire current employees to replace with others to fulfill a racial gap in the workforce.  

− Such replacement would open lawsuits for racial discrimination. 

− Police officers are protected by a union, as Ferguson's police officers seemingly are

 

C. Band aid solutions to defuse the unrest:

The temporary intervention by installing Capt. Ron Johnson (African American) of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to coordinate law enforcement agencies in Ferguson could help the community stakeholders tackle the racial mismatch between thecity officials, including law enforcement, and the majority of population, namely African Americans.

More importantly, the Missouri Highway Patrol administers an Affirmative Action Plan, to monitor and remedy discrimination in employment.  Conversely, the city of Ferguson does not seem to have affirmative action planning in place.  Evidently, the Missouri Highway Patrol has a better representation of African Americans in its patrol officers.  

D. A Proposed Long term Action plan:

Reform strategies to consider for future justice and stability:

− The City’s elected officials must ensure social justice and remove barriers to the process.

− Participation in the political process: the population must be motivated to exercise their political power through their voting rights so that those in power truly represent and reflect the communities they were elected to serve.  The lack of political participation by the African American community likely resulted in an unopposed white male candidate becoming the city’scurrent Mayor and the majority of city elected officials. Similarly, the absence of civil justice (affirmative action and diversity) appears to be due to a failure by controlling white representatives to connect with and consider the needs and interests of the City’s African American majority. 

− Consider using Integrative interventions such as: 

▪ Initiate Community mentorship programs to Explore Career Options 

▪ Provide volunteer opportunities (Police Explorers program, which helps instill confidence in preparing today’s youth toward a successful tomorrow.) to City residents. 

▪ Set up Community policing to promote Collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency and the individuals and organizations they serve to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police.  Community policing also proactively addresses the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.

− Transforming hiring practices to improve race relations:  The city should consider a robust outreach program to increase African American applicants (pipeline) to the county’s police academy.  As employment opportunities become available, the applicants’ pool should bolster minority hiring in a police department that is currently a .06% African American officers.

− Consider Affirmative Action Planning: Police departments throughout many states used affirmative action planning to determine any problem areas with respect to minority representation among their workforce.  Subsequently, those departments have increased their complement of officers from racial minority groups. A study of the fifty largest cities in the United States had shown that from 1983 to 1992, police departments, using AAP, “made progress in the employment of African‐American and Hispanic officers.” Currently, minority police officers make up about 20 percent of the officers in local police departments, and African‐Americans head one‐fourth of the nation's 50 largest police departments. 

 

E. Conclusion: Affirmative action planning, the untold effect:

Affirmative action is a civil rights policy premised onremedying past discrimination and removing discrimination from the process of recruiting and hiring. While affirmative action justifies a race‐ and gender‐conscious inclusive approach to hiring in criminal justice. Affirmative Action is not about quotas and does not seek to exclude any candidate based on race or gender. It does seek to ensure that the applicant pool and workforce accurately represent the demographics within the locations in question

1. Affirmative action proves a commitment to the principle of equality.

2. Affirmative action improves police‐community relations, as explained earlier.

3. Affirmative action eradicates past societal discrimination without threatening the job security and careers of all other people unaffected by past discrimination. AAP should be inclusive without regard to race or gender.

4. Affirmative action policies must conform to the requirements set down in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), as the Supreme Court held that quotas were unconstitutional but that race could continue to be used as a factor in admissions.  In other words, race can be used to reach equilibrium proportionate to the demographics in the labor market.

Ahmed Younies is Region IX Director and Member of the AAAED Board of Directors

California Governor Signs Bill on 'Affirmative' Consent

California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, on Sunday signed legislation that will require colleges in the state to use an "affirmative consent" standard in evaluating allegations of sexual assault, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Read more here https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/09/29/california-governor-signs-bill-affirmative-consent

Poll gives thumbs up to affirmative action

RIVERSIDE- (INT) - In a state where no racial or ethnic group is in the majority, California voters in all racial groups support affirmative action. That’s according to a report released Thursday by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS).  

Read more here http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=34998

Is EEOC bound by statutory limitations period when making pattern-or-practice claims?

The EEOC continues to aggressively pursue litigation, and when the EEOC files suit, retail employers can expect a costly and protracted legal battle. The agency may not even be limited by the 180-day or 300-day charge-filing period, according to a recent decision from a federal court in Minnesota. 

The EEOC filed a pattern-or-practice lawsuit against PMT Corporation, alleging that the company maintained a hiring system that discriminated against female and older applicants for sales positions. Specifically, the EEOC claimed that of the 70 sales representatives PMT hired between January 1, 2007, and October 27, 2010, none were female or over the age of 40.

For more read here http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=55ccc14b-3a98-4806-9bbc-5a25bb29e5e1&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+Federal+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2014-09-19&utm_term=

OFCCP announces another proposed rule: no more pay secrecy

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced that it will publish its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on "pay transparency" in tomorrow's Federal Register and provided a link to the pre-publication version on its website. This NPRM is in response to Executive Order 13665, which President Obama signed on April 8, amending Executive Order 11246 and prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against applicants and employees for discussing their compensation.

For more read here http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=aa13f9fd-cf19-449f-b25a-6571caa46ca5&utm_source=lexology+daily+newsfeed&utm_medium=html+email+-+body+-+federal+section&utm_campaign=lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=lexology+daily+newsfeed+2014-09-19&utm_term=

Obama sets new plan against college assaults

 The Obama administration is launching a big new offensive: Combating sexual assault on college campuses.

On Friday, the White House launches "It's On Us" -- a campaign aimed at tackling the problem plaguing universities across the country.

Read more here http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/19/politics/obama-combating-campus-sexual-assault/index.html#

University and state to employ higher proportion of people with disabilities

As a new state directive aims to increase the proportion of state employees with disabilities, the University of Minnesota is hoping to do the same.

Gov. Mark Dayton’s executive order issued last month would affect the future of Minnesota’s approximately 40,000 employees by requiring state agencies to design more inclusive recruitment and hiring tools, invest in additional human resources personnel and submit progress reports.

Read more here http://www.mndaily.com/news/metro-state/2014/09/15/university-and-state-employ-higher-proportion-people-disabilities

Parents urged to talk to children about race

An Iowa law professor ended a presentation to Drake University students and faculty with a challenge: Talk to children about racial issues before other influencers get hold of them.

Read more here http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2014/09/16/talk-children-race-university-iowa-professor-urges/15703841/

Affirmative Action Revisited

In the aftermath of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, many colleges and universities were under external pressure to admit African-Americans for the first time, or increase their numbers. Many African-Americans of my generation were the beneficiaries of race-conscious decisions, and our numbers, unarguably, contributed to the emergence of a Black professional class in the succeeding decades.

Read more here http://diverseeducation.com/article/66877/

Study reveals Millennials oppose affirmative action

Millennials may frequently take more liberal stances on issues than their parents, but when it comes to affirmative action, this may not always be the case.

A survey conducted by MTV asked 3,000 Millennials ages 14 to 24 their thoughts on race-related issues, including affirmative action for college acceptance, in May. And what it found was seemingly paradoxical: 90 percent of Millennials surveyed “believe that everyone should be treated the same regardless of race,” yet 88 percent opposed affirmative action.

Thomas Greneker, a senior University of Georgia biology major from Valdosta, said it’s a “tricky debate” because diversity is so important. However, he said he does not think affirmative action is the fairest route to take when creating a diverse community.

“It’s not an equal approach in a push for equality,” Greneker said.

Read more here http://m.redandblack.com/uganews/study-reveals-millennials-oppose-affirmative-action/article_954d2dda-3d06-11e4-a73f-0017a43b2370.html

Lagarde favours affirmative action to boost 'womenomics'

THE best way to ensure that women secure key posts in government and in the private sector is through the introduction of formal "quota" systems, Christine Lagarde - the first woman to become managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - declared in Tokyo over the weekend during the World Assembly of Women.

A keynote speaker at the international event, Ms Lagarde said this in answer to a question from a Singapore delegate: that while she had initially been opposed to affirmative action for securing key positions for women in the public and private sectors, she had now changed her mind. Otherwise, "we could wait forever for change".

Read more here http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/top-stories/lagarde-favours-affirmative-action-boost-womenomics-20140915

How George W. Bush Benefited From Affirmative Action

The current public debate and wave of articles about how colleges can do a better job of providing access to students from low-income families -- including my own article,"Making Top Colleges Less Aristocratic and More Meritocratic"(with Richard Kahlenberg) in Friday's New York Times -- reminds me that for over a century, most colleges have had an affirmative action policy for rich, well-connected white kids. It is called "legacy" admissions.

Read more here http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5814680

A Showdown on the Pay Gap

Closing the persistent wage gap between men and women is important, not only as a matter of fairness but as a matter of rudimentary family economics: Women are the primary or co-breadwinner in more than 60 percent of American families. That makes it all the more urgent to address the conspicuous discrepancy that sees a woman working full-time making 77 cents on average against $1 for a man working full-time.

Read more here http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/opinion/a-showdown-on-the-pay-gap.html?_r=0&referrer=

Ohio state and title XI

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has concluded a four-year investigation into Ohio State University, reaching an agreement with the university to ensure its compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Read more here https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/12/education-department-reaches-agreement-ohio-state-u-title-ix

Victims of sexual assault on campuses re at high risks for future assaults

A new study by the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System finds that college women who have been victims of sexual assault are three times as likely as women on college campuses generally to be victims of sexual assault again.

Read more here http://www.wiareport.com/2014/09/victims-of-sexual-assault-on-college-campuses-are-at-high-risk-for-future-assaults/?utm_source=Women+In+Academia+Report&utm_campaign=da3da511b4-Women_in_Academia_Report_6_14_116_13_2011&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_83e3ee48f9-da3da511b4-225669673

Mount Holyoke College will consider admission of any individual who self identifies as a woman

Mount Holyoke College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts, announced a new policy which will allow for the admission of any individual who self-identifies as a woman. The announcement was made by Mount Holyoke President Lynn Pasquerella at the college’s annual convocation.

Read more here http://www.wiareport.com/2014/09/mount-holyoke-college-will-consider-admission-of-any-individual-who-self-identifies-as-a-woman/?utm_source=Women+In+Academia+Report&utm_campaign=da3da511b4-Women_in_Academia_Report_6_14_116_13_2011&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_83e3ee48f9-da3da511b4-225669673

EEOC sues employer over “involuntary” wellness program

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) recently sued Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (“Orion”), a Wisconsin employer, for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (the “ADA”), in connection with Orion’s employee wellness program. Under this program, participants received a 100 percent subsidy on their health plan premiums while non-participants were required to pay the full cost. 

Read more here http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e746b2cf-a907-4ae9-a733-f3e1fe7e106b&utm_source=lexology+daily+newsfeed&utm_medium=html+email+-+body+-+federal+section&utm_campaign=lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=lexology+daily+newsfeed+2014-09-10&utm_term=

OFCCP announces sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity and transgender status

Executive Order 13672 went into effect on July 21, 2014 and amended Executive Order 11246 by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes.  Executive Order 13672, however, applies only to contracts entered on or after July 21, 2014.  The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has now issued Directive 2014-02, which interprets the prohibition against sex discrimination in Executive Order 11246 to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity and transgender status.  This means that contractors and subcontractors with contracts that predate July 21 can still be held liable for discrimination on the basis of gender identity and transgender status.

Read more here http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c814825a-97fe-488b-81c4-51d993da3f38&utm_source=lexology+daily+newsfeed&utm_medium=html+email+-+body+-+federal+section&utm_campaign=lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=lexology+daily+newsfeed+2014-09-10&utm_term=

How Gap Instituted Equal Pay For Men And Women

    In an uncommon display of transparency, Gap recently disclosed that it pays men and women equally for equal work.

      Exponential Talent, a consulting firm that specializes in workforce diversity, analyzed a dataset of pay information for Gap's 130,000 employees around the world and found that there is "no significant gender wage difference between women and men" who do the same jobs at Gap -- both globally and by region.

Read more here http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5768780

Judging employment equity

AFFIRMATIVE action is a sensitive subject in SA. With apartheid having been premised on the exclusion of people from work opportunities on the basis of race, among other reasons, the methods devised to mitigate this legacy were always going to present interesting contradictions.

Read more here http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/editorials/2014/09/05/editorial-judging-employment-equity

New Life to California Affirmative-Action Fight

     SACRAMENTO (CN) - Affirmative-action foe Ward Connerly can resurrect claims regarding those who redrew California's legislative districts, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.
     After Golden State voters approved changes in 2008 and 2010 to how voting districts are drawn, the state auditor set out to select candidates for the newly created California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Political affiliation drives selection of the first eight commissioners who then pick six more colleagues to reflect the state's diversity. There is no specific ratio or formula for the latter nominations.

Read more here http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/09/04/71065.htm 

Jell-O Shots: University-Approved?

Last month -- just in time for a new season of college football -- Kraft Foods released a new line of Jell-O molds in the shapes of various university logos. Four of the "jiggler mold kits" were unveiled last year, but products for 16 more teams have now been added, including the University of Alabama, Ohio State University, and the University of California at Los Angeles.

In a press release, Kraft said the kits are meant to be used in creating Jell-O treats for tailgate parties for alumni and fans. But some are concerned that the themed molds could be seen as university-endorsed invitations to create alcohol-laced "Jell-O shots" -- a mixed message for universities fighting to curb binge drinking among students.

Read more here https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/05/university-themed-jell-o-molds-send-mixed-message-critics-say 

Nigeria: UN Women Launch Report, Training Manual On Affirmative Action

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has launched a report and training manual for building the capacity of stakeholders on Affirmative Action in the country.
The manual titled: "Sociocultural Determinants of Voting Patterns in Nigeria - Reference to Women's Participation and Representation," was expected to serve as guide towards ensuring increased participation of women in the political process.

Read more here 

EEOC fires shot at Hobby Lobby ruling

Hot on the heels of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Hobby Lobby, new guidelines issued by the EEOC caution employers against dropping contraceptives from employee health insurance plans or risk facing liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for gender discrimination.
In June, in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) protects closely held corporations from being compelled by the Affordable Care Act to provide certain forms of contraceptive coverage to its employees, if such coverage violates the owners’ sincerely held religious beliefs.  The following day, the Supreme Court issued rulings that suggested that the right not to provide contraceptive services extends beyond the specific methods at issue in the Hobby Lobbydecision.  In the wake of these rulings, the question of whether employers will eliminate all contraceptive coverage from the insurance plans offered to their employees remains to be seen. 

Read more here

PRESIDENT APPOINTS JENNY R. YANG EEOC CHAIR

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that President Obama has named Vice Chair Jenny R. Yang as Chair of the EEOC.  Yang, whose term expires July 1, 2017, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2013.  She has served as Vice Chair since April 2014.  Yang will be the first Asian-American Chair of the EEOC.

Read more here http://www.eeoc.gov/