Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by David Pluviose
Apr 30, 2008, 22:28
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Last week, the American Association for Affirmative Action held its 34th annual conference in the Washington, D.C., area in a bid to influence Capitol Hill policymakers during a pivotal election year. Diversity officers from governments, colleges and corporations heard from a number of prominent civil rights leaders including Urban League President Marc Morial, who said pressure to emphasize the importance of diversity must be brought to bear on whomever is elected president.
“Thinking very long and hard about what we want to see in the candidates — the one thing that is basic is that there must be a strong commitment to the enforcement of this nation’s civil rights laws,” Morial said.
He added that under the current administration, civil rights units of federal agencies have been stripped of their money and power, and “in some cases signals have been sent that these laws are not to be actively enforced.” Morial noted, “Populating the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division with people who are opposed to civil rights is an act of complete dishonor and disrespect. And I believe, fundamentally, that one of the most important commitments the next president can make, the next Congress can make — just enforce the rule of law.”
Also, Viola O. Baskerville, the secretary of administration for the state of Virginia and the second Black Cabinet official in Virginia’s history, emphasized the trailblazing diversity role of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), a former civil rights attorney.
“His philosophy of inclusiveness and integration has carried over to this philosophy that the face of government should reflect those that it is responsible for. His Cabinet and senior leadership are the most diverse in Virginia’s history,” she said. “Women decide procurement and finance issues throughout the state; women decide appointments and health and policy issues of the state.”
In the most notable conference session focusing on higher education diversity initiatives, University of Michigan Associate Vice Provost John Matlock and UM Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives researcher Katrina Wade-Golden talked about the University of Michigan’s efforts to cope with the successful Ward Connery-backed campaign to ban affirmative action. Matlock and Wade-Golden highlighted results of a diversity survey of UM students who were undergraduates from 1990-1994.
A recent survey was sent to these students 10 years later to gauge the concrete benefits of having been part of a diverse group of UM undergraduates in the early ’90s. What UM researchers found were examples of concrete benefits like a doctor saying he would not have been able to relate as well with a diverse group of patients if the UM student body was as homogenously White in the ’90s as the neighborhood he grew up in.
Also, Matlock railed against affirmative action opponents who say awarding diversity points to male applicants to UM’s nursing program, for instance, will in effect cause a Black applicant to take the spot of a White applicant.
“At Michigan this year, we have 29,000 applications for 5,500 slots. Somebody’s not getting in,” Matlock said. He added that if UM didn’t accept any minority applicants, a White applicant’s chances “of getting in goes up about 1 percent. So it’s a fallacy to say ‘someone took my place.’ When you say somebody took my place, it’s one of the most arrogant statements that I’ve ever heard — you’re basically assuming that you were next in line, and anybody else is without merit.”
Also, Christine M. Griffin, commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, spoke eloquently and forcefully about the need to expand access to job opportunities for disabled Americans.
“There’s no reason for any employer, public or private, to shy away from having an affirmative action plan targeting workers with disabilities,” Griffin said. She added that in her experience having been disabled for 27 years, the workplace is where barriers to access for disabled Americans truly fall as they enter mainstream society.
For more information on the American Association for Affirmation Action, visit the organization of the Web at http://www.affirmativeaction.org/.
http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_11085.shtml
Showing posts with label Commissioner Griffin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commissioner Griffin. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
EEOC Commissioner Says Disabled Persons‘Forgotten’ Under Affirmative Action Plans
Bureau of National Affairs
Daily Labor Report
April 28, 2008
Page A-7
EEOC Commissioner Says Disabled Persons
‘Forgotten’ Under Affirmative Action Plans
In light of the 35th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC Commissioner Christine M. Griffin said April 23 the federal government and private employers still need to improve their efforts to recruit individuals with disabilities. ‘‘Despite that amount of time, individuals with disabilities continue to live on the outside looking in,’’ Griffin told attendees at the annual conference of the
American Association of Affirmative Action. ‘‘I think that it’s fair to say that the disabled, as a whole, are a community that affirmative action has forgotten.’’ Both statutes, Griffin said, were intended to create a level playing field and to stop employers from making decisions based on disability. ‘‘That, quite frankly, has not happened,’’ she said. ‘‘You have to be employed to be really free in this country. People with disabilities are not free in this nation.’’
For instance, individuals who can manage their disabilities through medication—such as those with diabetes, cancer, or mental illness—may be denied Rehabilitation Act and ADA protection against discrimination because they are considered ‘‘too functional’’ to have a covered disability, she said. Additionally, Griffin said courts are more likely than not to throw out disability discrimination actions and, as a result, ‘‘there are no plaintiff’s attorneys taking these cases.’’
Griffin also addressed what she called a ‘‘misconception’’ about the legality of including persons with disabilities in employers’ affirmative action initiatives. ‘‘Anyone who believes that affirmative action for people with disabilities is illegal is misinformed,’’ Griffin said. ‘‘There is no reason for any employer to shy away from having an affirmative action plan for people
with disabilities.’’
BLS to Collect Data on the Disabled.
Although Griffin acknowledged the lack of consensus on the number of people with disabilities in the United States—one estimate is approximately 54 million—she noted that ‘‘more are joining their ranks everyday.’’ Of this population, she said approximately 30 million people are of
working age, half of whom suffer from severe disabilities such as blindness, deafness, or paralysis. The unemployment rate for individuals with severe disabilities is the ‘‘highest in the country,’’ Griffin said. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to begin officially collecting unemployment statistics for persons with disabilities ‘‘later this year.’’
Griffin said the federal government needs to improve its efforts to hire persons with disabilities. The disabled, she said, represent only 0.94 percent of the federal workforce. ‘‘This represents a decline in the last 14 years—a time when the government expanded by about 5 percent." ‘‘I think it’s very important that the federal government be the model employer that it was supposed to be,’’ Griffin said, noting that EEOC launched the Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities initiative in 2006 to improve the hiring of individuals with disabilities in the federal government. ‘‘I do be-
lieve state governments should be looking at this as
well.’’
Improvement is also needed in the private sector, Griffin said. She suggested that employers consider implementing affirmative action plans for persons with disabilities.
With baby boomers entering retirement, Griffin said employers could face a shortfall of about 10 million employees in the future. ‘‘Where are you going to turn?’’ she asked.
Goals, Mandatory Reporting Suggested.
Additionally, she said employers should consider setting a goal to have disabled individuals comprise 2 percent of their workforce by 2010. ‘‘It’s not enough to say that no one ever applies,’’ Griffin said. ‘‘Find ways to reach out.’’ Griffin said she personally would like to see more
emphasis on requiring employers to report the number of people with disabilities in their workforces. ‘‘This is my opinion and not the opinion of the agency—I think
we should be collecting this information about disability status on the EEO-1 surveys,’’ she said.
Daily Labor Report
April 28, 2008
Page A-7
EEOC Commissioner Says Disabled Persons
‘Forgotten’ Under Affirmative Action Plans
In light of the 35th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC Commissioner Christine M. Griffin said April 23 the federal government and private employers still need to improve their efforts to recruit individuals with disabilities. ‘‘Despite that amount of time, individuals with disabilities continue to live on the outside looking in,’’ Griffin told attendees at the annual conference of the
American Association of Affirmative Action. ‘‘I think that it’s fair to say that the disabled, as a whole, are a community that affirmative action has forgotten.’’ Both statutes, Griffin said, were intended to create a level playing field and to stop employers from making decisions based on disability. ‘‘That, quite frankly, has not happened,’’ she said. ‘‘You have to be employed to be really free in this country. People with disabilities are not free in this nation.’’
For instance, individuals who can manage their disabilities through medication—such as those with diabetes, cancer, or mental illness—may be denied Rehabilitation Act and ADA protection against discrimination because they are considered ‘‘too functional’’ to have a covered disability, she said. Additionally, Griffin said courts are more likely than not to throw out disability discrimination actions and, as a result, ‘‘there are no plaintiff’s attorneys taking these cases.’’
Griffin also addressed what she called a ‘‘misconception’’ about the legality of including persons with disabilities in employers’ affirmative action initiatives. ‘‘Anyone who believes that affirmative action for people with disabilities is illegal is misinformed,’’ Griffin said. ‘‘There is no reason for any employer to shy away from having an affirmative action plan for people
with disabilities.’’
BLS to Collect Data on the Disabled.
Although Griffin acknowledged the lack of consensus on the number of people with disabilities in the United States—one estimate is approximately 54 million—she noted that ‘‘more are joining their ranks everyday.’’ Of this population, she said approximately 30 million people are of
working age, half of whom suffer from severe disabilities such as blindness, deafness, or paralysis. The unemployment rate for individuals with severe disabilities is the ‘‘highest in the country,’’ Griffin said. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to begin officially collecting unemployment statistics for persons with disabilities ‘‘later this year.’’
Griffin said the federal government needs to improve its efforts to hire persons with disabilities. The disabled, she said, represent only 0.94 percent of the federal workforce. ‘‘This represents a decline in the last 14 years—a time when the government expanded by about 5 percent." ‘‘I think it’s very important that the federal government be the model employer that it was supposed to be,’’ Griffin said, noting that EEOC launched the Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities initiative in 2006 to improve the hiring of individuals with disabilities in the federal government. ‘‘I do be-
lieve state governments should be looking at this as
well.’’
Improvement is also needed in the private sector, Griffin said. She suggested that employers consider implementing affirmative action plans for persons with disabilities.
With baby boomers entering retirement, Griffin said employers could face a shortfall of about 10 million employees in the future. ‘‘Where are you going to turn?’’ she asked.
Goals, Mandatory Reporting Suggested.
Additionally, she said employers should consider setting a goal to have disabled individuals comprise 2 percent of their workforce by 2010. ‘‘It’s not enough to say that no one ever applies,’’ Griffin said. ‘‘Find ways to reach out.’’ Griffin said she personally would like to see more
emphasis on requiring employers to report the number of people with disabilities in their workforces. ‘‘This is my opinion and not the opinion of the agency—I think
we should be collecting this information about disability status on the EEO-1 surveys,’’ she said.
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