U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
10-20-10
Latino Housekeepers and a Non-Latino Manager Who Defended Them Forced Out by Operations Manager Who Complained That Mexicans Gave Him a Headache, Says EEOC
FRESNO – A vacation home rental management company in Yosemite National Park will pay $165,000 and furnish injunctive relief to settle a national origin discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s suit against Wawona Property Management, Inc., doing business as The Redwoods in Yosemite, seven Latino employees were targeted for harassment, discipline, heightened scrutiny, and eventual termination by an operations manager who favored non-Latino staff. The EEOC also obtained relief on behalf of the general manager, who was suspended and fired after reporting the discriminatory conduct to the board of directors.
According to the EEOC, the victims were longtime seasonal employees of Mexican and Salvadoran descent, who worked in the housekeeping and maintenance departments since as far back as 1997. In November 2006, the company hired a new operations manager who expressed a disdain for the Latino employees early on, allegedly stating that “Mexicans had given [him] a headache” and that he did not like people of color.
The operations manager verbally abused and formally disciplined Latino staff for alleged infractions such as taking coffee breaks and failing cleaning inspections. The EEOC contends that two Latino housekeepers were disciplined after calling in absences due to the sudden hospitalization of their son, while non-Latino employees who violated company policies were promoted. When the general manager raised the concerns of the Latino claimants to the company’s board of directors, the general manager was suspended and ultimately terminated. Thereafter, the operations manager forced the Latino claimants to quit due to his hostility towards them, the EEOC said.
The EEOC filed suit against Wawona in September 2009 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wawona Property Management, Inc. dba The Redwoods in Yosemite, Case No. 1:09-CV-016903 LJO-SKO), asserting that the national origin harassment, discrimination and retaliation were in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This settlement is a first for the EEOC in California’s national parks.
The parties entered into a three-year consent decree in which Wawona agreed to revise its policies and procedures with respect to discrimination, harassment, retaliation and employee evaluations. The company further agreed to contract an equal employment opportunity consultant; periodically provide live anti-discrimination training to all employees in both English and Spanish, with additional training for managerial staff on how to properly handle complaints of discrimination and harassment in a neutral manner; track and report potential violations of Title VII; and display a posting on the matter.
“No matter how remote a place may seem, the EEOC aims to serve all workers who may be victims of unlawful discrimination,” said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office. “Notwithstanding, the EEOC is pleased that Wawona is taking measures to rectify the situation and prevent future incidents of discrimination from occurring.”
Melissa Barrios, local director of the EEOC’s Fresno Local Office, said, “Workers should be able to come forward about discrimination they may be experiencing without fear that actions will be taken against them. Employers who engage in such illegal retaliation can and will be held accountable by the EEOC.”
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/10-20-10c.cfm
Showing posts with label Hispanics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hispanics. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2010
The rising tides of xenophobia
The Boston Globe
By James Carroll October 25, 2010
‘THE APPROACH [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side by side and to enjoy each other . . . has failed, utterly failed.’’ This statement at a political rally last week by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was greeted by a standing ovation from her listeners. She was speaking of how Germany’s immigrant population, mainly Turks, remains socially marginal. Using “we’’ to refer to the nation’s majority population, she continued, “We feel tied to Christian values. Those who don’t accept them don’t have a place here.’’
Hello? The 5 million Muslims living in Germany were on notice, but Merkel’s remarks reverberated across the continent — and the ocean. On both sides of the Atlantic, a rising tide of xenophobic hostility toward immigrants is threatening to swamp the foundation of liberal democracy. As if out of nowhere, American politics, too, shows this. Merkel’s overt affirmation of “Christian values’’ as a note of national identity, for example, has an echo in the sly deriding of the separation of church and state that came last week from Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell. Supposedly a gaffe, her “Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?’’ was actually code — a message to American Christian nationalists who understood her very well.
When Nevada candidate Sharron Angle told Hispanic students in Las Vegas, “I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me,’’ she was subtly upholding a white template of American identity. You “others’’ all look the same to “us.’’ Code again, not a gaffe. Angle and O’Donnell can seem like fringe characters, but broad public discourse (Juan Williams, writer of the civil rights classic “Eyes on the Prize,’’ flaunting his fear of Muslims) suggests that race and religion are back as notes of qualification for full citizenship.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/10/25/the_rising_tides_of_xenophobia/
By James Carroll October 25, 2010
‘THE APPROACH [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side by side and to enjoy each other . . . has failed, utterly failed.’’ This statement at a political rally last week by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was greeted by a standing ovation from her listeners. She was speaking of how Germany’s immigrant population, mainly Turks, remains socially marginal. Using “we’’ to refer to the nation’s majority population, she continued, “We feel tied to Christian values. Those who don’t accept them don’t have a place here.’’
Hello? The 5 million Muslims living in Germany were on notice, but Merkel’s remarks reverberated across the continent — and the ocean. On both sides of the Atlantic, a rising tide of xenophobic hostility toward immigrants is threatening to swamp the foundation of liberal democracy. As if out of nowhere, American politics, too, shows this. Merkel’s overt affirmation of “Christian values’’ as a note of national identity, for example, has an echo in the sly deriding of the separation of church and state that came last week from Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell. Supposedly a gaffe, her “Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?’’ was actually code — a message to American Christian nationalists who understood her very well.
When Nevada candidate Sharron Angle told Hispanic students in Las Vegas, “I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me,’’ she was subtly upholding a white template of American identity. You “others’’ all look the same to “us.’’ Code again, not a gaffe. Angle and O’Donnell can seem like fringe characters, but broad public discourse (Juan Williams, writer of the civil rights classic “Eyes on the Prize,’’ flaunting his fear of Muslims) suggests that race and religion are back as notes of qualification for full citizenship.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/10/25/the_rising_tides_of_xenophobia/
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Minorities and the Recession-Era College Enrollment Boom
Pew Research Center Publications
by Richard Fry, Pew Research Center
June 16, 2010
Executive Summary
The recession-era boom in the size of freshman classes at four-year colleges, community colleges and trade schools has been driven largely by a sharp increase in minority student enrollment, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of new data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Freshman enrollment at the nation's 6,100 post-secondary institutions surged by 144,000 students from the fall of 2007 to the fall of 2008. This 6% increase was the largest in 40 years1, and almost three-quarters of it came from minority freshman enrollment growth.
From 2007 to 2008 (the first year of the recession), the freshman enrollment of Hispanics at post-secondary institutions grew by 15%, of blacks by 8%, of Asians by 6% and of whites by 3%.
Some of this minority enrollment surge is a simple byproduct of demographic change. In a nation whose population of youths is far more diverse than its population of adults, each new year brings a slightly larger share of minority teenagers into the pool of potential college freshmen. In addition, the first year of the recession was a time when young Hispanics, in particular, were completing high school at record rates. According to Census Bureau surveys, the Hispanic high school completion rate reached an all-time high in October 2008 at 70%.2 This was up 2.5 percentage points over October 2007 -- a larger increase than for any other racial or ethnic group.
Minority college students tend to be clustered more at community colleges and trade schools than at four-year colleges. Even so, the minority freshman enrollment spike from 2007 to 2008 occurred at all basic levels of post-secondary education.
Continue reading the full report at pewsocialtrends.org.
Full Executive Summary: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1629/recession-era-increase-post-secondary-minority-enrollment
by Richard Fry, Pew Research Center
June 16, 2010
Executive Summary
The recession-era boom in the size of freshman classes at four-year colleges, community colleges and trade schools has been driven largely by a sharp increase in minority student enrollment, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of new data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Freshman enrollment at the nation's 6,100 post-secondary institutions surged by 144,000 students from the fall of 2007 to the fall of 2008. This 6% increase was the largest in 40 years1, and almost three-quarters of it came from minority freshman enrollment growth.
From 2007 to 2008 (the first year of the recession), the freshman enrollment of Hispanics at post-secondary institutions grew by 15%, of blacks by 8%, of Asians by 6% and of whites by 3%.
Some of this minority enrollment surge is a simple byproduct of demographic change. In a nation whose population of youths is far more diverse than its population of adults, each new year brings a slightly larger share of minority teenagers into the pool of potential college freshmen. In addition, the first year of the recession was a time when young Hispanics, in particular, were completing high school at record rates. According to Census Bureau surveys, the Hispanic high school completion rate reached an all-time high in October 2008 at 70%.2 This was up 2.5 percentage points over October 2007 -- a larger increase than for any other racial or ethnic group.
Minority college students tend to be clustered more at community colleges and trade schools than at four-year colleges. Even so, the minority freshman enrollment spike from 2007 to 2008 occurred at all basic levels of post-secondary education.
Continue reading the full report at pewsocialtrends.org.
Full Executive Summary: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1629/recession-era-increase-post-secondary-minority-enrollment
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
College Gender Gap Appears to be Stabilizing with One Notable Exception, American Council on Education Analysis Finds
American Council on Education
News Release
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, 12:01 a.m. EST
Contact: Kellee Edmonds
kellee_edmonds@ace.nche.edu (202) 939-9368
Washington, DC (Jan. 26, 2010)—It appears the gender gap in higher education has reached a plateau for most groups except Hispanics, where the gap between men and women is on the rise, according to a new analysis by the American Council on Education (ACE).
Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010 is a follow-up to ACE’s original 2000 study and 2006 update. For the first time, several indicators suggest that the size of the gender gap in higher education may have stabilized. The distribution of enrollment and undergraduate degrees by gender has remained consistent since about 2000, with men representing 43 percent of enrollment and earning 43 percent of bachelor’s degrees.
The only group in which the size of the female majority does not yet appear to have stabilized is Hispanics: The percentage of Hispanic undergraduates aged 24 or younger who are male has declined from 45 percent in 1999–2000 to 42 percent in 2007–08. Hispanic young men also have the lowest bachelor’s degree attainment level of any group studied, at only 10 percent. Hispanic women appear to have pulled away from their male peers since the late 1980s, increasing their bachelor's degree attainment rate while the male rate has remained flat.
The study’s author cites immigration as a key factor in the low educational performance among Hispanics, with significant differences in educational attainment rates between Hispanics born outside the United States compared with their U.S.-born peers. For example, only 51 percent of Hispanic young adults born outside the United States have completed high school, compared with 81 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics. Male immigrants, who represent one out of every three Hispanic young adults, are at a particular disadvantage. Less than half of these young men have completed high school, and only 6 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree. In contrast, Hispanic women born in the U.S. now attain a bachelor’s degree at the same rate as African-American women (18 percent).
“Raising the attainment rate of Hispanic men—and women—looms as one of the most significant challenges facing American education,” said Jacqueline E. King, assistant vice president of ACE’s Center for Policy Analysis and author of the study. “In order for the attainment rate of Hispanic young men to rise, degree production will have to outpace population growth or immigration will have to slow.”
Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010 analyzes data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education.
Other Enrollment Findings:
Men aged 25 or older represent just 14 percent of all undergraduates and are outnumbered two to one by women in the same age group.
African Americans still have the largest gender gap in enrollment; 63 percent of all African American undergraduates are women.
Among African Americans and American Indians, female undergraduates aged 25 or older outnumber women aged 24 or younger.
Among traditional-age students who are financially dependent on their parents, multiple years of data consistently show that for each racial/ethnic group, the gender gap in enrollment disappears as family income rises.
Women’s share of graduate enrollment continues to increase, now reaching 60 percent overall, with tremendous variation by race/ethnicity, degree program and field of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees
Despite progress by African Americans of both genders and Hispanic women, the gaps in bachelor’s degree attainment rates between these groups and whites are larger today than they were in the 1960s and 70s.
After a spike in the mid-1970s that reflected the surge in male enrollment during the Vietnam War, the share of young white men with a bachelor’s degree declined and remained flat until the early 1990s. Today, 32 percent of white men aged 25 to 29 hold a bachelor’s degree, compared with 40 percent of white women. For both white and Hispanic young men, increases in the number of degrees earned have been outpaced by population growth, resulting in flat attainment rates.
Graduate Degrees
Women now earn as many professional and doctoral degrees as men. Women also earn the majority of master’s degrees due to their predominance in popular fields such as education and nursing. Men continue to earn the majority of master’s degrees in engineering and business administration.
“While the gender gap is important and should be addressed by educators and policy makers, these findings suggest the current female majority may be higher education’s new normal,” King added.
Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010 (Item #312188) is available for purchase as a PDF for $20.00 via the ACE web site at www.acenet.edu/genderequity2010.
Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.
###
News Release
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, 12:01 a.m. EST
Contact: Kellee Edmonds
kellee_edmonds@ace.nche.edu (202) 939-9368
Washington, DC (Jan. 26, 2010)—It appears the gender gap in higher education has reached a plateau for most groups except Hispanics, where the gap between men and women is on the rise, according to a new analysis by the American Council on Education (ACE).
Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010 is a follow-up to ACE’s original 2000 study and 2006 update. For the first time, several indicators suggest that the size of the gender gap in higher education may have stabilized. The distribution of enrollment and undergraduate degrees by gender has remained consistent since about 2000, with men representing 43 percent of enrollment and earning 43 percent of bachelor’s degrees.
The only group in which the size of the female majority does not yet appear to have stabilized is Hispanics: The percentage of Hispanic undergraduates aged 24 or younger who are male has declined from 45 percent in 1999–2000 to 42 percent in 2007–08. Hispanic young men also have the lowest bachelor’s degree attainment level of any group studied, at only 10 percent. Hispanic women appear to have pulled away from their male peers since the late 1980s, increasing their bachelor's degree attainment rate while the male rate has remained flat.
The study’s author cites immigration as a key factor in the low educational performance among Hispanics, with significant differences in educational attainment rates between Hispanics born outside the United States compared with their U.S.-born peers. For example, only 51 percent of Hispanic young adults born outside the United States have completed high school, compared with 81 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics. Male immigrants, who represent one out of every three Hispanic young adults, are at a particular disadvantage. Less than half of these young men have completed high school, and only 6 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree. In contrast, Hispanic women born in the U.S. now attain a bachelor’s degree at the same rate as African-American women (18 percent).
“Raising the attainment rate of Hispanic men—and women—looms as one of the most significant challenges facing American education,” said Jacqueline E. King, assistant vice president of ACE’s Center for Policy Analysis and author of the study. “In order for the attainment rate of Hispanic young men to rise, degree production will have to outpace population growth or immigration will have to slow.”
Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010 analyzes data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education.
Other Enrollment Findings:
Men aged 25 or older represent just 14 percent of all undergraduates and are outnumbered two to one by women in the same age group.
African Americans still have the largest gender gap in enrollment; 63 percent of all African American undergraduates are women.
Among African Americans and American Indians, female undergraduates aged 25 or older outnumber women aged 24 or younger.
Among traditional-age students who are financially dependent on their parents, multiple years of data consistently show that for each racial/ethnic group, the gender gap in enrollment disappears as family income rises.
Women’s share of graduate enrollment continues to increase, now reaching 60 percent overall, with tremendous variation by race/ethnicity, degree program and field of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees
Despite progress by African Americans of both genders and Hispanic women, the gaps in bachelor’s degree attainment rates between these groups and whites are larger today than they were in the 1960s and 70s.
After a spike in the mid-1970s that reflected the surge in male enrollment during the Vietnam War, the share of young white men with a bachelor’s degree declined and remained flat until the early 1990s. Today, 32 percent of white men aged 25 to 29 hold a bachelor’s degree, compared with 40 percent of white women. For both white and Hispanic young men, increases in the number of degrees earned have been outpaced by population growth, resulting in flat attainment rates.
Graduate Degrees
Women now earn as many professional and doctoral degrees as men. Women also earn the majority of master’s degrees due to their predominance in popular fields such as education and nursing. Men continue to earn the majority of master’s degrees in engineering and business administration.
“While the gender gap is important and should be addressed by educators and policy makers, these findings suggest the current female majority may be higher education’s new normal,” King added.
Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010 (Item #312188) is available for purchase as a PDF for $20.00 via the ACE web site at www.acenet.edu/genderequity2010.
Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.
###
Monday, December 8, 2008
REPORT ON THE HISPANIC EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Federal Hispanic Work Group
Executive Summary
On May 21, 2008, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp, in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Michael J. Astrue, announced the creation of a Federal Hispanic Work Group. This event marked the culmination of a series of discussions between the Chair and representatives of the Hispanic federal and EEO communities.
The Hispanic Work Group was directed to examine concerns about federal sector employment including, but not limited to, hiring, leadership development and retention. More importantly, the Work Group was given the responsibility of formulating recommendations designed to enhance and refocus federal Hispanic employment plans, and to remove barriers and level the playing field to encourage greater opportunities for Hispanic applicants and employees throughout the federal government. The Work Group was tasked with issuing a report containing both assessments of the problems, as well as issues and recommendations on how to resolve them. The enclosed report constitutes the Work Group’s recommendations to the EEOC Chair.
The Work Group divided itself into a series of sub-groups to focus on specific aspects of this problem. The sub-groups included: (a) recruitment and hiring; (b) retention; (c) leadership development; (d) Hispanic Employment Program Managers; (e) accountability; and (f) science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These sub-groups examined data and various facets of the issues, interviewed stakeholders and experts, and developed recommendations to the EEOC Chair.
The Work Group also considered a host of creative ideas and concepts that fell beyond the purview of either the Commission or federal agencies to implement. Included among these are the following: require an agency’s annual budget appropriation to be contingent upon satisfactory EEO performance; pass the Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act; and expand federal employment opportunities to those who are not citizens. These concepts, though noteworthy, could not be included in this report inasmuch as they would require action by the Legislative branch of government.
Examples of the groups’ recommendations are listed below.
Develop a Hispanic Media Outreach Strategy and branding tool to assist agencies in marketing various types of federal employment;
Establish a consortium of federal agencies whose mission-critical occupations include science, technology, engineering and mathematics to coordinate recruitment efforts;
Better utilize intern programs;
Create a government-wide mentoring program;
Create full-time Hispanic Employment Program Manager positions to address Hispanic employment initiatives and programs; and
Include EEO/diversity requirements in all hiring officials’ critical performance elements.
In sum, the enclosed report is designed not only to discuss the problem, but to offer practical, comprehensive solutions that can be adopted by agencies in their effort to enhance employment opportunities for Hispanics.
The Work Group offers its heartfelt thanks to EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp for her leadership in establishing this Work Group, her continued support and guidance, and enabling us to contribute to this vital endeavor.
To View the Entire Report, go to: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/report/hwg.html
The Federal Hispanic Work Group
Executive Summary
On May 21, 2008, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp, in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Michael J. Astrue, announced the creation of a Federal Hispanic Work Group. This event marked the culmination of a series of discussions between the Chair and representatives of the Hispanic federal and EEO communities.
The Hispanic Work Group was directed to examine concerns about federal sector employment including, but not limited to, hiring, leadership development and retention. More importantly, the Work Group was given the responsibility of formulating recommendations designed to enhance and refocus federal Hispanic employment plans, and to remove barriers and level the playing field to encourage greater opportunities for Hispanic applicants and employees throughout the federal government. The Work Group was tasked with issuing a report containing both assessments of the problems, as well as issues and recommendations on how to resolve them. The enclosed report constitutes the Work Group’s recommendations to the EEOC Chair.
The Work Group divided itself into a series of sub-groups to focus on specific aspects of this problem. The sub-groups included: (a) recruitment and hiring; (b) retention; (c) leadership development; (d) Hispanic Employment Program Managers; (e) accountability; and (f) science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These sub-groups examined data and various facets of the issues, interviewed stakeholders and experts, and developed recommendations to the EEOC Chair.
The Work Group also considered a host of creative ideas and concepts that fell beyond the purview of either the Commission or federal agencies to implement. Included among these are the following: require an agency’s annual budget appropriation to be contingent upon satisfactory EEO performance; pass the Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act; and expand federal employment opportunities to those who are not citizens. These concepts, though noteworthy, could not be included in this report inasmuch as they would require action by the Legislative branch of government.
Examples of the groups’ recommendations are listed below.
Develop a Hispanic Media Outreach Strategy and branding tool to assist agencies in marketing various types of federal employment;
Establish a consortium of federal agencies whose mission-critical occupations include science, technology, engineering and mathematics to coordinate recruitment efforts;
Better utilize intern programs;
Create a government-wide mentoring program;
Create full-time Hispanic Employment Program Manager positions to address Hispanic employment initiatives and programs; and
Include EEO/diversity requirements in all hiring officials’ critical performance elements.
In sum, the enclosed report is designed not only to discuss the problem, but to offer practical, comprehensive solutions that can be adopted by agencies in their effort to enhance employment opportunities for Hispanics.
The Work Group offers its heartfelt thanks to EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp for her leadership in establishing this Work Group, her continued support and guidance, and enabling us to contribute to this vital endeavor.
To View the Entire Report, go to: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/report/hwg.html
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
EEOC FORMS FEDERAL HISPANIC WORK GROUP
Commission Partners with SSA to Examine Key Issues Facing Fastest Growing Community
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the formation of a partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to launch a Hispanic Work Group examining the community’s concerns about federal sector employment, including leadership development, hiring, and retention.
“The federal government must tap into the valuable resources provided by the Hispanic community, the most rapidly expanding population in America,” said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. “The work group will examine innovative ways to tackle the issues and obstacles confronted by this diverse community. We are proud to partner in this endeavor with SSA, one of the federal leaders in the employment of Hispanic individuals.”
Commissioner of Social Security Michael J. Astrue said, “Social Security is proud to have a workforce that reflects the American public we serve. Diversity strengthens our organization and enhances the quality of our service. We look forward to working with the EEOC to make the federal government an employer of choice for the Hispanic community.”
The members of the new work group represent a cross-section of agencies, departments and external stakeholders, including the following:
Milton Belardo, Senior EEO Manager, Policy and Evaluation Division, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Commerce;
Nancy Bosque, Team Leader, Cultural Diversity & External Reports Team, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, Social Security Administration;
Delia L. Johnson, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Broadcasting Board of Governors;
Nicolas Juarez, Southwest Area Manager, Dispute Resolution, United States Postal Service;
Isabel Kaufman, Equal Opportunity Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration;
Eugenio Ochoa Sexton, Director, Recruiting and Diversity, U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Beatrice Pacheco, Associate Director, Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation;
Jesse D. Solis, Chief, Photo Imaging Branch, Randolph Air Force Base, U.S. Department of the Air Force; and
Ramón SurÃs Fernández, Esq., Director, Civil Rights Center, U.S. Department of Labor.
“The composition of the work group is diverse in race, ethnicity and gender, and is comprised of persons from various agencies, grade levels, occupational categories, levels of management, and professions,” Chair Earp added.
Veronica Villalobos, an attorney advisor to Chair Earp and the newly appointed chair of the work group, said: “We are very excited to begin this effort to benefit the Hispanic community and the federal agencies whose workforces will be strengthened through broader participation. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with this group of dedicated individuals. We look forward to sharing our progress and soliciting feedback during the Hispanic Employment Program Managers Summit at the EEOC’s 2008 EXCEL Conference.”
The EEOC monitors federal agency compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and procedures. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the formation of a partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to launch a Hispanic Work Group examining the community’s concerns about federal sector employment, including leadership development, hiring, and retention.
“The federal government must tap into the valuable resources provided by the Hispanic community, the most rapidly expanding population in America,” said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. “The work group will examine innovative ways to tackle the issues and obstacles confronted by this diverse community. We are proud to partner in this endeavor with SSA, one of the federal leaders in the employment of Hispanic individuals.”
Commissioner of Social Security Michael J. Astrue said, “Social Security is proud to have a workforce that reflects the American public we serve. Diversity strengthens our organization and enhances the quality of our service. We look forward to working with the EEOC to make the federal government an employer of choice for the Hispanic community.”
The members of the new work group represent a cross-section of agencies, departments and external stakeholders, including the following:
Milton Belardo, Senior EEO Manager, Policy and Evaluation Division, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Commerce;
Nancy Bosque, Team Leader, Cultural Diversity & External Reports Team, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, Social Security Administration;
Delia L. Johnson, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Broadcasting Board of Governors;
Nicolas Juarez, Southwest Area Manager, Dispute Resolution, United States Postal Service;
Isabel Kaufman, Equal Opportunity Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration;
Eugenio Ochoa Sexton, Director, Recruiting and Diversity, U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Beatrice Pacheco, Associate Director, Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation;
Jesse D. Solis, Chief, Photo Imaging Branch, Randolph Air Force Base, U.S. Department of the Air Force; and
Ramón SurÃs Fernández, Esq., Director, Civil Rights Center, U.S. Department of Labor.
“The composition of the work group is diverse in race, ethnicity and gender, and is comprised of persons from various agencies, grade levels, occupational categories, levels of management, and professions,” Chair Earp added.
Veronica Villalobos, an attorney advisor to Chair Earp and the newly appointed chair of the work group, said: “We are very excited to begin this effort to benefit the Hispanic community and the federal agencies whose workforces will be strengthened through broader participation. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with this group of dedicated individuals. We look forward to sharing our progress and soliciting feedback during the Hispanic Employment Program Managers Summit at the EEOC’s 2008 EXCEL Conference.”
The EEOC monitors federal agency compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and procedures. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
Monday, December 31, 2007
A Disturbing Trend in Law School Diversity
A new website dedicated to improving minority representation at US law schools has been launched. "Lawyering in a Digital Age" is a product of a collaboration between the Society of American Law Schools (SALT) and the Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic at the Columbia University School of Law. The website's statistics show that:
*Over the past 15 years, African Americans and Mexican Americans have been applying to law schools in relatively constant numbers.
* These African American and Mexican American applicants are doing better than ever on the leading indicators used by Law Schools to determine admissibility: undergraduate grade point average and LSAT scores.
*The size of law school classes and law schools has increased.
*The percentage representation of both groups has actually trended downward since 1992. In real numbers, there were fewer African American and Mexican American first year law students in the Fall, 2005 class (3595 combined) than existed in Fall, 1992 (3937).
To see the related statistics and charts supporting these conclusions, go to: http://www2.law.columbia.edu/civilrights/
*Over the past 15 years, African Americans and Mexican Americans have been applying to law schools in relatively constant numbers.
* These African American and Mexican American applicants are doing better than ever on the leading indicators used by Law Schools to determine admissibility: undergraduate grade point average and LSAT scores.
*The size of law school classes and law schools has increased.
*The percentage representation of both groups has actually trended downward since 1992. In real numbers, there were fewer African American and Mexican American first year law students in the Fall, 2005 class (3595 combined) than existed in Fall, 1992 (3937).
To see the related statistics and charts supporting these conclusions, go to: http://www2.law.columbia.edu/civilrights/
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BLS Report: Get Ready for a Smaller, More Diverse Workforce
Workforce Management
December 13, 2007
The Hispanic workforce will climb by 30 percent by 2016, while nurses make up the largest increase of any occupational group tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Anthony Olvera’s career prospects are promising. He is young, Hispanic and has five years of nursing experience—characteristics that bode well in an environment where the workforce is aging rapidly, there’s a dearth of skilled talent and diversity is on the rise.
Olvera’s demographics are a virtual mirror of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest workforce projections and predictions through 2016. The Hispanic workforce will climb by 30 percent by that year, while nurses make up the largest increase of any occupational group tracked by the BLS.
Overall, the civilian labor force will increase by 12.8 million, bringing the number of workers to 164.2 million by the middle of the next decade. While the figure appears to be a healthy increase, longtime HR executives may recall that 17.5 million workers entered the labor force between 1996 and 2006.
“It’s clear that the workforce growth rate is decelerating,” says Mitra Toossi, an economist at the BLS in Washington. Indeed, the current rate of growth is 8.5 percent, significantly less than the 13.1 percent rise in the previous decade.
What’s more, the portion of the population that is actively employed or seeking employment—known as the labor force participation rate—is declining and is expected to level off at 65.5 percent by 2016, Toossi notes. By comparison, workforce participation was at 67.1 percent in 1997.
Toossi attributes this to several factors, including an aging population.
“The reality is that as workers get older, they begin to drop out of the labor force,” Toossi says. “When that happens, participation rates take a hit.”
The number of workers 55 and older is expected to reach about 23 million in less than a decade. This represents a growth rate of 46.7 percent, which is almost 5.5 times the projections for the overall labor force.
Yet employers shouldn’t worry about an overnight exodus of workers, says Bob Morison, director of research at the BSG Concours Group, a consultancy based in Kingwood, Texas. Many baby boomers—people born between 1946 and 1964—intend to remain active, but it will be on their terms. In fact, some three-quarters of baby boomers say they plan to work at least part time in their retirement years, Morison says.
[To view the entire article, go to: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/26/71.html]
December 13, 2007
The Hispanic workforce will climb by 30 percent by 2016, while nurses make up the largest increase of any occupational group tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Anthony Olvera’s career prospects are promising. He is young, Hispanic and has five years of nursing experience—characteristics that bode well in an environment where the workforce is aging rapidly, there’s a dearth of skilled talent and diversity is on the rise.
Olvera’s demographics are a virtual mirror of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest workforce projections and predictions through 2016. The Hispanic workforce will climb by 30 percent by that year, while nurses make up the largest increase of any occupational group tracked by the BLS.
Overall, the civilian labor force will increase by 12.8 million, bringing the number of workers to 164.2 million by the middle of the next decade. While the figure appears to be a healthy increase, longtime HR executives may recall that 17.5 million workers entered the labor force between 1996 and 2006.
“It’s clear that the workforce growth rate is decelerating,” says Mitra Toossi, an economist at the BLS in Washington. Indeed, the current rate of growth is 8.5 percent, significantly less than the 13.1 percent rise in the previous decade.
What’s more, the portion of the population that is actively employed or seeking employment—known as the labor force participation rate—is declining and is expected to level off at 65.5 percent by 2016, Toossi notes. By comparison, workforce participation was at 67.1 percent in 1997.
Toossi attributes this to several factors, including an aging population.
“The reality is that as workers get older, they begin to drop out of the labor force,” Toossi says. “When that happens, participation rates take a hit.”
The number of workers 55 and older is expected to reach about 23 million in less than a decade. This represents a growth rate of 46.7 percent, which is almost 5.5 times the projections for the overall labor force.
Yet employers shouldn’t worry about an overnight exodus of workers, says Bob Morison, director of research at the BSG Concours Group, a consultancy based in Kingwood, Texas. Many baby boomers—people born between 1946 and 1964—intend to remain active, but it will be on their terms. In fact, some three-quarters of baby boomers say they plan to work at least part time in their retirement years, Morison says.
[To view the entire article, go to: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/26/71.html]
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