The Wall Street Journal
In The Lead
By CAROL HYMOWITZ
At a time when Americans are congratulating themselves for having a diverse field of political candidates, their business leadership still doesn't equally value diverse employees and managers. In fact, progress for women and minorities in terms of both pay and power has stalled or regressed at many of the nation's biggest companies. This inequality shapes perceptions about who can or should be a leader. More than 40 years after job discrimination was outlawed, the wage gap between white men and just about everyone else persists. The one exception is for Asian-American men, whose median wages were just 1% less than those of white men who worked full time, year round, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' survey in 2005, the latest year for which data are available.
Black men, by contrast, earned 74% of the wages of white males; Hispanic men earned 58%.
Women, overall, are substantially lagging behind men in pay. Full-time female employees earned 77% of all men's median wages. Breaking it down in terms of race, Asian-American women earned 78% of the median annual pay of white men; white women earned 73%; black women, 63%; and Hispanic women, 52%.
There are, of course, many theories about the reasons behind the pay discrepancies. Women may take time off to care for children, so they don't build up the tenure that leads to promotions and higher salaries; or they don't demand raises as often as men do because they've been socialized not to be assertive; or they don't have the right skills for the best-paying jobs.
The wage gap persists among young women who have more education than men their age. Last year, 45% of women ages 25 to 34 had a college degree, compared with 36% of young men. But women's median earnings overall were 14% lower, according to an analysis of recent Census Bureau data by Timothy Casey, a senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum, a New York advocacy group. Again, the gap may partly reflect that far fewer women than men major in engineering, business and other fields leading to high-paying jobs. Still, it is a reminder of how girls need to be encouraged to recognize their math and science abilities.
Young women earned 20% to 25% less than young men at the same education level -- about equal to men at an education level below theirs. "It's disheartening because the rate of progress toward equality that we saw in the 1970s and 1980s has slowed in recent years," says Heidi Hartmann, president and economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. "At the current rate, equal pay will take another 50 years."
White men also still wield the most power in business. Whites make up 81.6% of the work force and 83.5% of managers. Men of color held 6.4% of corporate-officer positions at the 260 big companies that agreed to verify data in a 2005 survey by research group Catalyst. Typically, corporate officers hold titles of director or vice president and higher.
For women, who now represent half of all managers and professionals, the climb to the top has gotten tougher. In 2007, women held 15.4% of corporate-officer posts at the nation's top 500 companies, down from 16.4% in 2005, Catalyst said. Women of color hold just 2%.
The percentage of female officers in line jobs that lead to the corner office also fell -- by 6% to 27.2% last year, according to a Catalyst survey of the top 500 companies. By comparison, one-half of male corporate officers held line jobs. Some 74 of the nation's top 500 companies -- 10 more than in 2006 -- had no female corporate officers at all. Many other household-name companies, including Microsoft, GE and Wal-Mart, had fewer than 25% women in C-level posts.
Just five companies -- Reynolds American, Office Depot, Northeast Utilities, Edison International, Reliance Steel & Aluminum and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans -- had women in more than 40% of their corporate-officer jobs.
The lack of diversity means that whenever a top minority or female executive is ousted or retires, any gains are erased. It also reinforces stereotypes that women and minorities somehow lack leadership skills. [To read the entire article, go to: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120370822092186297-SRy6aZVon27ZkhkuiSz8WW6UdEs_20080325.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top ]
Friday, March 7, 2008
AAAA To Hold 34th Annual Conference in Washington DC Area
American Association for Affirmative Action to Hold Their 34th Annual Conference in Washington D.C. Area During Politically Charged Election Year
American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), a national not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting the understanding of affirmative action and equal opportunity, announces today that it will hold its 34th annual conference in the Washington D.C. area.
Washington D.C. (PRWEB) March 7, 2008 -- American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), a national not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting the understanding of affirmative action and equal opportunity, announces today that it will hold its 34th annual conference in the Washington D.C. area. Every year the AAAA conference draws hundreds of supporters from the corporate, academic, and government sectors seeking the leadership, support, and resources needed to overcome both political and corporate challenges.
This year’s conference is especially in demand and predicted to be politically charged given the election year and the Washington, DC location.
Confirmed speakers include: Political Commentator, Donna L. Brazile; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioner, Christine M. Griffin; Comedian & Civil Rights Activist, Dick Gregory; VP of Corporate Responsibility, Dell Inc., Gilbert F. Casellas; Pulitzer Prize Winner and Chicago Tribune Columnist, Clarence Page; South African Ambassador to the U.S. Welile Nhlapo; and CEO of the National Urban League, Marc Morial.
Date, Time & LocationApril 23-26, 2008Fairview Park Marriott3111 Fairview Park DriveFalls Church, VA 22042
Press RegistrationsComplimentary press registrations are available to media with press credentials and a copy of a valid press ID. Press pass will include access to on-site Media Lounge, panel discussions, town hall meeting, keynote luncheons, and receptions. In accepting the press pass, the recipient also agrees to provide tearsheets/electronic copies of published articles within 60 days of the conference. To register, e-mail carlap @ berkshireassociates.com by April 11, 2008.
Interview RequestsTo check the availability and schedule of keynote speakers contact Carla Pittman at 410.995.1195 ext. 1309 or carlap@berkshireassociates.com.
More information can be found on the AAAA website at http://www.affirmativeaction.org/.
###
American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), a national not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting the understanding of affirmative action and equal opportunity, announces today that it will hold its 34th annual conference in the Washington D.C. area.
Washington D.C. (PRWEB) March 7, 2008 -- American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), a national not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting the understanding of affirmative action and equal opportunity, announces today that it will hold its 34th annual conference in the Washington D.C. area. Every year the AAAA conference draws hundreds of supporters from the corporate, academic, and government sectors seeking the leadership, support, and resources needed to overcome both political and corporate challenges.
This year’s conference is especially in demand and predicted to be politically charged given the election year and the Washington, DC location.
Confirmed speakers include: Political Commentator, Donna L. Brazile; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioner, Christine M. Griffin; Comedian & Civil Rights Activist, Dick Gregory; VP of Corporate Responsibility, Dell Inc., Gilbert F. Casellas; Pulitzer Prize Winner and Chicago Tribune Columnist, Clarence Page; South African Ambassador to the U.S. Welile Nhlapo; and CEO of the National Urban League, Marc Morial.
Date, Time & LocationApril 23-26, 2008Fairview Park Marriott3111 Fairview Park DriveFalls Church, VA 22042
Press RegistrationsComplimentary press registrations are available to media with press credentials and a copy of a valid press ID. Press pass will include access to on-site Media Lounge, panel discussions, town hall meeting, keynote luncheons, and receptions. In accepting the press pass, the recipient also agrees to provide tearsheets/electronic copies of published articles within 60 days of the conference. To register, e-mail carlap @ berkshireassociates.com by April 11, 2008.
Interview RequestsTo check the availability and schedule of keynote speakers contact Carla Pittman at 410.995.1195 ext. 1309 or carlap@berkshireassociates.com.
More information can be found on the AAAA website at http://www.affirmativeaction.org/.
###
Report Details Black Women's Challenges
The New York Times
March 5, 2008
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:11 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- This is a triumphant time for black women: Condoleezza Rice in the global diplomatic spotlight, Michelle Obama captivating campaign crowds as a potential first lady, billionaire Oprah Winfrey playing political kingmaker.
It's also a traumatic time: Rutgers University basketball players disparaged by radio host Don Imus, a black woman kidnapped and tortured by whites in West Virginia, the home-owning dreams of black women disproportionately dashed by foreclosures.
That remarkable mix is the focus of this year's State of Black America report, issued Wednesday by the National Urban League. It features essays looking at the array of challenges faced by African-American women: economic, social, psychological and medical.
''The one thing that is certain is the need to hear and amplify the voices of black women,'' longtime civil rights activist Dorothy Height writes in the foreword. ''Too often, our needs, concerns, struggles, and triumphs are diminished and subordinated to what is believed to be the more pressing concerns of others.''
Julianne Malveaux, the president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C., contends in the report's opening essay that the image of black women in popular culture has barely improved in the year since the Imus incident.
White men continue to dominate on TV's Sunday morning news shows, she writes, while ''the gyrating, undulating image of African-American women in rap music videos and, by extension, on cable television is as prevalent as ever.''
The report delves deeply into economics, noting that black women are more likely than white or Hispanic women to be running a household and raising children on their own. According to Malveaux, black women hold more jobs nationwide than black men, yet -- despite their breadwinner roles -- earn less on average, $566 a week compared to $629 for black men.
In an essay about the home loan crisis, Andrea Harris, president of the North Carolina Institute for Minority Economic Development, suggests that black women have suffered disproportionately. Assessing recent federal data on subprime loans, which are a main culprit in the foreclosure epidemic, Harris says black women received far more of these loans in 2006 than white men.
''It is easy to imagine the devastation that is headed toward African-American women and their communities,'' Harris writes.
An essay by Dr. Doris Browne, a public health expert, details the above-average rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease among black women.
On an upbeat note, former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman notes in her essay that black women are making huge strides as entrepreneurs. The number of businesses owned by them increased by 147 percent between 1997 and 2006, compared to an overall business growth rate of 24 percent, she wrote. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Black-Women.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=women+rights&st=nyt&oref=slogin------]
On the Net:
National Urban League: http://www.nul.org//
March 5, 2008
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:11 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- This is a triumphant time for black women: Condoleezza Rice in the global diplomatic spotlight, Michelle Obama captivating campaign crowds as a potential first lady, billionaire Oprah Winfrey playing political kingmaker.
It's also a traumatic time: Rutgers University basketball players disparaged by radio host Don Imus, a black woman kidnapped and tortured by whites in West Virginia, the home-owning dreams of black women disproportionately dashed by foreclosures.
That remarkable mix is the focus of this year's State of Black America report, issued Wednesday by the National Urban League. It features essays looking at the array of challenges faced by African-American women: economic, social, psychological and medical.
''The one thing that is certain is the need to hear and amplify the voices of black women,'' longtime civil rights activist Dorothy Height writes in the foreword. ''Too often, our needs, concerns, struggles, and triumphs are diminished and subordinated to what is believed to be the more pressing concerns of others.''
Julianne Malveaux, the president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C., contends in the report's opening essay that the image of black women in popular culture has barely improved in the year since the Imus incident.
White men continue to dominate on TV's Sunday morning news shows, she writes, while ''the gyrating, undulating image of African-American women in rap music videos and, by extension, on cable television is as prevalent as ever.''
The report delves deeply into economics, noting that black women are more likely than white or Hispanic women to be running a household and raising children on their own. According to Malveaux, black women hold more jobs nationwide than black men, yet -- despite their breadwinner roles -- earn less on average, $566 a week compared to $629 for black men.
In an essay about the home loan crisis, Andrea Harris, president of the North Carolina Institute for Minority Economic Development, suggests that black women have suffered disproportionately. Assessing recent federal data on subprime loans, which are a main culprit in the foreclosure epidemic, Harris says black women received far more of these loans in 2006 than white men.
''It is easy to imagine the devastation that is headed toward African-American women and their communities,'' Harris writes.
An essay by Dr. Doris Browne, a public health expert, details the above-average rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease among black women.
On an upbeat note, former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman notes in her essay that black women are making huge strides as entrepreneurs. The number of businesses owned by them increased by 147 percent between 1997 and 2006, compared to an overall business growth rate of 24 percent, she wrote. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Black-Women.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=women+rights&st=nyt&oref=slogin------]
On the Net:
National Urban League: http://www.nul.org//
California Assembly Elects Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass as the Next Speaker
SPEAKER FABIAN NUÑEZ
46TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: February 28, 2008
Contact: Beth Willon Phone: (916) 319-2408 or (916) 524-6537
Speaker-elect is First African-American Woman to Hold Post in the Nation
SACRAMENTO –The California Assembly today elected Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass its 67th Speaker, catapulting an African-American woman to the post for the first time.
“The wisdom of the Caucus is going to break the glass ceiling, to say, finally we’re going to elect a Democratic woman to be the Speaker of the California Assembly,” Speaker Fabian Núñez said. “We are going to not only write a new chapter in California history, but I’ve been told we’re going to write a new chapter in American history by electing the first African-American woman in the history of this nation to be the Speaker of a state legislative body.”
“The Assembly will have an orderly transition of leadership, and that is because we have been incredibly fortunate to have had consistent leadership from the current Speaker,” Speaker-elect Bass said. “I look forward to our caucus uniting in the effort to address the current fiscal crisis and the other challenges and opportunities that we will face together and we will solve together in California.”
Speaker-elect Bass was elected to California’s 80-member Assembly chamber in 2004 quickly rising to the post of Democratic Majority Leader three years later. She will work in tandem with Speaker Núñez as she makes the transition into her new position.
The Los Angeles Democrat will be the first African-American woman Speaker and the first woman to hold the position for a full term. Republican Doris Allen served from June 5, 1995 to September 14, 1995.
Here are links to audio of Speaker Núñez and Speaker-elect Bass:
Speaker Fabian Núñez nominating speech on the Assembly floor. (4:58)
Nat sound of actual voice vote electing Bass as the next Speaker. (:15)
Speaker-elect Karen Bass acceptance speech on the Assembly floor. (1:50)
Speaker Fabian Núñez introduces Speaker-elect Karen Bass to capitol press corp at news conference. (2:16)
Speaker-elect Karen Bass opening statement at news conference. (1:02)
Speaker-elect Karen Bass answers a question about her being the only female in the Big 5 and being a woman in a male dominated building. (:23)
###
Capitol Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0046 -- (916) 319-2046 -- Fax: (916) 319-2146
District Office: 320 West Fourth Street, #1050, Los Angeles, CA 90013 -- (213) 620-4646 -- Fax (213) 620-6319
Assemblymember.Nunez@assembly.ca.gov
46TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: February 28, 2008
Contact: Beth Willon Phone: (916) 319-2408 or (916) 524-6537
Speaker-elect is First African-American Woman to Hold Post in the Nation
SACRAMENTO –The California Assembly today elected Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass its 67th Speaker, catapulting an African-American woman to the post for the first time.
“The wisdom of the Caucus is going to break the glass ceiling, to say, finally we’re going to elect a Democratic woman to be the Speaker of the California Assembly,” Speaker Fabian Núñez said. “We are going to not only write a new chapter in California history, but I’ve been told we’re going to write a new chapter in American history by electing the first African-American woman in the history of this nation to be the Speaker of a state legislative body.”
“The Assembly will have an orderly transition of leadership, and that is because we have been incredibly fortunate to have had consistent leadership from the current Speaker,” Speaker-elect Bass said. “I look forward to our caucus uniting in the effort to address the current fiscal crisis and the other challenges and opportunities that we will face together and we will solve together in California.”
Speaker-elect Bass was elected to California’s 80-member Assembly chamber in 2004 quickly rising to the post of Democratic Majority Leader three years later. She will work in tandem with Speaker Núñez as she makes the transition into her new position.
The Los Angeles Democrat will be the first African-American woman Speaker and the first woman to hold the position for a full term. Republican Doris Allen served from June 5, 1995 to September 14, 1995.
Here are links to audio of Speaker Núñez and Speaker-elect Bass:
Speaker Fabian Núñez nominating speech on the Assembly floor. (4:58)
Nat sound of actual voice vote electing Bass as the next Speaker. (:15)
Speaker-elect Karen Bass acceptance speech on the Assembly floor. (1:50)
Speaker Fabian Núñez introduces Speaker-elect Karen Bass to capitol press corp at news conference. (2:16)
Speaker-elect Karen Bass opening statement at news conference. (1:02)
Speaker-elect Karen Bass answers a question about her being the only female in the Big 5 and being a woman in a male dominated building. (:23)
###
Capitol Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0046 -- (916) 319-2046 -- Fax: (916) 319-2146
District Office: 320 West Fourth Street, #1050, Los Angeles, CA 90013 -- (213) 620-4646 -- Fax (213) 620-6319
Assemblymember.Nunez@assembly.ca.gov
Monday, March 3, 2008
EEOC Addresses Employment of Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: David Grinberg
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
Justine Lisser
(202) 663-4191
TTY: (202) 663-4494
EEOC ADDRESSES EMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES
Commission Provides Practical Information for Employers and Severely Injured Veterans
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued two question-and-answer (Q&A) guides providing technical assistance for employers and veterans on workplace issues affecting veterans with service-connected disabilities. Both documents are available on the agency’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.
“Injured veterans, like everyone else, deserve the freedom to compete in the workplace on a fair and level playing field,” said Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp. “Members of the military who have bravely sacrificed for America should never have to come home and face unlawful employment obstacles because of a service-related disability.”
The new guide for employers explains how protections for veterans with service-connected disabilities differ under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The document further describes how the ADA in particular applies to recruiting, hiring, and accommodating veterans with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC enforces Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces USERRA, which applies to the reemployment of veterans with and without service-connected disabilities.
The other new publication answers questions that veterans with service-connected disabilities may have about the protections they are entitled to when they seek to return to their former jobs or look to find their first, or new, civilian jobs. The document also explains changes or adjustments that veterans may need, because of their injuries, to apply for, or perform, a job, or to enjoy equal access to the workplace.
EEOC Legal Counsel Reed L. Russell said, “Thousands of veterans have returned home from serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and surrounding duty stations with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC wants to help our nation’s wounded warriors and employers alike understand their respective workplace rights and responsibilities under federal laws. These new guides will provide valuable assistance in this effort.”
Russell noted that each guide includes a list of resources on where to find more information on USERRA and the ADA; public and private organizations that can assist employers who want to recruit and hire veterans or can help veterans who are seeking employment; and organizations and agencies that can help identify specific reasonable accommodations for veterans with service-related disabilities.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
Justine Lisser
(202) 663-4191
TTY: (202) 663-4494
EEOC ADDRESSES EMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES
Commission Provides Practical Information for Employers and Severely Injured Veterans
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued two question-and-answer (Q&A) guides providing technical assistance for employers and veterans on workplace issues affecting veterans with service-connected disabilities. Both documents are available on the agency’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.
“Injured veterans, like everyone else, deserve the freedom to compete in the workplace on a fair and level playing field,” said Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp. “Members of the military who have bravely sacrificed for America should never have to come home and face unlawful employment obstacles because of a service-related disability.”
The new guide for employers explains how protections for veterans with service-connected disabilities differ under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The document further describes how the ADA in particular applies to recruiting, hiring, and accommodating veterans with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC enforces Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces USERRA, which applies to the reemployment of veterans with and without service-connected disabilities.
The other new publication answers questions that veterans with service-connected disabilities may have about the protections they are entitled to when they seek to return to their former jobs or look to find their first, or new, civilian jobs. The document also explains changes or adjustments that veterans may need, because of their injuries, to apply for, or perform, a job, or to enjoy equal access to the workplace.
EEOC Legal Counsel Reed L. Russell said, “Thousands of veterans have returned home from serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and surrounding duty stations with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC wants to help our nation’s wounded warriors and employers alike understand their respective workplace rights and responsibilities under federal laws. These new guides will provide valuable assistance in this effort.”
Russell noted that each guide includes a list of resources on where to find more information on USERRA and the ADA; public and private organizations that can assist employers who want to recruit and hire veterans or can help veterans who are seeking employment; and organizations and agencies that can help identify specific reasonable accommodations for veterans with service-related disabilities.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.
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