Ross Douthat, New York Times; The Roots of White Anxiety:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/opinion/19douthat.html?src=me&ref=general
Sunday, July 25, 2010
On Diversity, Bloomberg Remains Silent; New York Times, 6/30/10
David Chen, New York Times; On Diversity, Bloomberg Remains Silent:
"The Times reported on Monday night that at the top levels of the Bloomberg administration, by several measures, more than 70 percent of the senior officials are white, even though the city’s non-Hispanic white population is 35 percent.
Ever since, many people have weighed in, both to defend the mayor and to criticize his hiring practices. The City Council is weighing oversight hearings because of what some members consider Mr. Bloomberg’s poor record in appointing minorities.
More than 230 people so far have posted comments on the Times’s Web site, engaging in a lively and, for the most part, civil debate. Many others have sent e-mail messages to reporters for The Times with messages that have ranged from institutional praise to racial epithets.
So, after all that, how does Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who declined to be interviewed for the original article as well a follow-up one, feel about the matter?
He isn’t saying yet.
A reporter for The Times who on Wednesday attended Mr. Bloomberg’s first public event since the article was published was not selected by the mayor to ask a question, even though the reporter was sitting in the center of the front row and even though the mayor’s staff knew that diversity would be the topic."
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/on-diversity-bloomberg-remains-silent/?scp=3&sq=diversity&st=cse
"The Times reported on Monday night that at the top levels of the Bloomberg administration, by several measures, more than 70 percent of the senior officials are white, even though the city’s non-Hispanic white population is 35 percent.
Ever since, many people have weighed in, both to defend the mayor and to criticize his hiring practices. The City Council is weighing oversight hearings because of what some members consider Mr. Bloomberg’s poor record in appointing minorities.
More than 230 people so far have posted comments on the Times’s Web site, engaging in a lively and, for the most part, civil debate. Many others have sent e-mail messages to reporters for The Times with messages that have ranged from institutional praise to racial epithets.
So, after all that, how does Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who declined to be interviewed for the original article as well a follow-up one, feel about the matter?
He isn’t saying yet.
A reporter for The Times who on Wednesday attended Mr. Bloomberg’s first public event since the article was published was not selected by the mayor to ask a question, even though the reporter was sitting in the center of the front row and even though the mayor’s staff knew that diversity would be the topic."
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/on-diversity-bloomberg-remains-silent/?scp=3&sq=diversity&st=cse
Diversity Plays a Role in Surviving the Economic Downturn; National Ledger, 7/8/10
Amy Winter, National Ledger; Diversity Plays a Role in Surviving the Economic Downturn:
"Diversity in the workplace may give companies an extra edge when competing in the economic downturn. Businesses need diversity in order to connect with clients, according to Martha Fields, CEO and founder of Fields Associates Inc., an international management consulting firm. A range of ages, races and cultures gives a company a better ability to serve customers from different nations.
Businesses require a workplace and product that appeals to both a national and worldwide market; customers are needed from the U.S. and around the world to stay alive. This becomes even more essential during these hard economic times.
Diversity can aid a company in gaining a more global outlook, but a multicultural workplace may also mean more tension with different opinions and backgrounds coming together.
"With diversity comes opportunity," says Fields, "however with diversity comes conflict. The question our businesses face right now is how to integrate our multicultural nation in a way that empowers our economy and strengthens our global positioning."
A major clash in the workplace revolves around age. Fields refers to the age range as the "AARP to MTV watchers," especially with a greater number of older workers staying in the work force. Although younger workers have less experience, they tend to be chosen over older workers due to their lower salaries. Plus, younger employees are more inclined to be open to diversity; they grew up in a more multicultural time. Fields recommends that organizations make an effort to deal with conflicts between age groups.
Developing diversity takes time, although it is moving at a faster pace. Companies that don't embrace it will be left behind. Leaders should be trained in how to use diversity to gain a competitive advantage, according to Fields. Make sure managers understand how to control issues that develop from various cultures and opinions.
"A business with diverse customers and a diverse workplace can outperform other companies," says Fields. "If you and your employees can't handle customers, you are going to lose them to someone else."
For more information on Fields and her company, visit http://www.marthafields.com/."
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272633121.shtml
"Diversity in the workplace may give companies an extra edge when competing in the economic downturn. Businesses need diversity in order to connect with clients, according to Martha Fields, CEO and founder of Fields Associates Inc., an international management consulting firm. A range of ages, races and cultures gives a company a better ability to serve customers from different nations.
Businesses require a workplace and product that appeals to both a national and worldwide market; customers are needed from the U.S. and around the world to stay alive. This becomes even more essential during these hard economic times.
Diversity can aid a company in gaining a more global outlook, but a multicultural workplace may also mean more tension with different opinions and backgrounds coming together.
"With diversity comes opportunity," says Fields, "however with diversity comes conflict. The question our businesses face right now is how to integrate our multicultural nation in a way that empowers our economy and strengthens our global positioning."
A major clash in the workplace revolves around age. Fields refers to the age range as the "AARP to MTV watchers," especially with a greater number of older workers staying in the work force. Although younger workers have less experience, they tend to be chosen over older workers due to their lower salaries. Plus, younger employees are more inclined to be open to diversity; they grew up in a more multicultural time. Fields recommends that organizations make an effort to deal with conflicts between age groups.
Developing diversity takes time, although it is moving at a faster pace. Companies that don't embrace it will be left behind. Leaders should be trained in how to use diversity to gain a competitive advantage, according to Fields. Make sure managers understand how to control issues that develop from various cultures and opinions.
"A business with diverse customers and a diverse workplace can outperform other companies," says Fields. "If you and your employees can't handle customers, you are going to lose them to someone else."
For more information on Fields and her company, visit http://www.marthafields.com/."
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272633121.shtml
Mayor Falls Far Short of a Vow on Diversity; New York Times, 6/29/10
David Chen and Jo McGinty, New York Times; Mayor Falls Far Short of a Vow on Diversity:
"Since winning a third term in November, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has announced a parade of major appointments: bringing aboard three new deputy mayors and six commissioners and trumpeting most of those arrivals in the Blue Room at City Hall.
All nine are white. All but one is a man.
Those selections are hardly anomalous. Despite a pledge he made when he took office to make diversity a hallmark of his administration, Mr. Bloomberg has consistently surrounded himself with a predominantly white and male coterie of key policy makers, according to an analysis of personnel data by The New York Times.
The city’s non-Hispanic white population is now 35 percent, because of an influx of nonwhite immigrants and other demographic changes in the past two decades.
But Mr. Bloomberg presides over an administration in which more than 70 percent of the senior jobs are held by whites, and he has failed to improve on the oft-criticized diversity record of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
“Obviously, it demonstrates no greater commitment under Bloomberg than there was under Giuliani in appointing minorities to high-level positions in government,” said Abraham May Jr., executive director of the city’s Equal Employment Practices Commission, an independent agency that monitors diversity and discrimination in city government.
Moreover, New York lags behind the three cities closest to its population in diversifying its senior ranks.
In Los Angeles, 52 percent of the top advisers to Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa are white; in Chicago, that figure is 61 percent for Mayor Richard M. Daley; and in Houston, it is 55 percent for Mayor Annise D. Parker.
“The numbers — they’re sad,” said Kevin P. Johnson, a former assistant commissioner of the Department of Correction, who was responsible for equal-employment policies, but quit in December because he was frustrated by the administration’s efforts. “It’s terrible in a city with such a large minority population.”
The Times examined diversity in several top management tiers of the Bloomberg administration. Each tier showed a nearly identical pattern..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/nyregion/29diversity.html?_r=1&src=mv
"Since winning a third term in November, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has announced a parade of major appointments: bringing aboard three new deputy mayors and six commissioners and trumpeting most of those arrivals in the Blue Room at City Hall.
All nine are white. All but one is a man.
Those selections are hardly anomalous. Despite a pledge he made when he took office to make diversity a hallmark of his administration, Mr. Bloomberg has consistently surrounded himself with a predominantly white and male coterie of key policy makers, according to an analysis of personnel data by The New York Times.
The city’s non-Hispanic white population is now 35 percent, because of an influx of nonwhite immigrants and other demographic changes in the past two decades.
But Mr. Bloomberg presides over an administration in which more than 70 percent of the senior jobs are held by whites, and he has failed to improve on the oft-criticized diversity record of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
“Obviously, it demonstrates no greater commitment under Bloomberg than there was under Giuliani in appointing minorities to high-level positions in government,” said Abraham May Jr., executive director of the city’s Equal Employment Practices Commission, an independent agency that monitors diversity and discrimination in city government.
Moreover, New York lags behind the three cities closest to its population in diversifying its senior ranks.
In Los Angeles, 52 percent of the top advisers to Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa are white; in Chicago, that figure is 61 percent for Mayor Richard M. Daley; and in Houston, it is 55 percent for Mayor Annise D. Parker.
“The numbers — they’re sad,” said Kevin P. Johnson, a former assistant commissioner of the Department of Correction, who was responsible for equal-employment policies, but quit in December because he was frustrated by the administration’s efforts. “It’s terrible in a city with such a large minority population.”
The Times examined diversity in several top management tiers of the Bloomberg administration. Each tier showed a nearly identical pattern..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/nyregion/29diversity.html?_r=1&src=mv
Age bias complaints surge in bad economy; MSNBC.com, 6/29/10
Allison Linn, MSNBC.com; Age bias complaints surge in bad economy: Older workers suspect discrimination, but find it hard to prove:
"The recent recession has amplified concerns that older workers are facing a tougher time getting — or keeping — jobs because of stereotypes about everything from the salaries they may demand to their ability to learn new skills.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saw a 33 percent increase in the number of age discrimination complaints that were filed during its past two fiscal years combined, as compared to the prior two fiscal years. That translates into 47,360 complaints filed between October 2007, two months before the nation went into recession, and September of 2009."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37924201/ns/business-economy_at_a_crossroads/
"The recent recession has amplified concerns that older workers are facing a tougher time getting — or keeping — jobs because of stereotypes about everything from the salaries they may demand to their ability to learn new skills.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saw a 33 percent increase in the number of age discrimination complaints that were filed during its past two fiscal years combined, as compared to the prior two fiscal years. That translates into 47,360 complaints filed between October 2007, two months before the nation went into recession, and September of 2009."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37924201/ns/business-economy_at_a_crossroads/
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