LGBT prayer breakfast speakers call for greater equality, civil rights; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/17/15

Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; LGBT prayer breakfast speakers call for greater equality, civil rights:

"Dozens of clergy and lay people gathered Monday morning for a prayer breakfast to call for greater civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.

Speakers at the event, held at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Hampton, focused attention on efforts to pass a statewide ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently some local governments have such legal protections — which apply to work, housing and accommodations — but not the state as a whole, even while same-sex marriage is legal in Pennsylvania under a 2014 federal court order..."

Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Rodef Shalom Congregation told the gathering of the “cost of silence,” comparing the effort for LGBT rights with the civil rights movement. Rabbi Bisno quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as saying he would remember the “silence of our friends” more than the “words of our enemies.”

The Long Good Fight: Libraries at the heart of intellectual freedoms | Editorial; Library Journal, 2/17/15

Rebecca T. Miller, Library Journal; The Long Good Fight: Libraries at the heart of intellectual freedoms | Editorial:

"Librarians and libraries are essential to discourse about intellectual freedoms. Now we have more work to do in light of violent efforts to curtail such rights, perhaps most notably the January 7 attack on the offices of Paris’s weekly Charlie Hebdo. For me, these events brought our work to date into high relief but also intensified a sense of urgency about what librarians can do to defend a richer understanding of the value of freedom of inquiry and expression.

American Library Association (ALA) president Courtney Young’s statement on the attacks framed the library ethos: “Such attacks are counter to the values of access to information with diversity of views—and to the values of civic engagement, which encourages people to read and discuss these views without fear.”

Libraries, in an important sense, exist to help remove fear from our culture: fear of the other, fear of the unknown, and fear of the differences of opinion that make us human. They do not exist to remove those differences. Our libraries hold and foster access to countervailing opinions, information about worlds beyond our own, and insight into cultures we have never experienced, as well as awareness of people living right next door. They are full of words answered by words—sometimes divisive ones—that together shape our evolving way of life.

Librarians are often out front in this freedom fight, perhaps most noticeably when it comes to book challenges. I think of acts of censorship as existing on a continuum of sorts. Acts of terror sit at one extreme but are still related to nonviolent attempts to use leverage of some kind to force a limitation on what others can say or read. Libraries have a mandate to exercise the muscles that counter the censor’s impulse early and often."

Generational shift: Gen X-ers embracing their roles as a transitional group; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/4/15

Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Generational shift: Gen X-ers embracing their roles as a transitional group:

"Mr. McCoy spends a good amount of time talking about how different life experiences explain some of the disparate views the various age groups hold. In 2011, his office at Pitt began offering a workshop titled “Please Respect My Generation” to faculty and staff, in addition to others on harassment and safety...

Developed with information provided by ATS Media, the materials used in the workshop divide the workforce into five generations.

Mr. McCoy’s list shows the “traditionals” as being born between 1930 and 1945; boomers arriving between 1946 and 1964; Gen X children between 1965 and 1976; millennials between 1977 and 1990; and a group bearing the early name Generation 9/11 — because the World Trade Center tragedy was a defining moment — as those born after 1991.

Those dates don’t necessarily sync up with guidelines that others use to define the generations."

How an oil boom brought diversity to North Dakota; CNN, 2/2/15

Steve Hargreaves, CNN; How an oil boom brought diversity to North Dakota:

"Ten years ago there were three black people working in North Dakota's oil fields. Not three percent, just three people.

Now there are over 600.

Many of them came for jobs working in the Bakken oil fields, and settled in towns like Williston, N.D.

Like the state itself, most people in this oil boomtown are white. But it's impossible not to notice the number of minorities -- particularly blacks -- among the huge influx of oil workers that's descended upon the region over the last few years. And while the recent fall in oil prices has called the longevity of the boom into question, at least some of these workers are here to stay."

LGBT discrimination laws still in effect in Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/17/14

Kate Giammarise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; LGBT discrimination laws still in effect in Pennsylvania:

"According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, 17 states include legal protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity in their non-discrimination laws, and four additional states include protections based on sexual orientation. In Pennsylvania, 34 municipalities have similar ordinances, according to the ACLU.

Advocates for the legislation say the concept of barring discrimination has broad popular support and is long overdue.

“The people outside of this building are way ahead of the people inside of this building,” said Ted Martin, executive director of Equality PA."

Gov. Wolf asks legislators to send him LGBT bills; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/28/15

Karen Langley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Gov. Wolf asks legislators to send him LGBT bills:

"Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday stepped to the forefront of efforts to ban discrimination against gay and transgender people in Pennsylvania, asking legislators to send him one of two bills that languished in committee last session.

In remarks at an event hosted by Equality Pennsylvania, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, Mr. Wolf framed the issue as a matter of business sense. He said corporations such as Dow Chemical Co. — a sponsor of the event — UPMC and PNC support such protections because they are good for business.

“Why would we cut ourselves off from a talent pool that is broad as it could possibly be?” said Mr. Wolf, a Democrat who took office last week. “Why would we cut ourselves off from people just because of who they love?”"

These 6 tech giants still haven't released their diversity data; Forbes, 1/27/15

Michal Lev-Ram, Forbes; These 6 tech giants still haven't released their diversity data:

"Below are six tech giants — IBM IBM -1.49% , Oracle OCLCF 4.06% , EMC EMC -2.30% , Broadcom BRCM -1.72% , SanDisk SNDK -1.39% and Qualcomm QCM — that have yet to release their data. A spokesperson for Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle says the company has no plans to do so. A few other tech companies Fortune spoke to were more thoughtful in their responses, asserting that while they have yet to disclose their diversity numbers, they are engaged in active, internal conversations to determine when and how they should go about doing so.

Even among those technology firms that have released diversity data, some companies are more transparent than others. For example, not all tech firms have published the entire contents of their annual EEO-1 reports, a government form requiring many employers to provide a count of their employees by job category, ethnicity, race and gender.

And, of course, there is the issue of what happens after a company releases such data—after all, transparency alone isn’t enough to move the needle on diversity and inclusion."

California Bars Judges From Boy Scouts Membership; Associated Press via New York Times, 1/24/15

Associated Press via New York Times; California Bars Judges From Boy Scouts Membership:

"California's Supreme Court voted Friday to prohibit state judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts on grounds that the group discriminates against gays.

The court said its seven justices unanimously voted to heed a recommendation by its ethics advisory committee barring judges' affiliation with the organization.

In 1996 the state Supreme Court banned judges from belonging to groups that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, but made an exception for nonprofit youth organizations.

The Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on the Code of Judicial Ethics in February recommended eliminating the exception to enhance public confidence in the judiciary."

Transgender Individuals Recognized For First Time Ever In A State Of The Union Speech; Huffington Post, 1/20/15

Amanda Terkel and Nick Wing, Huffington Post; Transgender Individuals Recognized For First Time Ever In A State Of The Union Speech:

"President Barack Obama pushed for protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals Tuesday evening, making it the first time lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have ever been recognized directly in a State of the Union address.

"As Americans, we respect human dignity, even when we're threatened, which is why I've prohibited torture, and worked to make sure our use of new technology like drones is properly constrained," said Obama, adding, "That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We do these things not only because they're right, but because they make us safer.""

Success and Shortfalls in Effort to Diversify N.F.L. Coaching; New York Times, 1/20/15

David Waldstein, New York Times; Success and Shortfalls in Effort to Diversify N.F.L. Coaching:

"Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard University’s law school and the founder of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, embraces the rule. But he said that it had not corrected the wide disparity between the numbers of black players and black coaches. “There is a big difference between interviewing and hiring,” Professor Ogletree said. “There has just been too little effort in that regard. There needs to be more hiring in a significant way, and not just because they are black, but because they are talented and do well when they get those jobs. There is no acceptable reason for this underrepresentation.”

Intel Allocates $300 Million for Workplace Diversity; New York Times, 1/6/15

Nick Wingfield, New York Times; Intel Allocates $300 Million for Workplace Diversity:

"On Tuesday, Intel said the company’s work force would better reflect the available talent pool of women and underrepresented minority groups in the United States within five years. If successful, the plan would increase the population of women, blacks, Hispanics and other groups at Intel by at least 14 percent during that period, the company said.

In addition, Intel said it has established a $300 million fund to be used in the next three years to improve the diversity of the company’s work force, attract more women and minorities to the technology field and make the industry more hospitable to them once they get there. The money will be used to fund engineering scholarships and to support historically black colleges and universities."

Microsoft Releases More Diversity Stats, and They Aren’t Pretty; Wired.com, 1/5/15

Davey Alba, Wired.com; Microsoft Releases More Diversity Stats, and They Aren’t Pretty:

"Microsoft has quietly released more information about the diversity of its employees, and these new stats are in line with most every other big player in tech: Women and people of color are highly underrepresented at the software giant.

Late last year, Microsoft revealed some of its diversity statistics and even launched a dedicated diversity and inclusion website. But some activists urged the company to release its federal Equal Opportunity form, or EEO-1, which contains more information about the company’s internal diversity numbers. Just after the New Year, the company did indeed make the form public...

The new statistics released by Microsoft are disappointing at best. The company’s report to the federal government says that 76 percent of its overall workforce is male, while only 24 percent is female. 61 percent are white. 29 percent are Asian. 5 percent are Hispanic/Latino. And only 3 percent are black."

Apple, Amazon refuse to release federal diversity data; USA Today.com, 12/8/14

Jessica Guynn, USA Today; Apple, Amazon refuse to release federal diversity data:

"American companies collect and report information about their workforces to the federal government each year in a form called the EEO-1.

The EEO-1 is a standard form which breaks down race, ethnicity and gender of workforces by job classification...

"I hope everyone eventually shares their EEO-1s," Hudnell said. "If we are going to commit as an industry to drive improvement in a collective fashion, we cannot do it with inconsistent data."

Stanford fellow Vivek Wadhwa says Apple and Amazon have a responsibility to the public to be more "publicly accountable for diversity."

The Small Personal Risks That Actually Change Behavior; Harvard Business Review, 11/17/14

Peter Bregman, Harvard Business Review; The Small Personal Risks That Actually Change Behavior:

"We often think of leadership in big, active ways: ambitious visions, well-articulated strategies, convincing speeches, compelling conversations.

Those things can be useful tools for a powerful leader. But they are not the essence of leadership. The essence of leadership is having the courage to show up differently than the people around you.

Most people I know — myself included — stop short of what we can accomplish because, simply put, we’re scared. Of looking bad. Of failing. Of being humiliated. We’re hiding, unwilling to be vulnerable, unsure whether to take a risk. But leadership calls us to step forward first and take the risk that others are afraid to take."

What Will Tim Cook’s Impact Be?; New York Times, 10/30/14

Anna North, New York Times; What Will Tim Cook’s Impact Be? :

"At Time, Daniel D’Addario writes: “Tim Cook has set a new paradigm, describing his sexuality as not merely a small aspect of himself that he needs to get through talking about, but as central to his identity.” And, he adds:

“It’s a sign of how much society has changed even since 2012 that Cook is finally able to present the somewhat revolutionary idea that being gay is not just the same as being straight — that it is not a simple aspect of one’s makeup. It changes the way one views the world, as Cook writes. It also compels one forward to take part in a cause larger than oneself.”

At the Harvard Business Review, Dorie Clark writes:

“Even for those like Tim Cook, who was out to colleagues but not to ‘the world’ at large, the stress of downplaying one’s identity can take a toll. Research by the Deloitte University Leadership Center for Inclusion showed that 83% of gay employees ‘covered’ at work — i.e., even if they were technically out, they still felt the need to minimize their differences by, for instance, not bringing their partner to work functions, or not displaying family photographs at the office. Cook’s coming out demonstrates powerfully to executives at Apple — and elsewhere in the corporate world — that covering is no longer required to succeed at the top.”"

Apple’s Tim Cook Says That He Is ‘Proud to Be Gay’; New York Times, 10/30/14

Brian X. Chen and Vindu Goel, New York Times; Apple’s Tim Cook Says That He Is ‘Proud to Be Gay’ :

"The Valley has also been ahead of the curve in extending employee benefits to same-sex partners and spouses. But tech companies, particularly start-ups founded and staffed largely by young white men, have struggled to deal with a fraternitylike workplace atmosphere inhospitable to women and gay people. Silicon Valley has few prominent executives who are openly gay.

“Thank you Tim for showing what it means to be a real, courageous and authentic leader,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote on his social network as he shared Mr. Cook’s essay with his followers.

Rob Glaser, chief executive of Real Networks, a maker of media player software in Seattle, said in an interview that Mr. Cook’s step was “hugely positive.”

“Life is about role models,” said Mr. Glaser, who has worked in the tech industry for three decades. “If you’re a 14-year old kid and you find the C.E.O. of one of the most iconic companies in the world happens to be gay, you’ll think, ‘There’s no limit on what I can do.'"”

Tim Cook Speaks Up; Businessweek, 10/30/14

Tim Cook, Businessweek; Tim Cook Speaks Up:

"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple."

Mapping the USA's diversity from 1960-2060; USA Today, 10/22/14

USA Today; Mapping the USA's diversity from 1960-2060:

"The USA TODAY Diversity Index shows diversity has surged in the last 50 years and is expected to continue rising. The U.S. index rose from 20 in 1960 to 55 in 2010. Driven by changing attitudes and a record wave of immigration, the pace of change varies widely, sometimes even in adjacent counties. Explore this map for a county-by-county look at how your area will change."

NIH awards ~$31 million to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce; NIH, 10/22/14

NIH; NIH awards ~$31 million to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce:

"The National Institutes of Health announced the award of nearly $31 million in fiscal year 2014 funds to develop new approaches that engage researchers, including those from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical sciences, and prepare them to thrive in the NIH-funded workforce. These awards are part of a projected five-year program to support more than 50 awardees and partnering institutions in establishing a national consortium to develop, implement, and evaluate approaches to encourage individuals to start and stay in biomedical research careers. Supported by the NIH Common Fund and all NIH 27 institutes and centers, 12 awards will be issued as part of three initiatives of the Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-Funded Workforce program...

Research demonstrates that economic, social, and cultural factors have a powerful impact on the pursuit of science careers, and has provided small scale data on interventions that have the potential to transform biomedical research training if implemented widely. This body of work suggests that a fundamental shift in the way scientists are trained and mentored is required to attract and sustain the interest of people from underrepresented groups in the scientific workforce at all career stages."

NYCC: Diversity and the World Outside Marvel Comics' Window; ComicBookResources.com, 10/22/14

Cardner Clark, ComicBookResources.com; NYCC: Diversity and the World Outside Marvel Comics' Window:

"Marvel Comics creators gathered at New York Comic Con to discuss the topic of diversity through 75 years of Marvel history. Editor Daniel Ketchum moderated Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso "Ms. Marvel" co-creator and editor Sana Amanat, Kurt Busiek, Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer Kieron Gillen, editor and colorist Marie Javins, editor and "Sabre" writer Don McGregor, and editor and writer Ann Nocenti.

Ketchum started by explaining the theme of the panel: "The World Outside Your Window." "Ever since I started at Marvel, one of the comments that I've heard over and over is that Marvel Comics should reflect the world outside your window, meaning that we aim to capture real-life experiences in the adventures we put on the page, as well as showing that the makeup of our diverse cast of characters -- we want our characters to match the diversity of our audience." Although that has not always been the case in the comics industry, the panelists were eager to discuss the history of diversity at Marvel and suggest ways to make comics more inclusive."