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Celebrating Diversity_____
August 12, 2009
Workplace
A Path to Upward Mobility
Rights Bill Adds
Cascade
V,..
Sexual Orientation
Prohibiting job discrimination
O reg o n ’s new est senator,
Jeff M erkley, jo in ed fellow
D e m o c ra t S en . E d w a rd
K ennedy o f M assach u setts
and R e p u b lic a n s S u san
Collins and Olympia Snowe of
Maine, last week by introduc­
ing the Employment Non-Dis­
crimination Act to prohibit job
d is c rim in a tio n b a se d on
sexual orientation and gender
identity. They were joined in
this effort by 34 other m em ­
bers of the Senate, including
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
“There is no place in the
w orkplace for em ploym ent
d is c r im in a tio n ,”
sa id
M erk ley . "N o w o rk e r in
A m erica should be fired or
denied a jo b based on who
they are. D iscrim ination is
wrong, period. I’m proud to
join Senator Kennedy, who is
a civil rights legend, and Sena­
tors Collins and Snowe, both
cham p io n s for eq u ality , in
taking this next step in our
ongoing effort to create a more
perfect union and guarantee
every American, regardless of
sexual orientation or gender
identity, the right to earn a liv­
ing.”
Similar to current law in sev­
eral states and the policies of
many Fortune 500 companies,
the proposal would close an
im portant gap in federal civil
rights laws by making it ille­
gal to discriminate in em ploy­
ment based on sexual orien­
tation.
“Our legislation affirms the
p rin c ip le th a t in d iv id u a ls
should be ju d g e d on th e ir
skills and abilities, and not by
who they are,” said Collins.
Kennedy said, “The prom ­
ise of America will never be
fulfilled as long as justice is
denied to even one am ong
us. The E m ploym ent Non-
D iscrim ination Act brings us
closer to fulfilling that prom ­
ise for gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender citizens. I'm
p ro u d to jo in S e n a to rs
Merkley, Collins and Snowe
in introducing this important
legislation.”
Snow e said the proposed
legislation was long overdue.
“We cannot continue to al­
low two standards of rights in
the workplace, based on sexual
orientation or identity,” Snowe
said. “Ensuring equality for all
Americans is the least we can
do in living up to the standards
of inclusion that this nation is
J e ff M erkley
b u ilt upon.
T h ere is no
place for discriminating against
any of our citizens for whatever
reason and 1 commend my col­
leagues for their willingness to
champion equal rights for ev­
ery American."
The act would prohibit em ­
ployers, em ploym ent a g en ­
cies, labor organizations and
joint labor-management com ­
mittees from firing, refusing to
hire, or discriminating against
those em ployed or seeking
em ploym ent, on the basis of
th e ir p e rc e iv e d o r a c tu a l
sexual orientation or gender
identity. Such protections are
already in place prohibiting
discrim ination based on race,
religion, gender, national ori­
gin, age, and disability.
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What is it that makes an eco­
nomic recovery? While there
are m any sig n s read by
■ ' F A ■ 1 11 a- • /
economists and pimdits that
can foretell the end of a down­
turn — retail sales, orders for
durable goods, the mood of reer in a cutting-edge and in-
the investor class, and the like demand field?
The answer to all these ques­
- the true health o f the
tions
is the same — community
economy is measured in jobs.
college,
of course.
And by that metric, the recov­
In
one
respect, this answ er
ery has yet to begin.
M any A m ericans - too is no surprise. Higher educa­
many - are still out of work. tion has always been the path
And the reality is that even to gainful em ploym ent, up­
when the recovery begins - ward economic mobility, and
when the economy starts add­ professional satisfaction. And
ing jobs rather than losing c o m m u n ity c o lle g e s have
them - many of the jobs that long been the most affordable
once formed the backbone of and accessible means of en ­
the American working class try into the world o f higher
won’t be there anymore.
For the most part, middle-
class A m ericans no longer
work in factories, or in lumber
mills, or in steel mills. For de­
cades now, we have been
transitioning aw ay from a
m a n u fa c tu rin g -b a s e d
econom y to a “post-indus­
trial,” service-based economy. education.
But viewed through the prism
So those determ ined and
of
today’s economic difficulties,
m otivated citizens who are
community
college is even more
currently unable to find gain­
of
a
positive
resource than it
ful em ploym ent face a d i­
historically
has
been. People
lemma. Where do you obtain
who
are
out
of
work
often don’t
the marketable skills neces­
have
the
luxury
o
f
taking a
sary to hop on the recovery
bandwagon once jobs start to longer-term approach to educa­
become more available? How tion. People need jobs sooner
do you train to participate in rather than later and in many
the forthcoming energy and cases community college is ex­
transportation infrastructure actly the right solution.
And you don’t have to take
projects envisioned by the
Obama Administration? How my word for it. President Obama
do you prepare to enter a ca- recently proposed $ 12 billion in
i
new spending to help prepare
the nation’s workforce for cut­
ting-edge and in-demand occu­
pations.
Take the health care indus­
try, for example. According to
the state of Oregon, health ser­
vices is one of the fastest-grow­
ing fields in the Portland area.
At P o rtla n d C om m unity
C ollege’s C ascade Cam pus,
where 1 am campus president,
students can earn a certificate
in Medical Assisting in as little
as 12 months.
People need jobs sooner
rather than later and in many
cases community college is
exactly the right solution.
The construction industry is
another good exam ple. The
state of Oregon also rates con­
struction am ong the fastest-
growing industries in the Port­
land area. Through Cascade
C a m p u s’ S kill C e n te r and
Evening Trades A pprentice­
ship Preparation programs -
both of which are extremely low­
cost options - students can
prepare for a skilled construc­
tion job in as few as 11 weeks.
Both programs qualify their
graduates for immediate appli­
cation for state-certified trade
apprenticeships, and the cam­
pus also offers students the
opportunity to further spe­
cialize their skills through the
Trades and Industry program.
O f course, these are but two
of the many options available
at Cascade Campus and other
community college campuses
around the region. In many
cases, students can fully pre­
pare for entry into a gainful
occupation in two years of
study or less. And you can
elect to transfer to a four-year
college or university if you
have your sights set even
higher on the educational lad­
der. The best way to learn more
about your options is to visit
your local community college
campus and make an appoint­
ment with an academic advi­
sor. At the same time, visit a
financial aid counselor to find
out how to make it work.
So there’s no reason to de­
spair if you happen to find
y o urself out o f work, and
there’s no reason to feel that
you have no control over
your situation or your future.
You can take control, you can
plan for the future, you can
put y o u rse lf in a position
where employers are compet­
ing over your skills. This eco­
nomic downturn might be the
most severe in recent memory,
but it too will pass. The ques­
tion is - will you be ready
when it does?
Algie C. Gatewood, Ed.D.,
is president o f Portland Com­
m unity C o lle g e ’s C ascade
Campus.
Ground Lost on Corporate Boards
Fewer seats
for African
Americans
A recen t study o f the
boards of directors of For­
tune 500 co m panies has
found that the num ber of
board seats held by African-
A m erican s has declin ed
since an inaugural report in
2004.
The E xecutive L ead er­
ship Council says the per-
centage of African-Americans
on c o r p o r a te b o a rd s d e ­
creased from 8.1 in 2004 to 7.4
percent in 2008. Four years
ago, A frican-A m ericans held
449 corporate board seats and
today they hold 413.
The importance of diversity
on corporate boards is likely to
become more apparent as orga­
nizations recognize that chang­
ing demographics are altering
the nation’s business needs.
Many corporations realize the
benefits they have achieved
from a diverse workforce and
are beginning to make inroads
on their governing boards of
directors.
The study show s that the
higher an organization is on the
Fortune 500 list, the more likely
it is to have African-Americans
on its board of directors.
“It’s been proven again and
again th a t co m p an ies w ith
board members who reflect gen­
der and ethnic diversity also
tend to have better returns on
equity and sales,” said Carl
Brooks, council president and
chief executive officer.
"Businesses understand the
economic benefits of diversity.
They talk about it, but not all of
them have a plan for achieving
it. We expect this report to spur
meaningful progress in this im­
portant area of management and
governance.”
As a member of the Alliance
for Board Diversity, the Execu­
tive Leadership Council is a
strategic partner with Catalyst,
the Hispanic A ssociation for
Corporate Responsibility and
Leadership Education for Asian
Pacifies.
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