Page A7
August 12. 2009
Workplace
Weathering the Recession Storm
Job access
for black
men targeted
by A lexandra
C awthorne
The recession is taking a toll
on m ost A m ericans and has re­
sulted in jo b losses not seen in
alm ost 25 years, but black men
have felt its effects particularly
hard.
Black men have long faced
lim ited em ploym ent prospects
an d d is p ro p o rtio n a te ly high
rates o f unemployment. Even as
the econom y thrived and the
p a rtic ip a tio n o f lo w -sk ille d
w om en in the labor force in­
creased over the last tw o de­
c a d e s , m any b la c k m en r e ­
m ained largely disco n n ected
from the labor market.
W h ile the u n e m p lo y m e n t Johnnie Daniels (center) and Kerwin Barber, sort through job
rate am ong black men has de­ tor, stands prepared to answer questions at a job fair in Los
clined dramatically over the last to 15.4 percent in this recession.
fe w d e c a d e s , th e le v e l o f
Policym akers can take sev­ policies that will promote eco­
w orkforce participation am ong eral steps to ensure that all com ­ nomic recovery and create jobs.
A frican-A m erican men has not m u n ities h av e fair a c ce ss to Policym akers should not only
in c re ase d and rem a in s s ta g ­ jobs, and that particular co m ­ assess the actual and anticipated
nant. The current degree o f jo b m u n ities do not su ffe r m ore effects o f policies and budgets
loss am ong black m en is par­ th a n o th e r s as a r e s u lt o f on disadvantaged communities
ticularly alarming.
m ounting and w idespread jo b like low-skilled black men, but
To a d d r e s s th is c r is is , losses. The policies should re­ also identify ways to maximize
policym akers m ust address the duce in eq u ities and pro m o te equity and inclusion— especially
root causes o f black m en’s dif­ equal opportunity in the labor in the context of the economic
ficulties in the labor m arket, in­ m arket and prom ote access to recovery.
cluding high rates o f incarcera­ meaningful em ploym ent oppor­
In good tim es and in bad, the
tion, lim ited education, child tunities for black men.
A frican-A m erican unem ploy­
su p p o rt a rre a ra g e s, and d is­
Racial equity and equal oppor­ m en t rate te n d s to be ab o u t
crimination.
tunity must be at the forefront of double that o f w hites, and in
listings, as Carlene Gepner, a business service coordina­
Angeles. The unemployment rate for black men has risen
tough econom ic times, it rises
higher and faster.
The recession overall has hit
m e n m u c h h a r d e r th a n
w om en— so far, four out o f ev ­
ery five jo b s lost has been held
by a male worker. Black men lead
the unem ploym ent surge, with
an unem ploym ent rate of 15.4
percent. This com es as a result
o f a range o f barriers to em ploy­
ment, including disproportion­
ate em ploym ent in vulnerable
industries and labor market dis­
crimination.
O ver a third o f young black
men ages 16 to 19 in the labor
market are unemployed. A broad
set o f com m unity-based youth
developm ent and mentoring ef­
forts targeting teens and young
a d u lts , in a d d itio n to h ig h
sc h o o l-b a se d p ro g ra m s th a t
lead more young people to col­
lege or directly into the labor
market would improve the work
outcom es for young black men.
M ore importantly, program s
like the Harlem Children’s Zone
that begin early in the lives of
b la c k c h ild r e n c o u ld h e lp
counter the achievem ent gaps
that develop early and follow
young men through life.
It is imperative that black men
have access to meaningful em ­
ployment opportunities in thriv­
ing and sustainable industries.
M any jo b s in the ren ew ab le
energy, sustainable agriculture,
and green building fields are
m iddle-skill jo b s that require
more than a high-school edu­
cation but less than a four-year
degree.
And these jobs are well within
reach for lower-skill and low-in-
come w orkers as long as they
h av e a c c e ss to e ffe c tiv e
workforce training and support
programs. Green jobs also pay
decent wages and can provide
opportunities for advancement
and high-level skill development.
R ecessions hurt us all, but
they hurt poor and marginalized
populations the most. A co n ­
scious and careful analysis of
the actual and anticipated ef­
fects o f econom ic and spend­
ing policies on com m unities o f
color and low-incom e families
is critical to ensuring an eco­
nomic recovery that will “lift all
boats” and provide sustained
income growth and employment
opportunities for all com m uni­
ties.
Alexandra Cawthorne is a re­
search associate in the Poverty
and P rosperity and Women 's
Health and Rights programs fa r
the Center fa r American Progress.
American TV Newsrooms Fall Behind on Diversity
Survey finds
managers of
color decline
TV broadcast com panies fall
short w hen it com es to diver­
sity in the top ranks o f new s
management.
A c c o rd in g to a stu d y r e ­
leased T h u rsd ay by the N a ­
tio n a l A sso c ia tio n o f B lack
Journalists, only 11.7 percent of
new s m anagers in the nation’s
new sroom s are people o f color.
T h at's dow n significantly from
last y ea r’s Television M anage­
m ent Diversity Census, which
found that people o f color com ­
prised 16.6 percent o f the news
m anagers.
T he study w as based on a
count o f executive producers,
Barbara Ciara
m a n a g in g e d ito rs , a s s is ta n t
new s directors, news directors
and general m anagers at 111
stations ow ned by ABC, CB S,
Fox, NBC, H earst Television,
M edia G eneral and Tribune. O f
the 548 m anagers em ployed,
only 65 were found to be people
o f color.
“T hese results should be a
w ake-up call to m edia ow ners
who say they are serious about
diversity in m anagem ent," said
Barbara Ciara, president o f the
NABJ, w hich is held its annual
convention last week in Tampa,
Fla. “A t the end o f the day, we
fin d th e n u m b e r o f A fric an
A m ericans who actually have
the ability to hire or influence
content falls w oefully short of
the desired goals.”
W hile the econ o m y w as a
m ajor reason cited for cutbacks
to new sroom positions, diver­
sity w as adversely affected, the
study found.
“ T h is is n o t a b o u t th e
econom y costing black journal­
ists their jobs. W hen you have
111 stations, and in those sta­
tions, you have 65 m anagers o f
Advertise with diversity ///
ri "' Portland Observer
color, th at's not because o f the
econom y. T hat tells you that
there w eren 't many there to be-
g in w ith ,” sa id Bob B u tler,
NABJ region VI director and
author o f the report. “ 1 think to
a certain extent the old boys
netw ork still exists in televi-
sion."
Our continuing effort to establish area standard
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