October I, 2014
Minority & Small Business Week
Page 15
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
High Tech Firms Must Embrace Diversity
Numbers show
striking lack of
inclusion
by
M arc H. M orial
While the number of
A fric a n
A m e ric a n ,
Latino and women con­
sumers of Internet and
broadband products and services is ris­
ing, their numbers at the major high tech
companies continue to lag way behind.
After years of resisting disclosure, tech
giants including Apple, Facebook, Ya­
hoo and Google recently released then-
em ploym ent diversity num bers. As
w e’ve long suspected, they show a strik­
ing lack of inclusion.
According to published figures, at
Google, 3 percent o f its staff are His­
panic and 2 percent are black. Both
Yahoo and Facebook reported that His­
panics and blacks make up 4 percent and
2 percent of their workplaces, respec­
tively. W hen Apple makes an announce­
ment, as in this m onth’s introduction of
the iPhone 6, it usually wants the world
to stand up and take notice. This was
..
-
likely not the case with the release of its
diversity numbers last month, which
showed the company is 55 percent white,
15 percent Asian, 11 percent Hispanic
and 7 percent black.
In his statem ent upon release of the
report, A pple CEO Tim Cook candidly
adm itted, “I ’m not satisfied with the
num bers on this p ag e.” This acknow l­
edgm ent is a first step, but the question
for Cook and his Silicon V alley coun­
terparts is - W hat are you going to do
about it?
For years, Silicon Valley has used the
specious claim of being a “meritocracy”
to explain the lack of diversity in its
ranks. It has never been true that Afri­
can Americans, Latinos or women are
somehow less able to excel at high tech
jobs. It is true that communities of color
and
w om en
c o n tin u e
to
be
underrepresented in the attainment of
science and engineering degrees.
The National Urban League is work­
ing to increase those numbers with ef­
forts like Project Ready STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and mathemat­
ics) which is supporting 10 Project Ready
STEM sites across the nation.
The sites are successfully operating
Ill
STEM programs for nearly 300 middle
or high school students, with the goals of
ensuring that urban students have the
necessary supports and opportunities
available to them to succeed in STEM-
related class work and exposing stu­
dents to STEM-related careers.
But as Freda Kapor Klein, co-chair of
the Kapor Center for Social Impact ex­
plains, “The reality is that most of the
barriers are structural... our sector is
permeated by biases, both subtle and not
so subtle.”
H er co-chair and husband, Mitch
Kapor, the designer of Lotus 1-2-3, adds,
“Even as companies scramble to find
workers in the most competitive hiring
market in recent memory, most are con­
tinuing to bring aboard people who look
like they do.”
It is not enough to lament the numbers;
high tech companies must be more inten­
tional about increasing diversity. The
industry would do well to follow the
example of some of the large telecom
companies, which have taken proactive
measures in recent years to increase
diversity within their organizations.
For example, A T& T’s Workforce In­
clusion website states, “We know that
diverse, talented and dedicated individu­
als are critical to our success, so we look
for people from various backgrounds
and give them opportunities to grow ... we
serve our customers better when we
build diversity into all we do.”
Verizon has also made great strides in
both employee and supplier diversity.
According to Verizon Chairman and
CEO, Lowell Me Adam “A diverse work­
place is one of Verizon’s biggest strengths
as a global innovation leader. Our em ­
ployees’ unique backgrounds and per­
spectives are key to our success in deliv­
ering technology solutions that create
value for our customers, shareholders
and society.”
High tech companies must not only
make similar statements, they must make
similar commitments. They can begin by
developing com prehensive diversity
plans to cover hiring, procurement, gov­
ernance and philanthropy. As major
consumers of technology, people of color
and women should also have a fair share
of the jobs and wealth that high tech
generates.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the National
Urban League.
||[|l.1.1
Our Current Approach to Marijuana has Failed
Legalization measure energizes youth and minority voters
by
D ominic L ópez
W ith each new
generation, there is
hope that a new
approach can fix an
out-of-date broken
way of doing things.
In the case o f m ari­
ju a n a , s tu d e n ts,
young professionals and new home­
makers overwhelmingly support legal­
ization.
L et’s put the drug dealers out of
business, stop the unjust arrests, and
raise some money for vital resources
that serve all o f us. This November,
young Oregonians and communities of
color need to stand up and be heard
with our voices and our ballots by vot­
ing yes on Measure 91.
We cannot afford to have our history
written for us. People o f color, like me,
are disproportionately targeted by failed
laws that perpetuate a cycle of oppres­
sion, cloud our futures, and shame our
present.
Black people in our state are more
than twice as likely to be arrested for
marijuana-related crimes as whites. In
some Oregon counties, the prosecution
is more than three times the rate of
white people. That’s despite equal rates
o f marijuana use across racial demo­
graphics.
Every year we wait for the reform
o f marijuana laws means more lives
are disrupted. A criminal citation for a
mistake made when you’re young fol­
lows you for a long time. It’s easy for
a landlord, bank or potential employer
to find a marijuana offense on your
record. We need to stop burdening
people with this harsh punishment for a
non-violent crime.
It’s up to us to shine a light on
marijuana prohibition and the harm it
does. We need to make this a public
conversation with our parents and our
families.
Part of the money raised by M ea­
sure 91 is required to go to drug educa­
tion programs to arm people with the
knowledge they need. These programs
barely exist now, and if they do they are
terribly underfunded. We can change
that by voting yes on Measure 91.
C olorado and W ashington chose a
new approach to m arijuana first. We
look to their experiences for guid­
ance. As a result, O regon’s initiative
is the gold standard to regulate, legal­
ize and tax m arijuana. It would mean
m oney guaranteed for K-12 educa­
tio n , in c lu d in g c la s s r o o m s in
Beaverton, the same ones where I
was taught not long ago.
I am 23 years old. I know a lot of
people think twenty-somethings like me
are fickle voters. Not this time, my
friends. This is our world too, and we
can shape it. We have an opportunity
this November to be on the right side of
history.
Marijuana prohibition is an injustice.
It’s apparent when we count the thou­
sands of arrests and citations each
year, the wasted police resources, and
the millions of dollars in potential rev­
enue lost.
Measure 91 means marijuana safety
through regulation, more money for our
state, and an end to unjust incarcera­
tion. Get registered, and cast your bal­
lot. Let our voice be heard. It is time for
a new approach.
Dominic Lopez is the metro re­
gional organizer fo r Yes On 91.
Exemplifies the Problem
I was disappointed to read The Portland
Observer opinion piece "A Real Discussion
about D om estic V iolence" by D evin
Robinson (Sept. 24 issue). He essentially
advocated that it’s okay for men to hit
women if they don't know their place. I was
further shocked to read that this man is a
college professor. Honestly, the article made
me wonder if he has ever physically as­
saulted a woman.
Yes, I understand it was an opinion
piece, but I would like to think The Portland
Observer would read submissions with a
critical eye.
October is Domestic Violence Aware­
ness Month. I hope The Portland Observer
will include articles written by black women/
women of color who work with survivors or
survivors themselves. The Healing Roots
Center is great place to get information
about the complexities of domestic violence
in the black community.
I think pieces like Robinson exemplify
the problem with domestic violence in the
black community. How saddening.
Tonya Jones
Women o f Color Zine Workshops