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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2019)
A8 BUSINESS & TECH East Oregonian Saturday, January 5, 2019 BRIEFLY Baker Boyer announces recent promotions AP Photo/John Locher, File In this Jan. 6, 2017, file photo, attendees stand in front of a QLED TV at the Samsung booth during CES International in Las Vegas. Tech’s big gadget show edges closer toward gender equity Critics have called to include more women as speakers, not just models By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer NEW YORK — The world’s largest tech confer- ence has apparently learned a big lesson about gender equity. CES, the huge annual consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas, caught major flak from activists in late 2017 when it unveiled an all-male lineup of key- note speakers for the sec- ond year in a row. Although it later added two female keynoters , the gathering’s “boys’ club” reputation remained intact. It didn’t help that one of the unsanc- tioned events latching on to CES last year was a nightclub featuring female “robot strippers.” This year, four of the nine current keynoters are women. GenderAvenger, the activist group that raised a ruckus last year, recently sent CES organiz- ers a congratulatory let- ter and awarded the show a “Gold Stamp of Approval” for a roster of keynote and “featured” speakers that it says is 45 percent women — 60 percent of them women of color. It’s a significant change AP Photo/John Locher, File In this Jan. 4, 2017, file photo a woman participates in a virtual realty presentation during an Intel news conference before CES International in Las Vegas. for CES, which like most tech conferences remains disproportionately male, just like the industry it serves. Even absent the robot dogs, sci-fi worthy gadgets and “booth babes” CES has been known for, you could readily peg it as a technology show from the bathroom lines alone — where men shift uncomfort- ably as they wait their turn while women waltz right in. The four-day CES show opens Tuesday, though media previews begin Sun- day. Keynoters this year include IBM CEO Ginni Rometty; Lisa Su, CEO of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices; and U.S. Trans- portation Security Elaine Chao. The entire featured speaker list is currently half female, although the exact percentage won’t be known until after the event. “There is no question we keep try- ing to do better,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Con- sumer Technology Associa- tion, which organizes CES. “Diversity is about hav- ing people who see things differently — frankly, dis- agree with you and tell you that you are stupid,” said Tania Yuki, CEO of social media analytics company Shareablee and an attendee of CES for the past several years. The big question, she says, is whether CES has really listened to its critics. CES is the place to be for tech companies and start- ups to show off their latest gadgets and features. More than 180,000 people are expected to attend this year, and some 4,500 compa- nies will be on the conven- tion floor. Among them are newcomers like Tide maker Procter & Gamble, defense contractor Raytheon and tractor seller John Deere — all eager to burnish their technology bona fides. But really leveling the playing field often means more than inviting female CEOs to speak. For start- ers, women and people of color are underrepresented in the tech industry, espe- cially in leadership and technical roles. So, confer- ence organizers might need to look harder, or be more flexible in who they invite to speak. There are also optics. While recent attendees say “booth babes” — scantily clad women hawking gad- gets — no longer seem to be a presence, some compa- nies still hire “fitness mod- els,” largely young women wearing tight-fitting outfits, to demo products. This can make it difficult for the few women at the show who are there as executives, engi- neers and other technolo- gists, as men mistake them for models, too. “When you are talking about scantily clad mod- els you are setting a tone,” said Bobbie Carlton, the founder of Innovation Women, a speaker bureau for women. “It is a slip- pery slope and you end up with this type of mentality that runs through industry, where women are objecti- fied and are only useful if they look good.” U.S. employers went on a surprising hiring spree in December By JOSH BOAK AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — U.S. employ- ers went on a hiring spree in Decem- ber, adding a surprising 312,000 jobs and providing a dose of reassurance about the economy after a turbulent few months on Wall Street. The job gains reported Friday by the Labor Department came despite a trade war with China, a global slowdown and a partial government shutdown now entering its third week. The nation’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9 percent last month, but that, too, was considered a positive sign, reflecting an increase in Ameri- cans beginning to look for work. And average hourly pay improved 3.2 per- cent from a year ago. Stocks surged on the news, along with word that the U.S. and China will hold trade talks next week and com- ments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the Fed will be flex- ible in judging whether to raise inter- est rates further. The Dow Jones indus- trial average shot up 747 points, or 3.3 percent. WALLA WALLA — working on various com- A Weston-McEwen High mittees associated with the School graduate is among YMCA. Other recent promotions those recently promoted at include Nick McShane, Baker Boyer bank. formerly the assis- Also a gradu- tant lending oper- ate of the Univer- ations manager, sity of Oregon, and Anna Dun- Jodi Venneri began can, a former con- her career at Baker sumer loan officer, Boyer in 1983. who were both pro- Most recently moted as assistant working as a Cred- Venneri itQuest administra- vice presidents; and tor with the bank, Levi Waggoner, she is now a vice president. former human resources Venneri’s first role in manager, who was pro- the organization was in moted to vice president. “Seeing the growth of the operations department. After four years of learning these individuals is testa- policies and procedures, ment to our culture of nur- she became one of the first turing talent with in the members of the informa- bank and our commitment tion technology depart- to the communities we ment, which formed to serve,” said Mark Kajita, move the bank from a paper Baker Boyer president and ledger system to a com- CEO. puter-based system. She Founded in 1869, Baker helped the bank go through Boyer is headquartered in the process and then stayed Walla Walla. It is the old- on to provide internal and est independently-owned external IT support for the community bank in the state, with seven branches, next 30 years. In her free time, Ven- including one in Mil- neri loves traveling with ton-Freewater. For more her husband, Doug, spend- information, visit www. ing time with family, and bakerboyer.com. Heppner chamber to elect new officers HEPPNER — The Hep- pner Chamber of Com- merce’s annual luncheon will include the elec- tion of new officers as well as reviewing recent accomplishments. The no-host event is Thursday, Jan. 17 at noon in the dining room at St. Pat- rick’s Senior Center, 190 N. Main St., Heppner. Heppner Market Fresh will be cater- ing lunch, which includes French dip, green salad and cookies. The cost is $10. In addition, people are reminded that nominations for the chamber’s annual Town and Country Com- munity Awards are due by Friday, Jan. 11 at the Hep- pner chamber or Kuhn Law Offices. Tickets for the Feb. 7 event will be available for purchase starting Mon- day, Jan. 14 at the cham- ber office, Bank of Eastern Oregon, Community Bank, Heppner City Hall and Murray’s Drug. For more information or to RSVP for the luncheon, contact 541-676-5536 or heppnerchamber@century- tel.net. Stocks swing to huge gains NEW YORK (AP) — Global stocks soared Fri- day and reversed the big losses they suffered just a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 746 points in the latest twist in a wild three months for markets. Hopes for progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute, a strong report on the U.S. jobs market and encouraging com- ments from the head of the U.S. central bank about its interest rate pol- icy all combined to cheer investors. China’s Commerce Ministry said trade talks will be held Monday and Tuesday in Beijing, and investors will again look for signs the world’s larg- est economic powers are resolving their dis- pute. The tensions have dragged on for nearly a year, slowing business and dragging down stock indexes worldwide. U.S. stocks have tumbled since Octo- ber as investors worried that the economy might slow down dramatically because of challenges including the trade dis- pute and rising interest rates. The stock market’s plunge also threatened to shake up the confidence and the spending plans of businesses and consum- ers. Some analysts said investors were acting as if a recession was on the horizon, despite a lack of evidence that the U.S. economy is struggling. “It’s hard to square recession worries with the strongest job growth we’ve seen in years,” said Alec Young, managing director of global mar- kets research for FTSE Russell. M A K R A V N E L O H P Thanks to modern technology and industry-leading expertise, Phonak is able to bring you the best possible solutions for your hearing needs 858387 Renata Anderson, MA 2237 SW Court, Pendleton • 541-276-5053 www.renataanderson.com 1 2 3 4 Whiteline Dig Area Call 811 to Locate Wait for Locates Dig Safe 1-888-522-1130 | www.cngc.com