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The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Dec. 7, 2012, that it will review two decisions concerning the definition of marriage that could significantly reshape federal and state employment law.
In United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307, the Supreme Court will consider the question of whether Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) deprives same-sex couples who are lawfully married under the laws of their states of the equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Section 3 of DOMA defines the term “marriage" for all purposes under federal law as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.”
Edie Windsor, who is 83 years old, challenged DOMA’s constitutionality after she had to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate taxes after the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer, because their marriage was not recognized under federal law.
North Carolina Department of Commerce EEEEOO YYoouu SShhoouulldd KKnnooww
Sharon Allred Decker, Secretary
January-March 2013
Volume 3, Issue 1
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 Supreme Court Will Review DOMA, Prop 8
1 The Bamboo Ceiling
2 New Leader of the Legal Defense Fund
3 No Vampire Rights in Jail
4 MLK Day of Service 2013
4 Diversity Calendar
4 Training
“It's certainly not for lack of education.”
Court contd. on page 2
Supreme Court Will Review DOMA, Prop 8
edited from shrm.org
Ever wonder why there are so few Asian Americans at the very highest levels of U.S. companies? It's certainly not for lack of education. The Census Bureau reports that 44% of Americans of Asian heritage are college graduates, way above the average (27%) for the nation. True, their numbers are relatively small, making up just 4.4% of the workforce. But Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority in the U.S., having increased by 72% since 1990, vs. just 13% for the U.S. population as a whole. Moreover, according to human resources managers and recruiters, plenty of entry-level hires are of Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese extraction.
The Bamboo Ceiling
edited from cnn.com
Asian-American contd. on page 3 Page 2 EEO You Should Know
“What does it mean to fight for civil rights when the nation's first black president has been re-elected and his attorney general is African-American, too?”
In Hollingsworth v. Perry, No. 12-144, the Supreme Court will review the 9th Circuit’s decision that the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause bars California from adopting a constitutional amendment—Proposition 8—that prohibited same-sex marriage. The appeals court’s conclusion that Proposition 8 serves no purpose other than proclaiming publicly the “lesser worth” of gays and lesbians as a class and to “dishonor a disfavored group.”
The two cases accepted by the Supreme Court are expected to be argued in Spring 2013, with a decision issued by late June.
Court from page 1
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, once run by Thurgood Marshall, played a major role in desegregating public schools and fighting restrictions at the ballot box. Now, the Legal Defense Fund is preparing for a new leader.
What does it mean to fight for civil rights when the nation's first black president has been re-elected and his attorney general is African-American, too? That's the challenge for Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor at the University of Maryland. In January 2013, she's set to become the next leader of the Legal Defense Fund.
"There are adult generations that have no memory of the civil rights movement, who are unaware of its sights, its sounds, what it meant, the seminal way in which it shaped how many of us think about America and think about the world," Ifill says. So, Ifill says, a lot of people have a hard time squaring "the picture of a black president and his family and the reality of what life is like for people at the bottom."
She means people of color who fell into a deep hole of poverty during the economic crisis. Too many of them, she says, still have a hard time finding homes and a good education because of the color of their skin.
One of the first, and biggest, items on Ifill's agenda is a pair of cases at the U.S. Supreme Court this term. The first involves a test of the affirmative action system at the University of Texas, where a student who says she was rejected because she's white has sued to overturn the school's admissions regime.
The second is a case that calls into question a key part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Section Five of that law gives the Justice Department the power to pre-approve election changes in states with a history of discrimination.
Ifill, who started her career doing voting rights cases in the South at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, will continue to look at the voter ID laws some states enacted before this year's election.
New Leader of the Legal Defense Fund
edited from npr.org
“…the definition of marriage that could significantly reshape federal and state employment law.” EEO You Should Know Page 3
“Asian Americans may not know how we're perceived by our Caucasian peers and bosses, so we need to get honest feedback.”
Only 1% of corporate directors are Asian. Even in Silicon Valley, where about 30% of tech professionals or their forebears hail from Pacific Rim countries, Asian Americans account for only 12.5% of managers; 80% of tech bosses are Caucasian.
So what gives? Jane Hyun, a former human resources executive at J.P. Morgan has written a book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians. It goes a long way toward explaining why Asian Americans aren't getting ahead in big companies and what they can do about it. Hyun was born in Korea and grew up in New York City. Her family came to the U.S. when she was 8. "What many Americans don't understand is that people like me have one foot in two worlds," she says. "Of course I've assimilated, but I still feel Asian." Hyun acknowledges that sweeping generalizations about any racial or ethnic group are tricky, because naturally there are always exceptions. Still, she points out that most Asians share certain cultural values, drummed into them since childhood, that are the precise opposite of what it takes to succeed in the corporate world these days.
One example: "Most Asians are taught from an early age to be self-effacing and to put the community ahead of one's own interests. Pacific Rim cultures are full of sayings like, 'The tallest nail gets hammered down,' " says Hyun. "So the idea of putting your ideas forward or marketing yourself or even taking credit for your own achievements, these are alien concepts." Asian Americans also have been taught to respect authority and defer to elders. "Often, in meetings, Asians will not speak up," Hyun observes. "Unfortunately, this reticence gets mistaken for aloofness or arrogance or inattention, when it is usually just the Asian habit of respecting authority. We wait for our turn to speak and often our turn just never comes."
Hyun's book offers a crash course in assertiveness for her fellow wallflowers. "The first step is self-awareness," she says. "Asian Americans may not know how we're perceived by our Caucasian peers and bosses, so we need to get honest feedback. This is why mentoring relationships can be so valuable, if you're paired up with a non-Asian mentor." If no one is willing to be candid with you about how you're coming across, she adds, then maybe you're working for the wrong company: "You'll never be able to deal with issues and problems that remain unspoken." Beware, too, of employers who offer training and development to "high potential" folks only. “To learn the skills you need to succeed, seek out companies that are interested in developing all their people, not just a chosen few, and that offer lots of opportunities for training, coaching, and mentoring."
Yes, you read that correctly. A vampire high priest, who just so happens to be an inmate serving a life sentence in Texas, has lost a civil rights case on appeal to the Fifth Circuit. Apparently prison officials weren’t allowing him to perform the ritualistic rites involved in the practice of his vampiric religion. If this had happened on an episode of True Blood, you can bet that this would not stand in Bon Temps.
No Vampire Rights in Jail
Asian-American from page 1 Page 4 EEO You Should Know
January 1 – Emancipation Proclamation 150th Anniversary. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed this edict proclaiming that all slaves living within rebelling Confederate states "are, and henceforth shall be, free."
January 6 – Día de los Reyes/Epiphany. Commemorates the arrival of the Magi to confirm Jesus as son of God.
January 21 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Day of Service. This federal holiday honors Dr. King's life and commitment to equality and unity. Celebrated simultaneously, the Day of Service encourages citizens to follow King's words: "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve."
February – Black History Month
February 1 – Imbolc. A Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring.
February 10 – Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year). Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. 2013 is the Year of the Snake.
February 13 – Ash Wednesday. Marks the beginning of this 40–day liturgical period of prayer and fasting. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.
February 18 – Presidents' Day. Observed on the third Monday in February, this Federal holiday celebrates the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
February 21 – International Mother Language Day. This annual observance promotes people's uniqueness and cultural diversity by highlighting their mother tongues.
March – Women's History Month
March 18 – Orthodox Lent begins.
March 21 – Nowruz. Celebrated since 248 BC, Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the Persian New Year.
March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. On this day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
The EEO You Should Know newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Diversity Office
MaryMolly G. Taylor, PHR EEO Representative
marymolly.taylor@nccommerce.com
919.707.1622
Diversity Calendar
All supervisors and managers are required by state statute G.S. 126-16.1 to take the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) class. The description and registration is available at
http://www.osp.state.nc.us/HRD/traincat/Courses/smd/smd136.html
The Office of State Personnel offers other EEO classes for free. The course descriptions are at
http://www.osp.state.nc.us/HRD/traincat/eeopolicyclasses.html
Training
MLK Day of Service 2013
The Annual State Employees’ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance Program and John R. Larkins Award presentation are scheduled for noon on Friday, January 18, 2013, at the First Baptist Church, 101 South Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC. For more information, see
http://www.governor.nc.gov/events/mlkday2013/default.html
Learn more about your local events of service at
http://mlkday.gov/
Object Description
Description
| Title | EEO you should know |
| Other Title | Equal employment opportunity |
| Date | 2013 |
| Description | Volume 3, Issue 1 (January-March 2013) |
| Digital Characteristics-A | 486 KB; 4 p. |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Pres File Name-M | pubs_serial_eeoyoushouldknow20130103.pdf |
| Full Text | The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Dec. 7, 2012, that it will review two decisions concerning the definition of marriage that could significantly reshape federal and state employment law. In United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307, the Supreme Court will consider the question of whether Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) deprives same-sex couples who are lawfully married under the laws of their states of the equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Section 3 of DOMA defines the term “marriage" for all purposes under federal law as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Edie Windsor, who is 83 years old, challenged DOMA’s constitutionality after she had to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate taxes after the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer, because their marriage was not recognized under federal law. North Carolina Department of Commerce EEEEOO YYoouu SShhoouulldd KKnnooww Sharon Allred Decker, Secretary January-March 2013 Volume 3, Issue 1 INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 Supreme Court Will Review DOMA, Prop 8 1 The Bamboo Ceiling 2 New Leader of the Legal Defense Fund 3 No Vampire Rights in Jail 4 MLK Day of Service 2013 4 Diversity Calendar 4 Training “It's certainly not for lack of education.” Court contd. on page 2 Supreme Court Will Review DOMA, Prop 8 edited from shrm.org Ever wonder why there are so few Asian Americans at the very highest levels of U.S. companies? It's certainly not for lack of education. The Census Bureau reports that 44% of Americans of Asian heritage are college graduates, way above the average (27%) for the nation. True, their numbers are relatively small, making up just 4.4% of the workforce. But Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority in the U.S., having increased by 72% since 1990, vs. just 13% for the U.S. population as a whole. Moreover, according to human resources managers and recruiters, plenty of entry-level hires are of Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese extraction. The Bamboo Ceiling edited from cnn.com Asian-American contd. on page 3 Page 2 EEO You Should Know “What does it mean to fight for civil rights when the nation's first black president has been re-elected and his attorney general is African-American, too?” In Hollingsworth v. Perry, No. 12-144, the Supreme Court will review the 9th Circuit’s decision that the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause bars California from adopting a constitutional amendment—Proposition 8—that prohibited same-sex marriage. The appeals court’s conclusion that Proposition 8 serves no purpose other than proclaiming publicly the “lesser worth” of gays and lesbians as a class and to “dishonor a disfavored group.” The two cases accepted by the Supreme Court are expected to be argued in Spring 2013, with a decision issued by late June. Court from page 1 The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, once run by Thurgood Marshall, played a major role in desegregating public schools and fighting restrictions at the ballot box. Now, the Legal Defense Fund is preparing for a new leader. What does it mean to fight for civil rights when the nation's first black president has been re-elected and his attorney general is African-American, too? That's the challenge for Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor at the University of Maryland. In January 2013, she's set to become the next leader of the Legal Defense Fund. "There are adult generations that have no memory of the civil rights movement, who are unaware of its sights, its sounds, what it meant, the seminal way in which it shaped how many of us think about America and think about the world," Ifill says. So, Ifill says, a lot of people have a hard time squaring "the picture of a black president and his family and the reality of what life is like for people at the bottom." She means people of color who fell into a deep hole of poverty during the economic crisis. Too many of them, she says, still have a hard time finding homes and a good education because of the color of their skin. One of the first, and biggest, items on Ifill's agenda is a pair of cases at the U.S. Supreme Court this term. The first involves a test of the affirmative action system at the University of Texas, where a student who says she was rejected because she's white has sued to overturn the school's admissions regime. The second is a case that calls into question a key part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Section Five of that law gives the Justice Department the power to pre-approve election changes in states with a history of discrimination. Ifill, who started her career doing voting rights cases in the South at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, will continue to look at the voter ID laws some states enacted before this year's election. New Leader of the Legal Defense Fund edited from npr.org “…the definition of marriage that could significantly reshape federal and state employment law.” EEO You Should Know Page 3 “Asian Americans may not know how we're perceived by our Caucasian peers and bosses, so we need to get honest feedback.” Only 1% of corporate directors are Asian. Even in Silicon Valley, where about 30% of tech professionals or their forebears hail from Pacific Rim countries, Asian Americans account for only 12.5% of managers; 80% of tech bosses are Caucasian. So what gives? Jane Hyun, a former human resources executive at J.P. Morgan has written a book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians. It goes a long way toward explaining why Asian Americans aren't getting ahead in big companies and what they can do about it. Hyun was born in Korea and grew up in New York City. Her family came to the U.S. when she was 8. "What many Americans don't understand is that people like me have one foot in two worlds," she says. "Of course I've assimilated, but I still feel Asian." Hyun acknowledges that sweeping generalizations about any racial or ethnic group are tricky, because naturally there are always exceptions. Still, she points out that most Asians share certain cultural values, drummed into them since childhood, that are the precise opposite of what it takes to succeed in the corporate world these days. One example: "Most Asians are taught from an early age to be self-effacing and to put the community ahead of one's own interests. Pacific Rim cultures are full of sayings like, 'The tallest nail gets hammered down,' " says Hyun. "So the idea of putting your ideas forward or marketing yourself or even taking credit for your own achievements, these are alien concepts." Asian Americans also have been taught to respect authority and defer to elders. "Often, in meetings, Asians will not speak up," Hyun observes. "Unfortunately, this reticence gets mistaken for aloofness or arrogance or inattention, when it is usually just the Asian habit of respecting authority. We wait for our turn to speak and often our turn just never comes." Hyun's book offers a crash course in assertiveness for her fellow wallflowers. "The first step is self-awareness," she says. "Asian Americans may not know how we're perceived by our Caucasian peers and bosses, so we need to get honest feedback. This is why mentoring relationships can be so valuable, if you're paired up with a non-Asian mentor." If no one is willing to be candid with you about how you're coming across, she adds, then maybe you're working for the wrong company: "You'll never be able to deal with issues and problems that remain unspoken." Beware, too, of employers who offer training and development to "high potential" folks only. “To learn the skills you need to succeed, seek out companies that are interested in developing all their people, not just a chosen few, and that offer lots of opportunities for training, coaching, and mentoring." Yes, you read that correctly. A vampire high priest, who just so happens to be an inmate serving a life sentence in Texas, has lost a civil rights case on appeal to the Fifth Circuit. Apparently prison officials weren’t allowing him to perform the ritualistic rites involved in the practice of his vampiric religion. If this had happened on an episode of True Blood, you can bet that this would not stand in Bon Temps. No Vampire Rights in Jail Asian-American from page 1 Page 4 EEO You Should Know January 1 – Emancipation Proclamation 150th Anniversary. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed this edict proclaiming that all slaves living within rebelling Confederate states "are, and henceforth shall be, free." January 6 – Día de los Reyes/Epiphany. Commemorates the arrival of the Magi to confirm Jesus as son of God. January 21 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Day of Service. This federal holiday honors Dr. King's life and commitment to equality and unity. Celebrated simultaneously, the Day of Service encourages citizens to follow King's words: "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve." February – Black History Month February 1 – Imbolc. A Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring. February 10 – Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year). Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. 2013 is the Year of the Snake. February 13 – Ash Wednesday. Marks the beginning of this 40–day liturgical period of prayer and fasting. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. February 18 – Presidents' Day. Observed on the third Monday in February, this Federal holiday celebrates the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. February 21 – International Mother Language Day. This annual observance promotes people's uniqueness and cultural diversity by highlighting their mother tongues. March – Women's History Month March 18 – Orthodox Lent begins. March 21 – Nowruz. Celebrated since 248 BC, Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the Persian New Year. March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. On this day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination. The EEO You Should Know newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Diversity Office MaryMolly G. Taylor, PHR EEO Representative marymolly.taylor@nccommerce.com 919.707.1622 Diversity Calendar All supervisors and managers are required by state statute G.S. 126-16.1 to take the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) class. The description and registration is available at http://www.osp.state.nc.us/HRD/traincat/Courses/smd/smd136.html The Office of State Personnel offers other EEO classes for free. The course descriptions are at http://www.osp.state.nc.us/HRD/traincat/eeopolicyclasses.html Training MLK Day of Service 2013 The Annual State Employees’ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance Program and John R. Larkins Award presentation are scheduled for noon on Friday, January 18, 2013, at the First Baptist Church, 101 South Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC. For more information, see http://www.governor.nc.gov/events/mlkday2013/default.html Learn more about your local events of service at http://mlkday.gov/ |
| OCLC number | 854852405 |
