The days of having a glass ceiling over Asian Am. federal/state employees seems numbered, provided that all of us, including those employees, not only remain vigilant but also double our effort.
(A) THE EEOC REPORT ( http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/report/aapi.html )
Among other it recommends that the President promulgates
"an Executive Order that addresses issues of discrimination against AAPI employees in the federal sector, and that supports programs to encourage professional advancement; "
(B) A GOOD SUMMARY By Alyssa Rosenberg, click on
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41828&dcn=todaysnews
The article ends with:
"The report noted that stereotypes of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders as being passive & nonconfrontational, without a strong presence, may mean that managers are unable to see their leadership potential.
"What is presence? Like 'leadership,' it is prone to perceptions," said the report. "If there is not a willingness to perceive 'presence' in a person, it will not be found, regardless of competence and merit.""
(C) ASIAN AM. STATE EMPLOYEES WILL ALSO BENEFIT
Although the EEOC report addresses federal employees only, past experience showed that Asian Am. state employees will also benefit. If and when the Presidential Executive Order is issued, most governors will issue similar executive orders.
(D) ARE OTHER ASIAN AM. WORKERS IGNORED?
NO! All other Asian Am. workers are covered under the existing Exec. Order 11246 which President Obama has committed in writing to enforce.
(E) 80-20'S UNIQUE ROLE IN THIS BREAKTHROUGH
1/9/06 S. B. Woo together with the Special Assistant Jing-Li Yu and 80-20 Life member Henry Lee visited then EEOC Chairwomen Cari Dominguez & 6 of her staff. They presented evidence of a very low glass ceiling over Asian Am. workers, and urged EEOC to verify or deny its accuracy. They urged EEOC to consider issuing a report similar to the one that EEOC published years ago entitled "The Glass Ceiling on Women," if the statistics 80-20 has presented were accurate. The Chairwoman responded very positively.
4/5/06 80-20 PAC President S. B. Woo visited Sen. D. Akaka of Hawaii, ranking member of the Senate Subcomm. on Federal Employees, and 3 of his staff. Woo showed the statistical evidence of a very low glass ceiling over federal employees and urged the senator to investigate. The good senator agreed.
4/12/06 EEOC Chief statistician Ronald Edwards verified in writing for S. B. Woo that the statistics gathered by 80-20 were accurate.
9/6/06 YOU donated big $$$ to allow 80-20 to publicize its findings in a full page ad in The Washington Post calling Am's attention to "Asian Ams have the least opportunity to enter management & the slowest rate of progress towards equal employment opportunity despite having the highest educational attainment."
11/7/06 80-20 endorsed all Democrats except 2 for the Congressional election. Dems won both the House and the Senate. Sen. Akaka became Chairman of the Senate Subcomm. on Federal Employee.
10/11/07 New EEOC Chair Naomi C Earp announced a work group to address issues of concern to Asian Am & Pacific Islander community. 80-20 wrote to offer assistance.
1/31/08 Sen. Obama answered 80-20's questionnaire with all yeses.
11/4/08 Sen. Obama won the election with the all out help from 80-20 in the battleground states.
1/9/09 EEOC released the said report. It was based on a 2 year study calling in many witnesses including a powerful presentation by Dr. Kuan-The Jeang, an 80-20 Life Member.
JOIN 80-20. If not now, when? Make your contribution to push us equal citizenship. Go http://www.80-20initiative.net or Send you check to
80-20 PAC
PO Box 22509
Philadelphia, PA 19110
Please put your email and postal addresses in the back of your check. Pass
this e-newsletter to your friends in federal/state governments.
Respectfully,
S. B. Woo, Acting Exec. Director
