So You Hired A Racist. Now What?

There’s no doubt the election of Donald Trump by the electoral college emboldened white supremacists and provided them bigger platforms upon which to spread their anti-diversity messages. Racists no longer feel confined to trolling people on Twitter and are suddenly removing their white hoods and boldly showing their faces at KKK rallies.

This puts businesses in a precarious situation: if you discover, online or otherwise, that one of your employees is racist — and actively engaged in promoting white supremacy — what should you do?

Google recently fired James Damore shortly after he spent his working hours producing a 10 page anti-diversity manifesto in which he speculated that his women colleagues were biologically inferior to men. After the manifesto went viral, Google’s head of diversity Danielle Brown issued a statement acknowledging the manifesto, disputing its accuracy, and reaffirming Google’s commitment to diversity. Google CEO Sundar Pichai went out of his way to remind young girls in tech, “You belong in this industry. We need you.” And lastly, Damore was the unfortunate recipient of the dreaded pink slip, namely for violating Google’s code of conduct.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-to-do-if-youve-hired-a-racist_us_59909c83e4b0ed1f464c0bd9?utm_hp_ref=human-resources

7 Ways To Figure Out If You’re Underpaid

Fact: The wage gap is real, and it’s a worldwide phenomenon. If you’re a working woman, there’s a good chance you’re underpaid. Despite awareness campaigns and progress achieved by women human rights activists, the global average of annual earning proves that men still far out-earn women: They make $20,000 in comparison to our $11,000. In 2016, the World Economic Forum reported that it could take 170 years to close the wage and employment-opportunity gaps.

Gender pay gap statistics differ greatly from country to country. The good news is that most countries are progressing for the better. The bad news: North America is the only region where the gap is increasing. However, we’ve gotten better at highlighting the gender pay gap through various awareness initiatives (Equal Pay Day) and legal frameworks (CEDAW General Recommendation No.13: Equal remuneration for work of equal value). We’re also now defining “work” to take into account the value of women’s non-monetized contributions through unpaid care work: domestic housework, childcare, and elderly support.

It would be ideal for women and men to be paid equally by the worth of their work, and not just because it would benefit their individual lives. If men and women were paid equally, the worldwide GDP would grow by $12 trillion. While the wage gap is complicated and closing it is far from simple, there are things that individuals can do to help fix this problem. If you are a woman, the first step is to personally find out how much you should be paid for the job you’re doing — and if you’re being underpaid. Not sure where to start? Ahead, seven ways to find out.

If men and women were paid equally, the worldwide GDP would grow by $12 trillion.

It’s 2017, and yet women are still fighting for equality. Data suggests it will take until 2152 to close the gender wage gap, but it shouldn’t take a century to get what we want. We want more, and Refinery29 is here to help — because 135 years is too long to wait for what we deserve today.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-ways-to-figure-out-if-youre-underpaid_us_5911e626e4b0e070cad70901?utm_hp_ref=human-resources

Google This: Best Way To Handle A Hostile Co-Worker Who Shows Gender Bias

 

Hopefully, most of us are not daily sparring with co-workers behaving similarly to the fired Google employee James Damore who recently unleashed a 10-page anti-diversity, gender-bashing manifesto.

The fallout and his threat of legal recourse has prompted conversations, backlash, anger on all sides, action and perhaps new policies about unconscious bias, gender bias, the gender gap, gender parity and discrimination.

Yet such gender stereotyping, blaming and pushback against women in tech, STEM and the C-Suite is not an anomaly. Nor is it new. Lawrence Summers, then-president of Harvard University, in 2005 proclaimed, “…one reason there are relatively few women in top positions in science may be ‘issues of intrinsic aptitude.’”

 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/google-this-best-way-to-handle-a-hostile-co-worker_us_5990cb2be4b063e2ae0580de?utm_hp_ref=human-resources

 

Why Sexist Workplaces Are So Hard to Change

The recent case of man in a powerful position making a sexist comment — during a company meeting aimed partly at addressing discrimination against women — raises the question of why gender issues in the workplace are so difficult to quash.

During an Uber staff meeting on June 13, board member Arianna Huffington said that having one woman on a company’s board often leads to more women joining the board.

David Bonderman responded, “Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” according to The New York Times.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-sexist-workplaces-are-so-hard-to-change_us_594aacd2e4b0a3a837bc6995?utm_hp_ref=human-resources

Starbucks Under Fire For Giving Less Parental Leave To Hourly Workers

Why does Starbucks think it’s OK to give its well-compensated salaried employees far better paid leave benefits than hourly workers who are already barely scraping by? On Monday, some of the company’s shareholders filed a resolution demanding an explanation…..

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/starbucks-parental-leave_us_59cea755e4b05f005d3441f5?utm_hp_ref=human-resources

Cultural differences in the workplace

Most Australian workplaces today employ people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Some workers may have specific cultural needs or requirements which should be taken into account.

• Dress – Some cultures have specific clothing such as headscarves or turbans that are worn at all times.
• Religious practices – Some religions require time during work each day for prayer or time off for special religious days.
• Customs – Some cultures can or can’t have specific foods and drinks, or may have rules about how food is prepared.
• Social values – Ideas about appropriate social and sexual behaviour, work ethics, wealth and personal growth vary between cultures.
• Family obligations – Some cultures have high family priorities which may sometimes conflict with work.
• Non-verbal behaviour – Eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures and how people interpret them vary between cultures.

Employers are responsible for their workers’ physical and psychological health and well-being and should encourage tolerance and respect for cultural differences in the workplace.

Religious dress

You are entitled to wear your religious dress at work, unless it creates a safety hazard. If you religious dress covers your face, you can be asked to show your face for reasonable identification purposes.

What your employer can do

Employers can:

• train staff
• make use of staff cultural skills
• promote cultural celebrations
• be flexible
• not discriminate against workers because of the employer’s own cultural background.

Workers and employers should also consider cultural differences as possible reasons for problems or misunderstandings in the workplace.

Treating people unfairly at work because of their cultural difference may be unlawful under equal opportunity laws. If you think you have been discriminated against because of your culture, contact us for advice.

http://www.eoc.sa.gov.au/eo-you/workers/work/cultural-differences-workplace

3 Reasons Unemployment Is Higher Among Veterans

Out of the more than two million nonprofits in the United States, approximately 45,000 self-identify as serving U.S. military service personnel and their families, according to a recent George W. Bush Institute essay. This post, written by Emily Núñez Cavness, takes a deep dive into a key issue that active duty and veterans face today: unemployment. Cavness is an officer in the U.S. Army, co-founder and CEO of Sword & Plough, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur in 2015, and a 2014 Classy Awards Fellow.

Vietnam veterans spent months and years fighting through emotionally, physically, and spiritually arduous circumstances. They returned home hoping for a fresh start, new opportunities, and a chance to put the past behind them. Unfortunately, many of these veterans found the transition challenging, and a significant number of them slipped into the clutches of persistent unemployment. This led to the perception, and some would argue reality, of a generation of disenfranchised and dejected U.S. military veterans. The social ramifications of poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, depression, and suicide continue to affect our country decades later.

The challenges of veteran unemployment are not confined to the Vietnam-era veteran population. With one million veterans projected to leave the armed forces between 2012 and 2017, the United States stands at a critical moment. Will we allow another generation of veterans to return from war only to fight an unfair uphill battle in the search for dignified work? Or will this generation of civilians step up to embrace, support and fully utilize the skills and value of returning warriors?

https://www.classy.org/blog/3-reasons-unemployment-is-higher-among-veterans/

Despite decreasing veteran unemployment rate, underemployment remains a problem

When Lance Calloway got out of the Marine Corps in 2015, he planned to enroll in graduate school and find a job that would combine the business management skills he’d learned in college with his four years of experience in an artillery unit.

“I was thinking it was going to be very easy to slip back into the civilian workforce, and there’d be plenty of jobs waiting for me and people would want to snatch me up,” said Calloway, 30. So while he studied for the entrance exam and waited to hear back from hiring managers about potential job opportunities, he took a job working for tips as an Outback Steakhouse bartender.

He didn’t expect to be there for a year and a half, eventually feeling like he’d lost all purpose.

“I was used to being in positions in higher authority. Even as a second lieutenant, I managed more commodities and people than the guy I called boss at that time,” he said.

Calloway’s experience isn’t unique. Despite a record-low annual unemployment rate of 5.1 percent for post-9/11 veterans in 2016 and a consistent drop from 12.1 percent since 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, experts say the data can paint a misleading picture of veterans in the job market – many of whom, like Calloway, struggle with being underemployed.

http://www.militarytimes.com/education-transition/2017/03/07/despite-decreasing-veteran-unemployment-rate-underemployment-remains-a-problem/

Veterans and Work

How has society been with excepting veterans in their work force?

What do Veterans bring to the workforce?

Common Mistakes Vets Make in the Workforce

Although a life in the military comes with its own set of unique—and incredibly difficult—challenges, the civilian work world is a whole different ballgame.

Veterans hoping to pursue a career after retiring or being discharged from the service run into all sorts of strange new tasks and assignments. Office life, with its own protocols and hierarchy, can seem like a foreign place.

But if you want to make strides in a non-military job, it is important to avoid these common mistakes vets make in the workforce.

http://www.gijobs.com/common-mistakes-vets-make-in-the-workforce/