I previously wrote about the troubling rise in discrimination against Asian-American. May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. That should be and is a time to celebrate. Unfortunately, discrimination will always be a part of life. But those of us who care about the very simple and basic in life – like being a decent human being, treating others humanely and nicely, and maybe even learning from others and their different cultures and unique life experiences – we do what we can and should do what we can to fight against it.
The following excerpt is from my prior blog post. Because Asian-American discrimination is on the rise, Janet Dhillon, Chair of the EEOC, issued a statement on the EEOC website. Her statement bluntly says, Sadly, there have also been reports of mistreatment and harassment of Asian Americans and other people of Asian descent. In the workplace, these actions can result in unlawful discrimination on the basis of national origin or race. Sadly, since that blog post, Asian & Pacific American discrimination continues with no end in sight. Let’s celebrate by doing something about discrimination.
EEOC Program
On May 20, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is hosting a virtual training workshop. The name of the workshop is Civility for All: Navigating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Asian American Community. It is geared toward human resources professionals, attorneys, union officials, and equal employment opportunity professionals in the private and public sector. It is also open to members of the public.
Charlotte A. Burrows, EEOC Chair, will be the keynote speaker. She will address the EEOC’s recent resolution condemning the violence, harassment and acts of bias against Asian Americans. Laura Shin, acting executive director for the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), will speak on the purpose, mission and priorities of WHIAAPI. She will also discuss the important work being done across the nation to prevent the alarming and increased rates of anti-Asian harassment and violence during COVID-19. And other experts will discuss the topics of race and national origin discrimination. For more information about this program or to register, please click here.
Workplace Discrimination
If you are a target of discrimination based on your race or national origin, feel free to call me for an honest opinion.