Obama’s Transgender
Political Appointee
Amanda Simpson
To read the original article on this topic, visit www.DiversityInc.com/
transgenderappointee
Another groundbreaking move on the part of the Obama admin- istration. Obama seems to be trying to reach out to all Americans deliberately, and he should be commended (not condemned) for
taking that strategic approach. So many of us have been marginalized when
it comes to the larger (well-connected), exclusive political arena. Certainly,
Obama is not without his faults and weaknesses, as other past presidents
have been, but we should stand up and applaud one who is willing to really
embrace diversity. DiversityInc.com comment
It's funny; when I first saw Amanda’s picture, she looked familiar.
She attended an event at our business, which addressed how transgender
employees fit in at work and in society. Little did I know that five years later
she’d have this honor. However, I was impressed by her résumé when I originally spoke with her. Chris Burgess
Majorit y-Minorit y
Towns Benefit
From Diversity
See the original article referenced in this letter and other U.S. demographics at www.DiversityInc.com/majority-minority
Here in Bellevue, Wash., the original white bedroom suburb of Seattle, we are ahead of the curve. The white population just became a minority. The Indian, Asian and Hispanic minorities now split just over 50 percent
of the population. In addition, over 30 percent of the 120,000+ population is
foreign born. Bellevue also has four of the top 100 high schools in the country
and one of two Gifted International Baccalaureate programs in the world.
Our crime rate is in the lowest 20 percent in the country and our per-capita
income in the highest 20 percent. It was recently voted the No. 1 city in the
U.S. to live in and start a new business in by CNN. Who says diversity also
means compromising any of those metrics? Richard [no last name given]
CORRECTIONS:
In the American Indian factoids in the November/December issue, the
labels for two states were transposed on the map on page 15.
Also in that issue, in “Lessons Learned From the DiversityInc Top 50,”
DiversityInc misinterpreted information from KeyBank on funds some
American Indians receive when they turn 18.
Is HP’s Web Camera ‘Racist’ Editor’s Note: A You Tube video was posted claiming that a new web camera on HP’s MediaSmart laptop computer was “racist” because it recog- nized white faces but not Black faces. To read our article, go to www.DiversityInc.com/hpvideo
Is it racist? Most cameras are preset to give preference to illuminating light-skinned
people. This is what is known
as systemic racism—a type of
racism that exists because it is
built into the system and gives
preference without anyone having to do anything overt. If the
cameras were routinely set for
dark-skinned people, no extra
lights needed, and gave an
“over-exposed” look to whites,
would this be easier for people
to understand? DiversityInc.com
comment
Sometimes corporate managers like to see clear examples of how diversity
affects the bottom line. Loss of
market share should be clear
enough to even the most hard-
to-reach. HP, use this to your
advantage ... I see an internal
training opportunity to sell the
value of diversity. (In the mean-
time, get a more diverse pool of
software testers.) As a consum-
er, I will say that this one should
have jumped out to someone
internally long before the soft-
ware and potentially hardware
hit the market. DiversityInc.com
comment
February 2010 9
