January 8 - 14, 2021
On June 19, 2020, I made a commitment to educate myself on the
lingering effects of racism, discrimination, and bias in America. Every
day through June 18, 2021, I will read an article or book chapter,
listen to a
podcast, watch a movie or documentary, view a webinar, or do something
substantive to educate myself in these areas. As part of that
commitment, I will post to this blog each Friday with a list of what
I've done over the past week as well as any pertinent thoughts or
reflections.
Today's post covers the week of January 8-14, 2021.
On this episode of the NPR podcast Code Switch, hosts Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji interview journalist Angela Saini about her book Superior: The Return of Race Science. Saini traces the history of race as a part of science and notes at the end of World War II, scientists and policy makers came together with the United Nations and decided race had no place in biology any longer. Efforts continued, however, to biologize identity including the establishment of the journal Mankind Quarterly, funded by wealthy segregationist Wickliffe Draper. Saini notes that the vast majority of our genetic differences are at the individual level - about 95% - while only 5% is attributable to population differences. Lots more in this interesting conversation.
Francesca Fontana of the Wall Street Journal writes about the generally positive effect remote work has had on transgender people. While unemployment rates in the trans community hover around double the national average, remote work has given several transgender people more flexibility in coming out to their coworkers. Particularly when starting a new job, transgender employees have an opportunity to let their talent take center stage rather than questions about their gender identity and expression.
Iceland introduced a plan to eliminate gender pay differences in 2018, according to this brief article in the Harvard Business Review. While companies and countries have attempted to close these gaps before, Iceland has found some success by shifting the burden of proof from employee to employer. Companies in Iceland are required to demonstrate compliance with the plan or face daily fines.
Kevin Warren, the first Black commissioner of a Power Five conference, sits down with Pat Forde to talk about his first year on the job. He discusses the decisions he has guided over the course of the pandemic, what keeps him grounded, where college athletics may be headed, and whether he believes race played a role in some of the push back he received regarding the Big Ten's delay to the football season.
The Barna Group conducted research this summer that suggests a growing divide between white and Black Christians following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Using survey data from 2019 and the summer of 2020, Barna found that white Christians are less likely to see race as a problem in the US and less motivated to take action on racial justice than they were a year ago. Black Christians are more motivated to address racial injustices. There's more interesting data on believers and non-believers across race included in the report.
Rebecca Stevens A. blogs about workplace and hiring discrimination. When white people give her advice on how to advance in the job market, they do so without an appreciation for the barriers she navigates and the compromises she'd have to make to follow along. Instead, she writes, let's focus together on dismantling the systems that haven't given her a chance in the first place. H/T to J.P. Abercrumbie for recommending the article.
In this episode of the podcast Leadership for Society: Race and Power, host Brian Lowery discusses the historical roots of economic inequality with
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