Table of Diversity Weekly: DEI This Week-2/26
- Demetria
- Feb 26, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 5, 2024
Check out this post for the latest DEI news this week.
The Black-History Books Teachers Hope Won't Be Banned. -The Atlantic
"Nearly a century ago, the historian Carter G. Woodson started a movement to teach Black history in America's schools. First called Negro History Week and now Black History Month, it has been an oasis amid curricula that have too often and for too long either completely ignored Black people or treated them as subordinates. Even though Black History Month can sometimes be commemorated in ways that have turned rote and bland, many enterprising educators, librarians, and parents have used the occasion to bring stories, new interpretations of the past, and intellectual challenges to students of all ages who wouldn't encounter them otherwise. And books have always been at the heart of their efforts.
Today, however, the books that have been deployed by adults to help in this passing on of history and sensibility are disappearing from school libraries. Led by mostly conservative lawmakers across the country, at least 12 state legislatures or school boards have formally restricted discussions and books that point to the existence of racism in America, under 'critical race theory' bans; and in many districts, parents and activists have organized mass culling of books. According to the American Library Association, 2023 appears to have been a record year for book bans and challenges, most of which targeted 'books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.'"
How much does your name influence your future? The data may surprise you- National Geographic
'I still have people call me and say, 'Hey, do you know that your name is a bird name?'" laughs Carla Dove.
Fair enough. As the director of the Feather Identification Lab at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., Dove does spend all day, every day thinking about birds- doves included.
Similarly, Greg Pond works as an aquatic biologist, sampling water bodies of the U.S. Northeast for the Environmental Protection Agency.
'My path is water, and all the things that live in it,' says Pond. 'And of course, growing up people sometimes gave me the nickname of Pondscum.'
Pond and Dove are what's known as aptonyms, or people with names that fit their careers. Historically speaking, being an aptonym (sometimes spelled aptronym) probably would have been much more common than it is today. After all, last names such as Baker, Barber, Butler, and many other surnames originally grew out of a person or family's occupation.
Today though, Americans especially have more options for work than ever before. So it strikes us a s noteworthy when a name just seems to suit a person's career path perfectly.
'Occasionally I find out that some people think I changed my name because I was so thrilled with my career,' says Betsy Weatherhead, an award-winning atmospheric scientist who has served on NOAA's Scientific Advisory Group. 'And that's just not the case.'
But all of this does bring up an interesting question- can a person's name influence the trajectory of their life?"
Want to Build an Effective Organization? Make it Safe to Communicate -Inc.
"Fostering a work environment where everyone feels safe and empowered to speak up and collaborate is crucial for tackling the most difficult challenges and achieving success. The thing is, many organizations- and the people who lead them- ignore or even punish workers who speak up, who push ideas that are contrary to the organization's prescribed norms, or who 'rock the boat.'
And leaders aren't immune to problems with communication. According to one study, just 31 percent of employees say that the leaders in their organization are communicating effectively.
That's a lot of bad communication happening in a lot of different places.
So, how can you nurture open and active communication across all levels of your organization? Here are five things you can do starting right now"
Bronx medical school receives $1 billion donation to make tuition free. -The Washington Post
"Students at a medical school in the Bronx will no longer pay tuition after it received a $1 billion donation, the college said Monday.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine received the donation from Ruth Gottesman, the chair of its board of trustees. It marked the largest gift to any medical school in the country, the college said in a news release Monday.
Gottesman said in a statement that she was thankful that her husband, David Gottesman, who had been a business partner of Warren Buffett, left her the money when he died in 2022.
"I feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause," she said.
Einstein's tuition is about $60,000 per year. With the costs of books and room and board, the school estimates, students' expenses can total around $100,000.
The school said in its release that it hopes the gift will allow medical education for people from diverse backgrounds who may otherwise not be able to afford tuition. Of the college's first-year class, more than half of the 183 students are women and about 18 percent self-identify as being from an underrepresented group."
Leap year saved our societies from chaos- for now, at least. -National Geographic
"It's that time again: February 29, is a leap day, the calendar oddity that occurs (almost) every four years.
For centuries, attempts to sync calendars with the length of the natural year have sowed chaos- until the concept of leap year provided a way to make up for lost time.
'It all comes down to the fact that the number of Earth's revolutions about its own axis, or days, is not connected in any way to how long it takes for the Earth to get around the sun,' says John Lowe, who led the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Time & Frequency Division until his retirement.
The solar year is approximately 365.2422 days long. No calendar comprised of whole days can match that number, and simply ignoring the seemingly small fraction creates a much bigger problem than one might suspect.
Humans have long organized our lives in accordance with what we've observed in the skies. Ancient Egyptians planted their crops each year on the night when the brightest night star disappeared, while historians in Ancient Greece and Rome also relied on the positions of the stars to anchor events in time. Religious leaders expected feast days to align with certain seasons and lunar phases.
That's why most of the modern world has adopted the Gregorian calendar and its leap year system to allow days and months to stay in step with the seasons. 'We've made a calendar that comes close,' Lowe says, 'but to make it work you have to do these leap day tricks that have some quirky rules.'"
The Alabama Ruling That Could Stop Families From Having Kids. -The Daily
"A surprise ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court has halted fertility treatments across the state and sent a shock wave through the world of reproductive health.
Azeen Ghorayshi, who covers sex, gender, and science for The Times, explains what the court case means for reproductive health and a patient in Alabama explains what it is like navigating the fallout."
Why millions may soon lose their affordable internet. -POLITICO Tech
"There are 22 million households enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, each receiving a subsidy from the federal government for their monthly internet bill. But unless Congress acts, the program will soon run out of money. On POLITICO Tech, reporter John Hendel tells host Steven Overly why partisan politics could effectively kill the program, and what that would mean for closing the digital divide."
HR's Role in DEI: Facilitating Change Professionally and Personally
"In today's rapidly evolving workplace landscape, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have transcended from buzzwords to crucial pillars of organizational success. However, the challenge lies not only in recognizing the importance of DEI but in actively implementing strategies that drive tangible change. For HR practitioners, navigating this landscape requires more than just attending training sessions or reading books; it demands a deep understanding of your pivotal role in championing DEI within your organization.
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