EEOC PARTNERS WITH MEMPHIS CEOs TO ADDRESS RACE AND COLOR BIAS ISSUES

E-RACE Initiative Offers New Approach to Combating Job Bias, Promoting Voluntary Compliance

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Naomi C. Earp,  Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and EEOC  Commissioner Stuart J. Ishimaru, today met with Memphis area business leaders  to discuss the agency’s E-RACE Initiative (Eradicating Racism And Colorism from  Employment) – a national outreach,  education, and enforcement campaign focusing on new and emerging race and color  issues in the 21st century workplace.

During the meeting, held at the  National Civil Rights Museum, the EEOC engaged in an open dialogue with  employers to discuss the imperative of E-RACE.  Chair Earp explained E-RACE and what prompted its implementation, as  well as the critically important role of CEOs and other business leaders in  achieving equal employment opportunity.

“While we’ve come a long way, the  unfortunate reality is that race and color bias continues to plague America’s labor  market – both in old and familiar ways, and in new and more subtle forms,”  Chair Earp said. “Equal employment  opportunity must be part and parcel of a company's business strategy, with  visible commitment from the company’s highest levels, management  accountability, and proactive prevention.”

Joining Chair Earp and Commissioner  Ishimaru in addressing attendees were Dr. Brian Nosek of Project Implicit and  Professor Joni Hersch of Vanderbilt  University. Dr. Nosek demonstrated the work of Project  Implicit and presented information on the importance of understanding the role  of hidden and subtle bias. Dr. Hersch  presented information from her study that revealed the impact of skin color on  earning power.

EEOC’s partners in planning this  event included Buckeye Technologies®; Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, Inc.®;  International Paper Co., Inc®; the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce; the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman,  Caldwell & Berkowitz; and The National Civil Rights Museum.

Katharine Kores, director of EEOC’s  Memphis District, which covers Tennessee, Arkansas, and the northern 17  counties of Mississippi, said today’s meeting was an important event for the  region: “I applaud our business  community partners in helping to plan this E-RACE event and make it a success. It is an important first step in what I hope  will be a broader partnership with the employer community to stop race and  color discrimination before it starts, which is the ultimate goal of Title VII  of the landmark Civil Rights Act.”

Race  discrimination accounts for the most frequently filed charge with the EEOC, a  historical trend. In Fiscal Year 2007,  the EEOC received 30,510 race discrimination charge filings (37% of the  agency’s private sector caseload), up 12% from the prior year to the highest  level in more than a decade.

Further information related to the  E-RACE Initiative, including the agency’s updated Compliance Manual Section on  Race and Color Discrimination, is available on the EEOC’s web site at  http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/e-race/index.html. Additional information about  the Commission can be found online at www.eeoc.gov.