Check out our news roundup of diversity and inclusion updates and insights from across the U.S.:
Research: Most Americans Believe There’s Still Work to be Done for Gender Equality
One hundred years after women fought for and won the right to vote, about 50% of Americans say the victory has been the most important milestone in advancing women in the U.S. However, most U.S. adults also say the country “hasn’t gone far enough” when it comes to gender equality, the Pew Research Center reports. Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed indicated that sexual harassment is “a major obstacle to women having equal rights with men.”
Eighteen States Have Filed a Lawsuit Challenging ICE Policies
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and 17 other attorney generals for multiple states including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Boston challenging the policy announced last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which would ban hundreds of thousands of foreign students from studying in the U.S. if their programs are offered online-only this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.
CBS to Increase Diversity for Writers, Staffers
CBS announced a goal to have 25% of its script development budget go to projects from writers and producers who are Black, Indigenous and nonwhite for the 2021/2022 development season. CBS shows also must have a minimum of 40% overall diverse employee representation for the 2021/22 broadcast season, which will increase to 50% for the 2022/23 season. At least six shows are set to meet this 40% threshold.
Florida Congresswoman Calls for A Spending Advisory Panel on Equity, Justice
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz unveiled a plan on Monday to create a spending advisory panel on equity and justice, saying she wants to “help address a longstanding crisis that has been given new urgency: systemic racism, bigotry and injustice,” MSN reports. Schultz said the panel would “refocus federal spending decisions on the issues and demands of equity, justice, and diversity,” including reviewing federal programs and presidential budget requests to “identify ongoing inequities in communities of color and historically marginalized communities.”
TD Bank’s Lakshmi Stockham Offers Insight on Progression, Disability and LGBT Advancement
In this video, TD Bank’s senior vice president of retail product and customer acquisition technology, Lakshmi Stockham, discusses the work the company did to improve its diversity and inclusion practices. She said TD Bank is focused on recruiting, developing and promoting talent across various backgrounds and identities and fostering a challenging and inclusive company culture. TD Bank is No. 18 on Fair360, formerly DiversityInc’s 2020 Top 50 Companies for Diversity List.
