Latest news with #EndingIllegalDiscriminationandRestoringMerit-BasedOpportunity
Mint
13-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Cisco chief Chuck Robbins believes affirmative action gives them better business
MUMBAI : Chuck Robbins, the chairman and chief executive of Cisco Systems Inc., believes that having a diverse workforce improves business outcomes. Robbins, who was raised in Georgia, shared the example of Jeetu Patel, the company's president and chief product officer, who grew up in India, and said their different life experiences mean they think differently, and diversity of thought often leads to great ideas, which is just the 'power of diversity". For Chuck, it's not about metrics, numbers, or programmes, but about building teams of people who look at problems differently so that he gets two creative solutions. 'I want a room full of people that give me four different possible ways to solve a problem or tackle an opportunity, and you don't get that if you have a room full of white men from Georgia," said Robbins. He was addressing the media at Cisco's office in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex on 9 July. His comment assumes significance, especially given that global tech giants have retreated from their diversity and inclusivity policies. Trump's assault on diversity After taking office in January, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, directing government agency chiefs to terminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at federal agencies, federal contractors, and the private sector. He also asked them to take action against 'illegal DEI policies or practices". He encouraged the private sector to end DIE practices and preferences. In an earlier order, Trump had asked to end all DEI-related programmes, jobs, and training. Following the executive order, tech giants such as Meta Platforms Inc., AlphabetInc., and Inc. have cut their DEI goals. Accenture has also scrapped its global diversity and inclusion goals after evaluating the changing US political landscape, according to a Reuters 7 February report that cited an internal memo. DEI programmes help increase access to and remove barriers to education and jobs for people from diverse backgrounds, races, and genders. Companies with more diverse executive teams keep performing better financially over time, according to a 2023 study of more than 1,000 companies in 23 countries by management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. In 2015, top companies based on diversity were 15% more likely to do well financially. By 2023, that number rose to 39%, the study showed. India operations The US networking giant no longer considers India just a great place for cost savings but as 'an extension of the engineering". Robbins sounded bullish on India, and said: 'I'm not sure there's another place on the planet where you would expect the growth like India in the next 5-10 years." 'We're challenging the team by continuing our investments here," he said, pointing out that the company has been in the country for three decades now. Cisco began operations in India in 1995, establishing the Global Development Centre in Bengaluru, the second-largest such centre outside of the US. Two years ago, the US company made an investment to expand its manufacturing in India, which will generate $1 billion in total revenue, including exports, Mint reported on 11 May 2023. Cisco is seeing potential in India because of the digitalisation wave, and its service offerings are finding demand in cybersecurity defence solutions. It employs over 16,000 individuals in India, but it does not disclose the business it gets from India. Asia Pacific, Japan, and China contributed 8% of Cisco's total revenue of $53.8 billion in 2023-24.
UPI
11-07-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Trump DOJ probes Minnesota hiring practices in third federal action
Attorney General Pam Bondi looks on as President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2025. On Thursday, Bondi's Justice Department opened an investigation into Minnesota's hiring practices. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 11 (UPI) -- The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Minnesota's hiring practices, the third legal or administrative action the Trump administration has taken against the Democratic-led state in just over two weeks. The Justice Department informed Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of the investigation into the state's hiring practices in a letter dated Thursday. "Our investigation is based on information that Minnesota may be engaged in certain employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants and training program participants based on race and sex in violation of Title VII," Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. "Specifically, we have reason to believe the Minnesota Department of Human Services is engaging in unlawful action through, among other things, the adoption and forthcoming implementation of its 'hiring justification' policy." Early this month, the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced a new hiring policy set to take effect Aug. 12. It directs hiring supervisors to "provide a hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate when hiring for a vacancy in a job category with underrepresentation." The purpose of the directive is to ensure the department meets its affirmative action responsibilities, comply with state laws and increase the diversity of its workforce. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought to roll back so-called progressive practices, including diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In an executive order issued on his second day in office titled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, he specifically ordered the federal government to cease demanding that contractors adopt affirmative action policies, describing it as illegal discrimination. The Justice Department on Thursday described the Minnesota Department of Human Services' new policy as part of a broader effort by the state to engage in race- and sex-based employment practices. "Minnesotans deserve to have their state government employees hired based on merit, not based on illegal DEI," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been a critic of Trump and ran against his ticket as the vice presidential candidate with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Since then, the two have clashed. After a man assassinated a state lawmaker and wounded another in Minnesota in mid-June, Trump declined to call Walz. "I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out -- I'm not calling him. Why would I call? I could call him and say, 'Hi, how are you doing?' The guy doesn't have a clue. He's a mess. So, I could be nice and call him, but why waste my time?" Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Late last month, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota laws that provide some undocumented immigrants with higher-education tuition benefits not offered to all U.S. citizens. The next day, Trump's Department of Health and Human Services opened a civil rights investigation into the Minnesota Department of Education over a transgender teenager competing on a girls' softball team.
Fox News
19-04-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Mayo Clinic renaming DEI office to ‘Office of Belonging'
The Mayo Clinic is renaming its DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) office to instead be called the "Office of Belonging." "Since 2020, Mayo Clinic has intentionally focused on belonging as a cornerstone of staff wellbeing," Andrea Kalmanovitz, Mayo's director of media relations, said in a statement quoted in the Minnesota Star Tribune. "In keeping with this focus and recent national events, we're embracing an opportunity to accelerate Mayo Clinic's belonging journey to reflect our culture of collaboration and respect and support positive patient experiences," Kalmanovitz added. The rebrand comes following President Donald Trump's January executive order "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity" directing federal agencies to end all DEI practices and asking the private sector to "end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences." The "Office of Belonging" page on Mayo Clinic's website says that "Our vision is to create a global environment of empowered belonging. This requires building an environment of psychological safety, making Mayo Clinic a place where people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences can access the best health care and where all staff can bring their authentic best selves." On its website, Mayo Clinic says that it received $500.7 million in 2024 from federal and state sources for research funding. The "Office of Belonging" page gives a nod to DEI priorities, stating that "Equity is embodied in every aspect of Mayo Clinic, from the individuals who constitute it to the organization as a whole. We embrace all people who come through our doors, whatever their race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, military service, faith, or culture. Success is only possible when we include diverse experiences, perspectives, thoughts and voices in everything we do." The Mayo Clinic, established in 1864, now says its "work regarding belonging is delivered through the internal community of passionate people, committees and initiatives ― recognizing that this work is neither centralized nor hierarchical." Fox News Digital reached out to Mayo Clinic for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chicago employees of federal contractor oversight agency put on paid leave: ‘It's open season out there for all these contractors'
The Chicago staffers of the U.S. Department of Labor's federal contractor oversight agency were put on paid administrative leave this week, along with workers in most other regions of the country. The staffers put on paid leave are employees of the agency's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which investigates federal contractors to ensure they comply with nondiscrimination laws. Employees in the OFCCP's national enforcement branch and staff throughout five of the agency's six regions were notified they were being placed on paid administrative leave, according to a Wednesday email to staff from OFCCP Director Catherine Eschbach, who was appointed to the role at the end of March. Bloomberg Law first reported on the email, which the Tribune reviewed. Brent Barron, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 648, which represents OFCCP employees in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, estimated that 20 to 25 Chicago-based employees of the agency are affected, around a dozen of whom are in the union's bargaining unit. Most of those workers had already agreed to take early retirement or deferred resignation offers that would have ended their time on the job Friday, Barron said. Those put on paid leave include investigators, clerical employees and regional office staff, Barron said. 'Their primary function was to go out and investigate the contractors and their hiring practices to make sure that when they hired somebody … they weren't discriminating against anybody,' Barron said. Now, Barron said, there is no one left in the Midwest to perform that work. 'It's open season out there for all these contractors,' he said. The Wednesday email said employees were being placed on leave 'pending further compliance' with an executive order from President Donald Trump that significantly reduced the scope of the agency's work. That executive order, titled 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,' rescinded the 1965 executive order from former President Lyndon B. Johnson that established much of the agency's authority to oversee federal contractors. 'This agency now has a significantly reduced scope of mission,' Eschbach wrote in the Wednesday email. 'This action is consistent with the iterative process to 'right-size' and optimize the agency, consistent with its current statutory functions.' Staffers in the agency's Southwest and Rocky Mountain region and in certain branches of the Washington, D.C., office were not impacted, according to the email. Neither the Labor Department nor the White House responded to requests for comment. The Chicago staffers worked out of the Kluczynski Federal Building at 230 S. Dearborn St.
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago employees of federal contractor oversight agency put on paid leave: ‘It's open season out there for all these contractors'
The Chicago staffers of the U.S. Department of Labor's federal contractor oversight agency were put on paid administrative leave this week, along with workers in most other regions of the country. The staffers put on paid leave are employees of the agency's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which investigates federal contractors to ensure they comply with nondiscrimination laws. Employees in the OFCCP's national enforcement branch and staff throughout five of the agency's six regions were notified they were being placed on paid administrative leave, according to a Wednesday email to staff from OFCCP director Catherine Eschbach, who was appointed to the role at the end of March. Bloomberg Law first reported on the email, which the Tribune reviewed. Brent Barron, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 648, which represents OFCCP employees in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, estimated that 20 to 25 Chicago-based employees of the agency are affected, around a dozen of whom are in the union's bargaining unit. Most of those workers had already agreed to take early retirement or deferred resignation offers that would have ended their time on the job Friday, Barron said. Those put on paid leave include investigators, clerical employees and regional office staff, Barron said. 'Their primary function was to go out and investigate the contractors and their hiring practices to make sure that when they hired somebody… they weren't discriminating against anybody,' Barron said. Now, Barron said, there is no one left in the Midwest to perform that work. 'It's open season out there for all these contractors,' he said. The Wednesday email said employees were being placed on leave 'pending further compliance' with an executive order from President Donald Trump that significantly reduced the scope of the agency's work. That executive order, titled 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,' rescinded the 1965 executive order from former President Lyndon B. Johnson that established much of the agency's authority to oversee federal contractors. 'This agency now has a significantly reduced scope of mission,' Eschbach wrote in the Wednesday email. 'This action is consistent with the iterative process to 'right-size' and optimize the agency, consistent with its current statutory functions.' Staffers in the agency's Southwest and Rocky Mountain region and in certain branches of the Washington D.C. office were not impacted, according to the email. Neither the labor department nor the White House responded to requests for comment.
