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Joint Center News: July 30, 2018

In July, we partnered with Congressman Bobby Scott on a future of work roundtable, responded to President Trump’s workforce executive order, drilled down into the Senate Democrats’ release of diversity data, and received a major award for our congressional staff diversity work. Read more below.

In July, we partnered with Congressman Bobby Scott on a future of work roundtable, responded to President Trump’s workforce executive order, drilled down into the Senate Democrats’ release of diversity data, and received a major award for our congressional staff diversity work. Read more below.

Economic Studies: Future of Work Joint Center Hosts Federal Solutions Roundtable on the Hill On July 18, the Joint Center co-hosted a Member Roundtable to explore how Congress can shape federal workforce policy in an increasingly automated economy. The Joint Center co-hosted the event with Congressman Bobby Scott (VA), the Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and several Members of Congress and prominent experts participated. Details here .

Joint Center Speaks at Summit on the Economy: Business leaders, policy makers, tech innovators, and reporters gathered at the 8th< Annual Governor’s Woods Foundation and Economic Innovation Group event on July 11. Spencer discussed the impact of automation on communities of color during a panel on the future of work moderated by New York Times tax and economics reporter Jim Tankersley. More here .

Joint Center Responds to President Trump’s Workforce Executive Order: After the administration established a “National Council for the American Worker,” the Joint Center and the National Black Worker Center Project released a statement urging the new Council to give special attention to Black workers and other people of color. Read it here .

Joint Center Keynotes MMTC Conference: On July 19, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) hosted its 16th Annual conference focused on “Turning Disruption into Opportunity.” Spencer delivered a special presentation about the challenges – and opportunities – for communities of color in a labor market driven by disruptive technologies. Former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn received the Everett C. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award. More here .

 Van Jones Talks to Fast Company About AI’s Future Impact on the Urban Workforce: CNN host Van Jones talked about ensuring AI’s potential benefits reach all communities. Read the full interview here . [Photo: Sean Captain for Fast Company]

Facebook Releases Its Fifth Employee Diversity Report : The social media giant showed a slight increase in the number of workers that identify as African American (3.5 percent, up from 2 percent a year earlier). Read the full report here .

The National League of Cities Asks “Are ‘Soft Skills’ Critical to the Future of Work?”: Details here . Prominent Economists Patrick Bayer and Kerwin Charles Examine the Growing Wealth Gap Between white and Black Men: In a new working paper, Duke University and University of Chicago economists found the racial wealth gap more severe than ever, particularly for middle to low-income Black men. Read more in The Economist here .

Perkins Act Reauthorization Passes in the House: With bipartisan support, the House passed the reauthorization of the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The bill provides federal money for technical programs that support work-based learning. It now heads to the Oval Office for the president to sign. Read the full article in The Hill here .

Political Studies: Congressional Staff Diversity Joint Center Analyzes 2018 Senate Democratic Staff Diversity Data: On July 17, the Joint Center released its analysis of the staff demographic data published by Senate Democrats. The Joint Center found a troubling lack of diversity among mid-level and top staffers in many offices that represent significant Black populations, including the offices of Senators Baldwin (WI), Blumenthal (CT), Carper (DE), Casey (PA), Coons (DE), Donnelly (IN), Kaine (VA), Klobuchar (MN), Menendez (NJ), Murphy (CT), Reed (RI), and whitehouse (RI). Find our analysis here , and a deeper dive into the total diversity rankings here (e.g., most diverse and least diverse offices). McClatchy News interviewed the Joint Center’s Don Bell on the issue here .

Joint Center Wins the Tin Cup Award: The Washington Government Relations Group recognized the Joint Center for its efforts to increase congressional staff diversity at the annual Tin Cup Awards Dinner on July 25. WGRG is a non-partisan, independent association of Black government relations professionals. Details are here .

Joint  Center Launches Staff Up Congress Legislative Academy: Along with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, the Joint Center launched a new component of Staff Up Congress (an initiative to increase the number of diverse and talented Capitol Hill staffers). The Legislative Academy will use feedback from Capitol Hill Staffers and stakeholders to develop a training program. More here . On July 10, Roll Call profiled Staff Up Congress here .

Front Page New York Times Article Uses Joint Center Data: The New York Times reported on the U.S. Senate’s decision to allocate $5 million for paying its interns. The funding will make it easier for young people to afford taking Capitol Hill internships. The piece noted that the change could improve the pipeline for senior positions in the Senate and cited the Joint Center’s 2015 study on the lack of diversity among top Senate staffers. The full article is here

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Don Bell Joins “Diversity in Advocacy” Panel: On July 25, the Joint Center’s Don Bell, Director of the Black Talent Initiative, participated in a panel discussion titled: “Diversity in Advocacy, a discussion to Advance the Workplace.” The conversation focused on the role of mentorship and advocacy in building the diversity pipeline for government and government affairs positions. More information on the event is here .

Black Women’s Congressional Alliance Hosted a Bipartisan Senate Chief of Staff Roundtable Discussion : Chiefs of staff who participated in the July 20 dialogue included Mike Lynch from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s office; Beth Jafari of Senator John Cornyn’s office; and Dana Gresham of Senator Doug Jones’s office. Matt Klapper, Senator Cory Booker’s chief of staff, moderated the conversation. More information is here .

Think Tank Round Up

Monica Anderson and her Pew colleagues examined social media’s role in activism in a report that coincides with the fifth anniversary of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. The report is here . William Frey at the Brookings Institution wrote about 2017 race and age statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau that show a decline in the white population. For the first time, there are more children under age 10 who are nonwhite than those who are white. Read about it here .
Demos’s Heather McGhee and NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Sherrilyn Ifill released a new report about racial equity and inclusion issues at Starbucks and provided recommendations for the way forward. Read the full report here . Andre Perry of Brookings wrote “Who gets left out of the Urban Tech Boom?” for the New York Times. The full piece is here .
Algernon Austin and his colleagues at Demos released an updated version of “Everyone’s America: State Policies for an Equal Say in Our Democracy and an Equal Chance in Our Economy.” The report is here . Nicol Turner-Lee of Brookings wrote “Will the U.S. be 5G ready?” Read it here
Martha Ross at the Brookings Institution explored the potential impact on Washington’s existing racial and income divide if Amazon chooses to locate its new headquarters in the city. Read her work here . Fifty years after the Poor People’s Campaign, Kilolo Kijakazi at the Urban Institute questions if we are achieving an equitable society. Read about the research here .

Welcome! Harin Contractor is our new Director of Workforce Policy. A self-described data nerd, he loves working on problems, looking for creative solutions, and helping people make connections to enhance their goals. Previously, Harin worked at a tech start-up that used government data to empower communities and worked in the Obama Administration at the U.S Department of Labor as the Economic Policy Advisor to the Secretary. You can follow him @harincontractor .

The “Grow with Google” tour will visit Birmingham, Alabama on August 6. During the workshop, Google professionals will help job seekers and small business owners learn the digital skills. More details . The National Urban League holds its 2018 Annual Conference from August 1-4 in Columbus, Ohio. Spencer is speaking on the future of work. Details here . The National Association of Black Journalists will hold its 2018 Annual Convention & Career Fair from August 1-5 in Detroit, Michigan. The group will honor legendary journalist and Joint Center co-founder Louis E. Martin. More information is here . The A. Philip Randolph Institute (Black labor) will hold its 49th Annual National Education Conference from August 8-12 in Phoenix, Arizona. Information is here . The Congressional Black Caucus Institute will host its 2018 Policy Conference in Tunica, Mississippi, August 9-12. Register here . The National Action Network regularly holds Saturday Action Rallies and Broadcasts with Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City and will host a legal night on August 30. More information here .

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 48 thAnnual Legislative Conference September 12-16 with the theme “The Dream Still Stands” Registe r here . The Washington Government Relations Group recognized several others in addition to the Joint Center at the July 25 Tin Cup Awards Dinner– Rep. Joyce Beatty, Tiffany Cross, Sen. Kamala Harris, Earle Jones, Stephanie Peters, and Nicole Venable . Take a look at photos and news from the event on the WGRG Twitter feed .

National Urban League honors Joint Center board member Chanelle Hardy. Chanelle, an attorney, and tech policy expert was named the 2018 “Tech & Racial Justice Liaison” by the National Urban League for her work as a member of Google’s public policy team. Dorian Warren will become the new President for the Center for Community Change (CCC) following the 2018 elections. Details here .

The Cypher, an organization that connects African American men who want to make an impact in politics, tech, and business, held a coaching event featuring Black males leading lobbying firms on July 26. Details here . The Black Women’s Congressional Alliance held an inaugural week of action July 16-20 with networking and professional development events to empower African American women working on Capitol Hill. Pictures here . Maurita Coley has been named the new President of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC). Coley previously served as Acting President and CEO.