Google Releases Diversity Data Showing Predominantly White Male Workforce

What can be considered a very clear example of the lack of diversity in the tech industry, Google's newly released workforce diversity data reveals it is predominantly white and male.

In a groundbreaking disclosure, Google revealed how very white and male its workforce is — just 2 percent of its Googlers are black, 3 percent are Hispanic, and 30 percent are women. The search giant said Wednesday that the transparency about its workforce — the first disclosure of its kind in the largely white, male tech sector — is an important step toward change, the New York Post reported.

The company is not pleased with the findings of course, but it concedes it is facing these hard facts squarely to find a solution. “....we’re the first to admit that Google is miles from where we want to be—and that being totally clear about the extent of the problem is a really important part of the solution,” wrote Laszlo Bock, Google’s senior vice president for People Operations, in a blog post. Read more here

The question now is whether other tech companies will follow Google's disclosure. Google’s disclosures come amid an escalating debate over the lack of diversity in the tech industry. Although tech is a key driver of the economy and makes products that many Americans use everyday, it does not come close to reflecting the demographics of the country — in terms of sex, age or race. The lopsided numbers persist among engineers, founders and boards of directors. Read more at

Companies are increasingly criticized for a culture that too frequently fails to recruit, promote and retain women, especially at the leadership levels. In some cases, companies have are being accused of fostering a kind of “bro culture” that is unwelcoming to women.  See more

On the other hand, tech companies are competing in a constantly evolving marketplace, they may not have the time to hire based on diversity.
The lack of diversity also stems from economic inequality. This disparity leads to education inequality, and therefore lack of diversity in higher education, and the resulting lack of diversity in the tech sector.
An important challenge remains as well: how to get more women, blacks and Hispanics interested in STEM careers.

Google has poured money into educational programs in hopes of diversifying the technology industry in the long run, but it's clear that there's a long way to go before Google's offices (and those of other companies) represent a broader range of cultural experiences. See here

Diversity Lack In Publishing Industry

The ongoing BookExpo America currently being held in Manhattan has once again brought to light the fact that diversity is lacking in the publishing industry.

The book world has long struggled to advance from diversity panels to actual diversity, operating under a contradiction between its liberal, pluralistic ideals and the narrow range of its own population, especially in positions of power. Non-whites are absent, or close to it, on executive boards throughout, from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) to the American Booksellers Association (ABA) to the Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR). Overall, the industry has few prominent non-white publishers, editors, agents, booksellers or book critics. Read more

“There are more cats than people of color,” tweeted Jeff O’Neal, a co-founder of Book Riot, on online book journal whose mission is to represent more diverse voices in publishing. Read more here

Now more than ever, self-publishing has become increasingly popular, and this trend is paving the way for more diversity in this segment of the publishing industry.

The self-publishing industry has enjoyed explosive growth over the past few years. Bowker’s annual self-publishing statistics found that the number of self-published titles released in 2012 jumped more than 422% over the previous five years, bringing an ever-more diverse base of authors into the self-publishing industry. Read more at

If you are interested in a publishing job, visit DiversityWorking, the largest diversity job board online.

Diversity in Entrepreneur Franchising

Most people think of getting a job as a way to earn a living, or to progress economically, helped in that mode of thinking by the sheer number of degree programs, or vocational courses that one can put to great use in finding employment in the different industries.

Still for many others, the way to prosper is through entrepreneurial activities like franchising. Franchising also needs diversity, just like other forms of businesses. One aspect of diversity is the franchisee or the owner. Franchisors can increase the number of owners in a particular demographic. For example, if the franchisor notices that there are fewer women franchisee owners, they can craft a program for women owners. Read more here

Success stories are told of entrepreaneur franchises owned by women and minorities and they serve inspiration to others aspiring to get into franchising.

Joyce Dawson started working for the Sonitrol security company as an alarm dispatcher in Southern Alameda County, Calif., in 1977, but today she owns and operates two Sonitrol franchises. Her hard work led to her induction as the first and only woman to serve as president of the Sonitrol National Dealers Association. The company has been named Minority-Owned Business of the Decade and inducted into the Minority Business Hall of Fame by other groups in the past. Read more about her here 

Three second-generation McDonald’s franchise owners in Southern California are building on the legacy started by their parents as small business owners and becoming active participants in community organizations, educational boards, and advocating on behalf of issues faced in the African-American community. Read more of their story here

There are more success stories such as theirs; on the other hand, much effort still needs to be done in order to increase diversity in entrepreneur franchising.

The median age for franchise owners is 45-54 years old with the majority of these business owners residing in California (37,238 units) and Texas (28,094). Men represent higher ownership of franchises than women at 71.9% ownership compared to 28.1% ownership. Men also represent a slightly higher ownership of multiple franchise units at 20.1% versus 16.2%. Read more about franchise demographics here 

If you are interested in entrepeneur franchise jobs, visit DiversityWorking, the largest diversity job board online.

NASCAR Program for Interns to Contribute to Motorsports Diversity

The issue of diversity and inclusion in the sport industry has been recently put into the limelight, albeit in contrasting manner: first, the leaked racist comments of the owner of one of the national basketball teams, eventually leading to his lifetime ouster from NBA, and then, the drafting of the 1^st openly gay collegiate football player to one of the NFL teams.

Now comes another news from a different area of sports – motorsports, and it is about increasing workforce diversity in the motorsport industry.

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is set to open its next class of paid internship that runs for 10 weeks, through its Diversity Internship Program, in which 14 students will contribute to the multi-faceted motorsports workforce by learning from leading NASCAR executives in weekly lunch and learns and networking with professionals across the industry, starting with orientation, the Yahoo Sports reported. 

The report also quotes a statement from Paula Miller: "We're thrilled to have top college students from across the country join us to learn more about our sport," said Paula Miller, NASCAR vice president and chief human resources officer. "NASCAR is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion in our workforce and the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program enables us to identify strong talent early. Through the years we've hired many of the program's participants, and seen many others go on to excel elsewhere in sports and business."

NASCAR also partnered with the United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NCAA, and The PGA of America in hosting in 2013 second annual Sports Diversity & Inclusion Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. The three-day event was designed to recognize, celebrate and encourage diversification in the world of sport. See here

To browse for sports and recreation jobs, go to DiversityWorking, the largest diversity job board online.

A Close Look at Diversity in the Tech Industry

Google recently announced that it would release data on its workforce diversity next month, in light of Jesse Jackson's recent efforts to draw attention to the lack of minorities and women in the technology world. See here
 

The announcement was made yesterday by David Drummond, an African-American executive who oversees Google's public policies, during the company's annual shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Mountain View. “Many companies in (Silicon Valley) have been reluctant to divulge that data, including Google, and, quite frankly, we are wrong about that", he said. See more here 
 

Meantime, it is worth taking a look at the overall diversity composition of the tech industry.
 

In an article published by BizJournal in late 2013, Lauren Hepler reported more than 90 percent of startup founders were men, and 82 percent of founders were white. She also added that an analysis compared the most valuable public companies in Silicon Valley against the S&P 100, and researchers found that 98 percent of companies in the S&P 100 have at least one woman director, while only 56 percent of the 150 public tech and life science companies studied can say the same. Read more at

It's widely recognized that the tech industry lacks diversity: About 1 in 14 tech workers is black or Latino, both in Silicon Valley and nationally. Blacks and Hispanics make up 13.1 and 16.9 percent of the U.S. population, respectively, according to the most recent census data. See here 
  

Most recently, Rebecca O. Bagley, of Forbes, has also pointed out that minority tech-employment and entrepreneurship in the U.S. does not reflect population levels despite study after study showing that diverse start-ups fail less often and have higher rates of return, so poses this question: How can we increase minority entrepreneurship and employment in the Innovation Economy?

She opines that what is needed is a new kind of economic development, an interdisciplinary approach that brings together educational institutions, human services organizations and businesses to provide students with internships at our most exciting tech companies, bring these companies into classrooms to share their stories with students, and create mentoring and leadership opportunities for tech entrepreneurs. Read more at 

To look for IT Software jobs, go to DiversityWorking, the largest diversity job board online, and launch a fulfilling career with any of its prestigious member diversity companies.

Autodesk Introduces Open Software Platform SPARK, and Its Own 3D Printer

Autodesk, Inc., has recently announced its two latest breakthrough projects that it hopes to help make 3D printing a lot easier - Spark, an open software platform for 3D printing, and its very own 3D printer.

Chief executive Carl Bass revealed the news ahead of an appearance at the MakerCon conference in California. In addition to selling the machine, Autodesk will also allow other manufacturers to make their own versions of the printer or power their own models off its software at no cost. Read more at

Clearly, Autodesk wants to be the technology provider of choice for sophisticated 3D printing hobbyists, as well as others in manufacturing and business who use the technology as building blocks for their work. The company wrote that the hardware and software combination "will provide the building blocks that product designers, hardware manufacturers, software developers, and materials scientists can use to continue to explore the limits of 3D printing technology." Read more here

Autodesk has always been in the forefront of integrating today's advanced technologies into everyday business practices.

If you are interested in working with Autodesk, go to DiversityWorking, the largest diversity job board online, to start a great career with this great diversity company.

make it possible for many more people to incorporate 3D printing into their design and manufacturing process - See more at: http://inthefold.autodesk.com/in_the_fold/2014/05/accelerating-the-future-of-3d-printing.html#sthash.6fZGsz5V.dpuf

make it possible for many more people to incorporate 3D printing into their design and manufacturing process - See more at: http://inthefold.autodesk.com/in_the_fold/2014/05/accelerating-the-future-of-3d-printing.html#sthash.6fZGsz5V.dpuf

make it possible for many more people to incorporate 3D printing into their design and manufacturing process - See more at: http://inthefold.autodesk.com/in_the_fold/2014/05/accelerating-the-future-of-3d-printing.html#sthash.6fZGsz5V.dpuf

contributions to help make things better

contributions to help make things better

contributions to help make things better

contributions to help make things better

Teaching Diversity A Priority

While it is very important to cultivate teacher diversity in schools, colleges, and universities, it should not be the main goal of the educational system. Rather, teaching diversity should take priority.

Teacher diversity is when there is a closer gap between teachers and students of colors. To enhance teacher diversity is to increase the number of minority teachers, so they can reflect the growing number of minority students in the academe, and in their own classroom, particularly in the lower grades.

Minding teacher diversity is also a way to avoid racial discrimination against minority teachers, or teachers of color. In other words, minorities applying for teaching positions are not to be discriminated against specifically due to their race, and should rather be considered for hiring if the minority teacher applicant is qualified and has a genuine love and passion for teaching.

However, teacher diversity must be put into a proper perspective because teacher diversity for solely diversity's sake is somehow limited in vision.

A Role Model

One argument for teacher diversity is it inspires a student to aspire to any of the careers wherein they see someone of their own race. A minority pupil, for example, may later choose to teach, if that child has a teacher role model, one from his own ethnic background. As Esther J. Cepeda, a teacher and columnist, writes in one of her recent articles this argument doesn't hold water.

She also writes that we don't need teachers of many different ethnic and racial backgrounds. We need these role models dearly — but not just so they can minister to the minority students who are struggling through poverty. The non-minority kids at the well-to-do schools in predominantly white neighborhoods need such teachers just as much, so that they can enter an extremely diverse and evolving workforce understanding that minorities are leaders, thinkers and mentors to be respected. -Read more at

Clearly, if there is to be an authentic environment of diversity working in institutions of learning, diversity should be developed, true – for the right reasons. If we want to promote a culture of acceptance, diversity and inclusion, then it is right when a white man can teach a black girl to read, and all he sees is a child, and all she sees is a teacher.

The importance of having a minority teacher to teach a minority student should not be discounted, yet the more important point: students benefit from good teachers, whether or not they identify with them ethnically or racially.

Teacher Quality

This brings us to another argument for teacher diversity: that it helps improve students' performance in the classroom and in standardized tests.

Therefore, all means must be done to improve the quality of teachers, be they white or minorities. One way is to get back to hiring "the most qualified" person to do the job. Equality means everyone is looked at the same way and the person that is most qualified for the job gets hired.

Excellent teachers love their job with much passion and dedication, and are willing to go the extra mile for their students. Whether they "mirror" their classroom or bring diversity to their classroom, high-quality teachers make their students learn. Excellence begets excellence.

However, improving teacher quality is a long-standing issue as well, and President Obama's administration is taking action to improve teacher preparation. A press release written by the White House notes:

Recruiting, preparing, developing and supporting great teachers has a direct impact on the learning and success of America’s students. Research confirms that the most important factor in a student’s success in school is a strong teacher, and excellent teachers are especially important for our neediest students. School districts, principals, parents and children depend on great teachers to provide a world-class education. Read more here

See also:

Teaching Diversity 

Having teachers who can teach diversity, tolerance not hatred, is essential. Today’s teachers must be prepared to enter the increasingly diverse classroom, Cheryl W. Van Hook wrote in her academic paper, “Preparing Teachers for the Diverse Classroom: A Developmental Model of Inter-cultural Sensitivity.” Part of her abstract says: One role of teacher educators may be to facilitate the development of greater inter-cultural sensitivity among pre-service teachers. Teachers need to carefully examine their world view to determine whether or not unintentional and subtle biases are promoted. Therefore, it is vital that teacher educators have an awareness of these stages of personal growth related to inter-cultural sensitivity. Read more here

More than focusing on teacher diversity, more attention should be given to better training of teachers of all races and ethnicity, and preparing them to teach in the growing multi-cultural classroom of today, for in this way can they teach diversity more effectively through their own person.

How College Graduates Can Hurdle the Job Market Without the Blues

Even with the slowly recovering economy, college graduates still face a huge block in their search for a job. Aside from things beyond their own control, such as the unemployment rate for those in their early 20s which is well above the national average of 6.3%; crushing levels of student debt; a gap between the skills students develop in college and those employers actually want, new grads also continue to have exaggerated hopes of what employers are most probably going to offer, and so become discouraged, a Yahoo news recently reported.

Based on a study made by Accenture, a management consulting firm headquartered in Ireland, these are some overly high expectations of new graduates:

Pay. Only 18% of the members of the class of 2014 think they’ll earn less than $25,000 in their first job. But 41% of grads from the last two years fell below that level.

Meaningful work. Most of this year’s grads — 84%— expect to find a job in a field related to their college major. But only 67% of 2012 and 2013 grads were able to pull that off.

Training. Eighty percent of 2014 grads think they’ll get formal training at their first job. But less than half typically do. -  See more at: 

  

Basically, graduates are discouraged because their college education is expensive, and that often leads to most idealizing their first job, hoping to start paying off their student loan debts.

The average cost of college tuition continues to rise at a rate of 4.5 % at private universities and 8.3 % at public college, according to research made as of 11.23.2013 (Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics)

Here are some figures:

For SY 2012–2013, the total tuition, room and board rates charged for full-time undergraduate students in degree-granting institutions for 1 year of college are as follows:

$19,344 – All institutions

$22,261 - 4-Year Institutions

$9,180 – 2-Year Institutions

– See more at:

 

If students are fully financing their (college) education with loans at 4% over ten years, the bachelor’s degree will cost $154,000. - See here:

 

Thus, unable to find their dream job for which they arduously prepared for 4 years in college, accruing debts along the way, many new grads are starting to wonder then if a college education is worth it after all.

College is indeed a good foundation and gives one a rounded understanding of basic things working class adults should know, but how to apply skills? For one thing, these are skills learned over time with experience and not what one gets in the classroom. 

College graduates would do well to approach the job market facing facts squarely with feet planted on the ground. 

Here are ways college graduates can hurdle the competitive job race without giving into the blues.  

 

Do volunteer work.

Many students find volunteering helpful as it adds up to their skills and experience. It is a great way to build connections that may lead you to a job or to your dream job itself. Remember, the more experience you get, the better off you will be once you obtain that degree.

Start low and build up.

In the face of the stiff job competition, you cannot afford to be choosy, especially with a huge debt to pay off. It is not a matter of finding $100,000 jobs right out of school; it is a matter of finding any job out of school. The best thing is you have a job. Then start to learn new skills, and build up experience, as well as your confidence.

Continue to learn on the job.

Learning does not stop in the classroom. Be willing to do any tasks given to you, as this helps you build more skills and experience. It may or may not lead to what you have prepared for in college, but it may help you go up the “corporate” ladder, or prepare you for a better job in another setting.

Along the way, do some networking, among your friends and co-workers. Tell them about your skills, interests and qualifications.

Go to DiversityWorking.com, a career opportunity resource and job search engine for the cultural diversity marketplace. Look through its list of prestigious member diversity companies, and browse for diversity jobs that fit your interests and qualifications.

Office Depot Steers Onto New Direction

Office Depot, one of the largest global providers of office supply and solutions, has announced the closing of 400 stores it operates in the U.S., which comes at the heel of its merger with Office Max.

This move is to ensure the company's established footing in the industry as it steers towards new direction.

The company said the stores will be closed by 2016, with 150 of the closings coming at the end of this year. Office Depot operated 1,912 stores in its North American division at the end of last year, and the OfficeMax merger added 823 stores to its lineup. The merger was completed in early November. See 

ABC news reports that Office Depot has not identified how many jobs will be affected by this move, but it assures that it will look to place its best talent impacted by the store closings into new roles, wherever possible. Read more at:

It should be noted that within a backdrop of a slightly recovering U.S. economy, predicted to be grim this year, while at the same time, a shifting consumer trend of buying from online stores that has badly affected the sales of brick-and-mortar retail stores, the merger of Office Depot and Office Max is envisioned to create more impetus for the business.

The merger seems indeed to be heading in the right direction this early as shares of Office Depot, which also reported better-than-expected quarterly results, rose as much as 20 percent in early trading. The stock was among the highest percentage gainers on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The company’s chief executive, Roland Smith, said that Office Depot’s goals this year would include improvement in re-aligning their stores in North America to better meet customer demand. “The overlapping retail footprint resulting from the merger provides us with a unique opportunity to consolidate and optimize our store portfolio,” Mr. Smith said in a statement. See more here

Office Depot is an equal opportunity employer, a global leader committed to diversity and inclusion, and known to care for its employees by providing them with good pay and benefits, as well as allowing their retail associates with flexible hours, if such need arises. The company's commitment to diversity and inclusion has also earned for itself several diversity awards, and a name to reckon with.

Despite the upheavals it has encountered in terms of declining sales, which according to a financial news analysis, was attributed by CEO Smith to “a weather-challenged start to the year,” Office Depot has managed to override these.

It is not just a problem of Office Depot alone, but as retail analyst David Strasser of Janney Montgomery Scott said, “This industry has issues, we know that, but it is becoming clearer that Office Depot is under competent leadership,” he observed in a research note. “Office Depot may not have the top line figured out, but as this quarter demonstrates, the company is making substantial progress integrating OfficeMax into the fold.” - See more at:

Bridging the Diversity Gap in Schools an Imperative

One of the most pressing problems in schools today is the wide disparity between minority students and minority teachers, and bridging this diversity gap is imperative, with no less than educators themselves, and other concerned groups pointing out this urgent need. Increasing teacher diversity is a must.

Almost half the students attending public schools are minorities, yet fewer than 1 in 5 of their teachers is nonwhite. New studies from the Center for American Progress and the National Education Association are calling attention to this "diversity gap" at elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The groups want more to be done to help teachers more accurately mirror the students in their classrooms. See more at

As the country's population has grown more diverse, so has diversity in student demographics; thus, it makes good sense for teacher diversity to also reflect this growing trend in the schools. Diversity working in the classroom is when the teachers standing in the front of the classroom mirror the students filling the seats. (Center for American Progress)

However, as the Center for American Progress has gathered from its analysis of data from the 2012 Schools and Staffing Survey, a nationally representative survey of teachers and principals administered every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as the 2011 data from the Common Core of Data, which is also administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, and looking at teacher diversity of select states, the following, among others, depict the current situation:

• The gap between teachers and students of color continues to grow.
• Almost every state has a significant diversity gap.
• When we looked across racial and ethnic backgrounds, we found that the Hispanic teacher population had larger demographic gaps relative to students.
• Diversity gaps are large within districts.
• The Center uses the term”nonwhite” in this case to refer to anyone who is African American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American.
• Read more of the article here

One voice reiterating the need for increasing the number of Black and Latino teachers is José Luis Vilson, a middle school math teacher in Washington Heights, and author of the soon-to-be-released book “This is Not a Test:a New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education.” He writes the following insights:

• Teachers who can relate to their students on a cultural level can reach their students in important ways.
• Every student of color could use a role model. If their role model just happens to be the teacher in front of them, that’s perfect.
• Our importance as teachers of color stems from this dire need for kids of all races and backgrounds to see people of color as multidimensional and intelligent, different in culture but the same in capability and humanity.
• Read more of his article here

Perhaps one compelling reason to grow teacher diversity in the classroom, from the lower grades to collegiate level, is its impact on student performance.

According to three economists from the National Bureau of Economic Research, minority students tend to perform better when taught by minority educators. Their research showed that “black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American students are 2.9 percent more likely to pass courses with instructors of a similar racial or ethnic background.” While this research was conducted at college level — their evidence was based off of studies done at California’s De Anza College — there’s little reason why these findings can’t be extrapolated to the pre-collegiate level. Read more here

Clearly with all this shown, it is indeed important to address the issue of diversity gap in schools, explore all means to improve teacher diversity, but as the Center for American Progress and the NEA both stress, it needs more than the currents solutions being done:
the solutions to improving teacher diversity might boil down to something more fundamental: political will.(CAP)

 

Lessons from the Donald Sterling Case: Cultivate Stronger Diversity Working Culture

For his racist comments about African Americans, Donald Sterling's professional career ends in disgrace. His less than sterling reputation has finally caught up with him through his latest offensive remarks captured on tape, and he pays the price: banishment from the NBA for life and the maximum fine of $2.5 million.

Deplorable that incident be, yet it is agreed by most, this issue is bigger than Sterling himself and his personal racial prejudices. Importantly, greater efforts are needed to cultivate a stronger diversity working culture, and deeper tolerance for the growing diversity of the American people.

In the following views, some important lessons can be gleaned.

Firstly, this is how NBA Commisioner Adam Silver view Sterling's remarks:

“The central findings of the investigation are that the man’s voice heard on the recording…is Mr. Sterling, and that the hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of Mr. Sterling,” Silver said. The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. That they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage. Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural, and multi-ethnic league.” See here

The swift justice rendered by Silver is described as a victory for both women and minorities:

Racism and sexism aren't competitors -- both are terrible things -- but there is a certain justice to Sterling finally being humbled by his connection to a young, bi-racial woman. It's almost as if his indulgences smashed headfirst into his supposed belief structure, and the result was his own professional demise. Regardless of how you view this whole situation -- through what prism or specific context -- it should be viewed as a victory for both women and minorities everywhere. Read more at

Another opinion in praise of Silver's decisive action goes:

What Silver did was a great lesson in crisis management. He made a bold decision, expanding his broad powers as commissioner to right an obvious wrong.....Bigots have no place in society.
Read more

From hopeful Clippers fans:

"But now, in retrospect, I'm actually glad that those comments were made because it exposes the prejudices that we have to deal with in today's society."

In the eyes of Clippers fans, the crisis Sterling caused may well be an opportunity for bigger and better things in the future of the team and the city. Read more here

A pragmatic analysis by Kathleen Parker of Washington Post:

Making racist remarks can do great harm to the public trust and damage hard-won gains toward racial harmony. Consolation can be found in evidence that Americans on the whole have no tolerance for racism or discriminatory behavior. Read more

Finally, here are two more views worth pondering in the hope these help formulate more affirming inclusive and equal opportunity policies for a more authentic culture of diversity in society to thrive.

• Racism is a real problem that has survived through generations and generations in this country. It is time to use the opportunity to further the race discussion. - from NBA Hall of Famer, Hawks exec Dominique Wilkins See here
  
  
• It is time to also look at the other dimension of racism: the policies and procedures that sustain our system of racial inequality, writes Jamelle Bouie of Slate. The outrage that comes when a state representative says something stupid about professional basketball players is absent when we learn that black children are punished at dramatically higher rates than their white peers, even as preschoolers. Likewise, it’s absent when we learn that banks targeted minorities—regardless of income—for the worst possible mortgage loans, destroying their wealth in the process. In turn, this blinds us to the racial implications of actions that seem colorblind. In a world where racism looks like cartoonish bigotry, it’s hard to build broad outrage for unfair voter identification laws or huge disparities in health care access. See here