Reactions to "Courage Needed"

3 days ago, 80-20 EF asked these questions:

Why Is Courage Crucial to the Asian Am. Community?
Why So Few Asian Am Orgs. showed Courage?
What YOU Can Do To Deter Meekness?

EF asked for readers' reactions, explicitly inviting negative comments. The
above questions seem to strike a resonant cord in our readers' hearts. No
negative comments. The consensus is that Asian Am. orgs need to
fight the hard fight -- win equal opportunity in workplaces for the 15
million Asian Ams.

Here are some excerpts. Apologies to all for not being able to use all
your good comments.

1) "That's so true! Thanks and I'll forward it to other AsAm." Sherman

2) "pls read, share and forward with as many possible! this is really
important!" Seema Agarwal who forwarded "Courage
needed" to his friends.

3) "Great communique, SB! Thank you for your courage in raising this
systemic weakness in the Asian-American leadership circle. The diagnosis
may be unpleasant but it is what we need if we want things to
fundamentally improve. Thanks again for your leadership." Man

4) "Excellent article!"

5) "I strongly agree that AA leaders need to fight the hard fight. Continued
work for the enforcement of equal opportunity for all Americans. through
Exec. Order 11246 will be a good start…."

6) "agreed. we all need to get involved. one person at a time."

7) "i like it the most." J. C. Khurana

8) "Agree and support your view, thank you for your effort."

9) "I am 100% agree with you and hope to see some activities to have
younger people to recognize and proud of their race."

10) "Thanks, SB. You always lead by your example. We will follow." Quan

11) "The wealthy Asians should contribute more money for the fight,
again, like the Jews, but few seem to be doing it even as we keep hearing
about lots of Asians getting rich and being rich. . . . "

12) "I agree with you that Asian American organizations often shy away
from hard fights and pat ourselves on the back on small achievements.
Discrimination against Asian Americans is still very obvious. One salient
feature is the emasculation of Asian American men. . . . . . " Bob

13) "Thanks. I am keeping this email as new so that I can read every time I
open the inbox. " Teddy

14) "We are organizing a conference here in Fresno with the SE Asian
community (Hmong, Lao, Khmer, Mien….) . . . " Dr. Toulu X. Thao

To see many other comments, click on
http://80-20nj.info/cgi/dm?l=/8/bb/b41&work=bbsubj .

Asian Am. Activists:
Together, we can make more of a difference. Let's
share our knowledge, skills & leadership in the
service of our community? Unity adds power to all our
projects.

To comment on this e-newsletter, click on
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp Thanks.

Respectfully yours,

S. B. President, 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc.

Courage Needed

Let me be brutally frank & discuss a topic seldom talked about.

Why Is Courage Crucial to the Asian Am. Community?

Courage is particularly important to the Asian Am. community. Read
what a US senator told me decades ago, "Your community needs to act
with more gusto. Even your activists, when ignored long enough or told to
go away, would quietly go way. Both political parties and the national
media knew that. The US is a nation where the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Why So Few Asian Am Orgs. showed Courage?

When leaders of Asian Am. organizations fight for our community, they
unavoidably displease the powers they are fighting against. As a result, the
invitations, favors & appointments from the governors, cabinet officials &
the president may stop going to those leaders.

If our community honors such leaders for their dedication, as is the
tradition in the Jewish community, the psychological compensation
may be enough to keep our dedicated activists going. However, our
community is neither politically mature nor cohesive enough to
reward our community servants. That punishing combination makes leaders
of many Asian Am. orgs. attend to the mundane rather than the
unique needs of the Asian Americans. Mundane is safe, requiring no
courage and no extraordinary effort.

EXCEPTIONS

There are noteworthy exceptions. To name a few, they include 1)
organizing to redress US government's internment of Japan Ams, 2)
outcries against the injustice shown in the death of Vincent Chin.
Perhaps the defense of Dr. Wen Ho Lee may be another example.

For sure, a lot of our orgs have protested against racist disc jockey of
radio stations, and celebrities who cracked bad racial jokes. While these
actions were called for, they required no courage. There would be
no repercussion against individuals leading such fights.

Our better future Requires Courage

The Asian Am. community has unique needs. There are irrefutable
statistics and government reports that Asian Americans have been
severely discriminated against in workplaces. While 80-20's expose` of
such systemic discrimination, and its political actions have begun to get
government attention to corrective measures, the length of our
government's attention and the strength of the corrective measures are
as yet uncertain.

Only a UNITED Asian American community can assure truly equal
opportunity for the 15 million Asian Americans and their children.

We look to leaders of Asian Am orgs for guidance and cooperation
and together get the job done.

What YOU Can Do To Deter Meekness?

YOU can do a lot. You can speak out publicly, if you agree that our
community has been too meek, and that too many of our community
leaders are seemingly addicted to "being the big fish in a small pond"
and attending to the mundane! Your voice will have impact. Public
scrutiny is effective.

Please post your comments at
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp
Negative comments are welcome too. We want to learn from you.

Respectfully yours,

S. B. President, 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc.

Important Reply from DOL (forward to others!)

After a meeting with DOL in Jan., 80-20 Educational foundation, EF,
wrote DOL to seek written verification of EF's understanding of the
outcome of the meeting -- DOL will enforce Exec. Order 11246 for Asian
Ams.

DOL's reply is seen below. Please read.

". . . . As you requested, I am offering the clarification below to
portions of your meeting summary. The information below may
be shared with others.

OFCCP intends to enforce Executive Order 11246 on behalf
of all protected persons, including, but not limited to, Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). OFCCP will broaden
its enforcement efforts and focus on identifying and resolving
both systemic and individual discrimination cases. … Very truly
yours, Patricia S. Shiu"
For the complete letter, see
www.80-20initiative.net .

The enforcement of EO 11246 will remove the glass ceiling from about
2 million Asian Ams working in private industries and universities.
Consequently, it'll benefit about 6 million Asian Ams, when their family
members are taken into account.

To help YOU understand what is really going on, 80-20 EF offers 3
observations:

1) The proof of the pudding is in eating. Whether OFCCP is truly
enforcing EO 11246 for Asian Ams. depends on a steady improvement in
the statistical odds of Asian Ams. being promoted to the managerial levels.
This result will be reviewed in a meeting with Pres. Obama, organized by
80-20 and DOL, in 2 years.

2) In words, the DOL under Pres. Obama says the right things. It is in
strong contrast to the negative attitude of the DOL when Elaine Chao was
the DOL Secretary for President Bush. See a letter from DOL in 2006 to
satisfy yourself. Visit www.80-20initiative.net .

3) The vigorous enforcement of EO 11246 for Asian Ams is not
guaranteed, just because DOL says the right words to us. It depends on how
vigilantly YOU & 80-20 will together pursued this matter.

Dear Friends: There is no free lunch. 80-20, its members and supporters
have pushed our fight for equal citixenship this far. Now, YOU need to do
YOUR share of the work. It includes forwarding this newsletter to
friends who have sought, are seeking and will seek promotion to
management. If depends on whether you will file a complaint with
regional offices* of OFCCP, DOL
when you have been discriminated against by federal contractors & sub-
contractors. It also depends your giving strong moral and financial
support to 80-20. 80-20 is only as strong as YOU!

Respectfully yours,

S. B. Woo,
President (a volunteer), 80-20 Educational Foundation

* The 6 OFCCP, DOL Regional Offices

Northeast Regional Office
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
Virginia

Southeast Regional Office
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee

Midwest Regional Office
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
Ohio, Wisconsin

Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Office
Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming

Pacific Regional Office
Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington

The Ugly Truth about AsAm Inequality (Part 6)

Part I: 80-20 will meet with DOL's Director of Enforcement, Pat Shiu.
When & where? Jan. 11 (Monday); DOL, Washington, D.C.
Purpose? To show how we still face discrimination in workplaces and
urge DOL to implement what Pres. Obama has promised us: "to
focus on enforcing Exec. Order 11246 on behalf of AsAms."
Impact? 2 million AsAms directly; 4 million through family connections,
and 15 million directly and indirectly -- a rising tide raises all ships.
Who'll attend for 80-20? Prof. Chenming Hu & S. B. Woo, both flying
into D.C. at their own expenses.

Part II: Presented evidence that AsAms are discriminated in workplaces.
It'll take us 75 years or 3 more generations to reach EQUAL odds to
rise to the managerial level, if things are left at its current pace.

Part III: Presented irrefutable proofs that 80-20's evidence is VALID!.
The Chief Statistician of EEOC verified 80-20's data, methodology &
calculated numbers. After a year's study, EEOC on its own, reported
"discrimination against AAPI employees" in the federal government.

Part IV: Debunking 2 popular myths perhaps designed to confuse us
and keep us down.

Myth 1: AsAms don't have business degrees, only science &
engineering degrees. Therefore, not many managers!
Truth: We are our nation's number 1 in % of people with MBAs.

Myth 2: AsAms are already 2nd only to Caucasians in individual
income. What more do they want?
Truth: We want JUSTICE -- equal pay for equal work, & equal opportunity,
which are America's core values. The truth is that if AsAm are paid
the national average for our educational attainment, our individual
income would be 15% higher than Caucasians instead of lower. Does
America believe in its own core value any more?

Part V: Debunking 3 more popular myths against us.

Myth 3: AsAms simply don't have the "makeup" to make managers.
Truth: Identical charges were made against blacks, women & Hispanics
decades earlier. No one believes in such non-sense any more.

Myth 4: AsAms, with so many new immigrants, just don't have the
average seniority to have equal % of managers.
Truth: We have significantly more seniority than Hispanics. Yet Hispanics' %
of managers is at least 50% higher. Why? Hispanics have the political clout
with the federal government to get EO 11246 enforced for them.

Myth 5: AsAms certainly don't face as much "latent prejudice"
as blacks. How come blacks have a large % of managers?
Truth: Blacks may face more latent prejudice in many streets. However,
AsAms face more blatant dicrimination in private industries and universities.
It is because black 6e9 s have the political clout with the federal government to
get EO 11246 enforced for them.

CONCLUSION:

[A] AsAm's lack of GROUP political clout is the main reason for
the discrimination against us in getting the good jobs.

[B] We must Act to strengthen OUR OWN GROUP political clout!
Actions may include but not limited to,

(1) SAVE & FORWARD to your AsAm friends this 6-part series on
"Ugly Truth."
(2) Donate! Make your check payable to "80-20 Educational Foundation," &
send it to 80-20 ; P.O. Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229. For using a credit
card, go http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/donate/payment.asp .
Even $5 will show your commitment!
(3) Rate this article as "Informative," or "Somewhat informative," or "Not

informative," & wish all of us luck on the coming DOL meeting. Comments
are welcome.
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp .
PLEASE do your part! "God helps those who help themselves."

Sincerely,

Thousands of AsAms who toiled for
equal opportunity for you and America

The Ugly Truth about AsAm Inequality (Part 5)

Why is 80-20 sending you the "Ugly Truth" series? To whine
or to prepare for community-wide action?

Additional popular MYTHS against us are debunked below.

MYTH 3: AsAms simply don't have the ambition, language ability, social
and communication skills, & sense of humor to make managers.

Truth:
The same accusations were made against women, blacks, and Hispanics
earlier. Now that there are hundreds of thousands of female, black and
Hispanic managers, on account of the enforcement of EO 11246, such
nonsense are no longer spread or believed. The same will prove to be case
for AsAms, once EO 11246 is enforced for us. For more details,
see Footnote 1.

MYTH 4: AsAms are mostly new immigrants. So most AsAms don't
have the seniority in workplaces to make managers yet.

Truth:
Hispanics are mostly new immigrants too. When compared to Hispanics.,
AsAms have MORE seniority with their current employers. When we don’t
have the GROUP political clout, then the lack of seniority is used as a lie
to keep us beffudled. For a table of comparison, see Footnote 2.

MYTH 5: "Latent prejudice" against blacks is certainly higher. If blacks
are making managers, and AsAms are not, it proves that
AsAms just don't have the ability to be managers.

Truth:
"Latent prejudice" against blacks is indeed higher on many streets in
America, not that prejudice should be tolerated anywhere against anyone.
However, blatant discrimination against AsAms is higher in workplaces,
because AsAms don't have the GROUP political clout to get EO 11246
enforced for us.

Have you heard enough "Ugly Truth"??? Are you ready to join the
fight for equal opportunity?

Dear readers:

What will it take to get a minority in the USA equal opportunity in
workplaces? Tell us your views/conclusions. There are no
clearly right or wrong answers. We just want to know your views.
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp .
Do your part! "God helps those who help themselves."

Respectfully yours,

S. B. Woo
President, 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc.

Footnote 1

How come the same myth is still held against AsAms? Two main
reasons. (1) Women, blacks and Hispanics have more GROUP political
clout. People who utter such stereo negative image against them face
severe repercussions. (2) Once the individuals in those groups become
convinced that they have the equal opportunity to be promoted, they
worked in earnest to develop the skills they need to become managers.

If AsAms are smart & hard working enough to get advanced degrees,
AsAms can certainly learn how to communicate tactfully, and crack jokes in
cocktail parties with a little hard work. The latter is the easier skills.

Footnote 2
See the Table below for worker with 5 or more years with their current
employers comparing Asian to Hispanics:

The Ugly Truth about AsAm Inequality (Part 4)

This is Part 4 of the "Ugly Truth." To catch up on earlier parts,
go to the bottom of each web page:
http://80-20nj.info/cgi/dm/8/bb/b35 or /b36 or /b37 …

People who want to preserve "good jobs" for themselves
spread MYTHS against us.

They try to falsely explain away the irrefutable statistical evidence
of discrimination against AsAms as if it's AsAms' own faults. Here are
some popular MYTHS against us:

MYTH 1: To be manager, business training is important. However,
AsAms are mostly trained in Science and Engineering.

Truth:
When compared to other races, AsAms have a significantly HIGHER
% of people with business degrees. See Footnote 1.

MYTH 2: The average AsAms income is higher than that of every ethnic
group, except for Whites. That is proof positive that AsAms are
not being discriminated.

Truth:
Wrong. That statistics proves just the opposite. The fact that AsAm
receive LOWER pay even though they have on average HIGHER
educational attainment than Caucasians is consistent with our charts,
which show AsAms having the lowest manager to eligible pool ratio
among all major population groups. This means that many AsAms in
the eligible pool are denied equal opportunity to realize personal
aspirations by the glass ceiling. They deserve equal opportunity, which
is America's core value and what makes America a great nation. Any
injustice in our system towards ANY group, regardless of that group's
ethnicity or gender, ultimately saps the vigor and competitiveness of
our nations; and festers to our nation's detriment. See Footnote 2.

Indeed, we are discriminated in workplaces in 2 ways:
(1) having lesser chance to be promoted to management, &
(2) getting paid less for the same job. See Footnote 3.

Join the fight for equal opportunity. You owe it to your children
and truth to show up.

Why is 80-20 telling you the "Ugly Truth"? To whine or to prepare for
action? What action is 80-20 preparing for? Leave your comments at
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp .
Please do YOUR part. YOU hold the key to 80-20's success in its
coming meeting with DOL.

Respectfully yours,

S. B. Woo
President, 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc.

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Footnote 1:
Having a large % of AsAms in science and engineering does NOT equate
fewer % of us who are trained in business. The percentage of AsAms with
business degrees is much HIGHER than the national average. It is because
very small % of AsAms are in such other fields as English, history,
psychology, liberal arts, …, etc.

Indeed, AsAms have the highest percentage of all people with MBAs, and
the second highest percentage of people with either a bachelors or
doctoral degree in business. See Table 1 below.

Bachelor's Degrees (business):
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_263.asp
Master's Degrees (business):
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_266.asp
Doctor's Degrees (business):
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_269.asp .

Footnote 2:
Income is tightly coupled to educational attainment according to the Census 2000.
If Asian American workers were paid the average national salary according
to their educational attainment, the average Asian American income should
be about 15% HIGHER than the average Caucasian income, owing to their
much higher average educational attainment than the Whites. See Chart 2 of
http://80-20nj.info/cgi/dm/8/bb/b35 However, in reality, the income of
the average Asian American is LOWER than that of the average Caucasian.

Footnote 3:
A 2009 salary survey by Scientist documented the same point. See the chart
below:

Or visit http://www.the-scientist.com/fragments/salary_survey/2009/ss-charts.jsp .

How come our bars are normally the shortest? Are we doing right by
our children?

The Ugly Truth about AsAm Inequality (Part 3)

This is Part 3 of the "Ugly Truth." To catch up on earlier parts,
go to the bottom of each web page:
http://80-20nj.info/cgi/dm/8/bb/b35 or /b36 or /b37 …

Is the statistical evidence compiled by 80-20 valid?

We'll let EEOC's Chief Statistician plus a formal report from EEOC
tell you about it. EEOC stands for Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, a government agency.

(1) 4/6/2006, 02:57 PM email from EEOC Chief Statistician Ronald Edwards:

" Subject: Odds Ratios Calculations
Dr. Woo,
Attached is a spreadsheet showing my calculations. I am
sure it's consistent with your calculations. I would just
stress the value of comparing to white males.(WHTM).
I enjoyed talking with you today. Good luck with your
research and related activities. Thanks."
(The attachment is NOT included, since it takes up huge
space but is not related to the validity check.)

"Odds ratios calculations" mean calculations of the chances of each
minority to rise to management in private industries, universities and
the federal government. It determines the lengths of the bars in Chart I.
To see chart 1, go to the bottom of this webpage:
http://80-20nj.info/cgi/dm/8/bb/b35 .

(2) After a year's study, EEOC publicized on January 9, 2009 its report on
"Bamboo Ceiling over Asian Americans". The report examined the
lack of advancement opportunities for AsAms in the Federal government,
the bastion of affirmative action. Ironic? Our punishment for not
paying attention to GROUP political clout? To see the EEOC report, go
http://eeoc.gov/federal/reports/aapi.html .

EEOC's recommendations include the following: (emphasis
added by 80-20). "Promulgating an Executive Order that addresses issues of
discrimination against AAPI employees in the federal sector …" and
"Create requirements that hold senior leadership accountable … for …
promotion of qualified AAPI candidates to the highest levels. …. "

Note that EEOC didn't shy away from using the phrase "discrimination
against AAPI employees."

Need you more evidence? Join us in this fight for YOU and YOUR
CHILDREN.

Rate this article as "Informative," or "Somewhat informative," or "Not
informative," or leave other comments at
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp .
Please do YOUR part to support & forward this message to others. Happy Holidays.

Respectfully yours,

S. B. Woo
President, 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc.

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Names & short bios of members of 80-20's DOL Meeting Team.

596 Ved Chaudhary of NJ, President, Educators Society for the Heritage of
India (ESHI), Former Member, Board of Trustees, Rutgers Univ., N.J.,
Assistant Commissioner, Dept. of Environmental Protection, NJ,
Chenming Hu of CA, Member of The US Academy of Engineering,
Distinguished Chair professor of electrical engineering at Univ. of Calif,
Berkeley, Chinese Academy of sciences; Academia Sinica,
Alice S. Huang of CA, President-elect of The American Assoc. for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), retire Porf. From Harvard, retired Dean
of Science at NYU, retired member of the Divison of Biology, Calif.
Institute of Technology, Member of Academic Sinica,
Henry Lee of NY & FL, President, The Financial Marketing Group, worked in
McDonnell Douglas (Missile & Space Systems Division), Northrop Corp
(Space Systems), General Electric, and Arabian American Oil Company,
S. B. Woo of DE & FL, President, 80-20 Educational Foundation; Lt. Gov.
of Delaware (1985-89), former trustee, Univ. of Delaware, and
David Yang of DC, Associate Political Scientist, Rand Corporation, Former
research fellow at Stanford Univ. specializing in democracy promotion
and international development.