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Canada
 A former Vietnamese refugee has become the country’s first Asian bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Vincent Nguyen who immigrated to Canada in 1984 as one of the “Boat People” will be in charge of the eastern portion of the Toronto diocese which includes Scarborough and Durham Region. At 43 years old Nguyen is also the youngest bishop currently serving the Church in Canada.
A joint effort of the federal, provincial and territorial governments to address the issue of barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada goes into affect this December. Under the new framework, internationally-trained architects, financial auditors, accountants, pharmacists and registered nurses will know within a year of applying for certification whether their training will allow them to work in Canada. This will mean that foreign professionals will not have to work at jobs that don’t make use of their skills. A second group that will include physicians will be covered under the one-year timetable by the end of 2012.
 A visually impaired cross-country skier from Canmore, Alberta has been named to Team Canada, making Brian McKeever the first Paralympian to compete in a Winter Olympics. “I hope it shows that Paralympic athletes are training at the same sort of level as the Olympic athletes, despite their physical disabilities,” McKeever said. McKeever who has Stargardt’s disease and only 10% peripheral vision will race solo. Cross country events begin February 15.
United Kingdom
 A London banker has won an age discrimination suit against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The London South Employment Tribunal ruled Achim Beck, 42, who headed CIBC’s marketing team, was unfairly dismissed on the basis of age. An internal memo stated the new marketing executive have a “younger, entrepreneurial profile.” At the time of his dismissal, his annual earnings were about £900,000. The amount of compensation Beck will receive has yet to be determined. Beck’s replacement is 38 years old.
United States
 An internal study released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has revealed that the university is doing a poor job of recruiting and retaining black and Hispanic faculty whose numbers currently stand at 6%. In some departments, such as chemistry, mathematics, and nuclear science and engineering, no minorities have been hired in the last two decades. At present nearly 60% of minority faculty comes from just 3 graduate schools: MIT, Harvard and Stanford. The study also showed the university needs to provide increased mentoring and expand professional opportunities to make the climate at MIT more welcoming to underrepresented groups by more openly discussing diversity and its connection to excellence—something faculty surveys have shown many white professors do not believe.
A study by a Columbia Law School professor has revealed that black and Hispanic law students are being “shut out” of law schools despite improvement by both groups on their college grade-point averages and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores. Professor Conrad Johnson found both the percentage and the number of African-American and Mexican-American law students declined increasingly between 1993 and 2008 even though law schools have added about 3,000 seats for first-year students. A Disturbing Trend in Law School Diversity showed 61% of black applicants and 46% of Mexican-American applicants were denied acceptance at all of the law schools to which they applied, compared with 34% of white applicants.
A new report suggests California law firms generally do a better job of hiring and retaining women, gay and lesbian attorneys and minority attorneys than their counterparts outside the Golden State. For example, minorities represent 10% of the total partners at major California law firms, twice that of major U.S. firms. The non-partner percentages shows 27% for minorities compared to 18% nationally and 35% percent for women, compared to 32% nationally. The study examined 7 California firms and noted that recruiting and retaining diverse talent is somewhat easier there because of the progressive tradition and diversity of the state.
 President Barack Obama has named his first transgender appointee to the federal government. Amanda Simpson who underwent a sex change about a decade ago will work as a senior technical advisor at the Commerce Department. Before being named to the post, Simpson was deputy director for Raytheon Missile Systems, as well as a test pilot. She was also the first openly transgendered candidate to win a primary election in the US in a bid for the Arizona state legislature.
 The Military Academy at West Point will receive $800,000 to revamp its recruitment process to attract minority officers. Over the last decade West Point has admitted an average of 82 African Americans, way below its internal goal of 130 to169. Within the past four years, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force have each invested in strategic diversity initiatives. Final approval of the funding which is included in the Defense Appropriations Bill will help make the officer corps at West Point more representative of the Army as a whole.
 Outback Steakhouse has agreed to pay $19million to settle a major sex discrimination suit against thousands of women at hundreds of its restaurants nationwide. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Outback denied women equal opportunities for advancement or promotion to higher-level profit-sharing management positions. As part of the settlement, a 4-year consent decree was signed that would, among other things, institute an online application system for employees interested in managerial and other supervisory positions. The settlement will be administered through a claims process to all female workers who were employed for at least 3 years from 2002 to present. |
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