Diversity has many meanings to me. It
has meaning in nature with Biodiversity; it has meaning to the human species as
well. In an ecosystem, all the animals
and plants have specific roles in the chain of life. There are the small
animals and plants, the ones that provide or are food for larger animals. It is
important that these plants and animals remain in place to keep the balance of
the ecosystem in check.
To
me, Diversity and inclusivity go hand in hand. Depending on what job or career
you go into, it will most likely be a diverse environment. There will probably
be people of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. You have to be well
equip with knowing how to be around people who are different than you. Here at
Stout, most classes are the majority of students are white Midwest students. It
is important in a setting like this to learn about diversity, and how to handle
being around people that are different than you. Most places are not like
Stout. That is why I feel it is very important for students to attend the
different Ally Center events on diversity and race that are held though out the
year. Sometimes it is easy to forget about the other people, especially when it
comes to the holiday season. We always think of Christmas, but start to lose
focus on the other holidays of other nationalities or religions. Just like in
nature, there has to be a balance within human diversity so things don’t get
thrown off.
1. Diversity
Statement: USDA Forest Service:
“Oliver Wendell Holmes
once said, "I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we
stand as in what direction we are moving." I believe the Forest Service is
moving in the right direction and, I want to keep it going that way. I need
your help. We are going to continue caring for the land and serving the people.
However, as I stated in my first message to the National Leadership Team, my
initial focus is going to be on people – you, the Forest Service employees.
As the fifteenth Chief
of the Forest Service, I am committed to work force diversity and to ensuring
the protection of civil rights, including equal employment opportunity for all
employees and customers of the Forest Service programs and services. No
employee or applicant will be unlawfully denied employment opportunity because
of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, political
belief, sexual orientation, or marital or familial status.
I believe that
diversity not only refers to ethnicity, gender, or culture, but there is also a
diversity of thought. It is healthy for us to have professional differences of
opinion and these should be shared, but always in a climate of openness, mutual
respect and trust. As Forest Service employees, it is our responsibility to
ensure that discrimination and harassment do not exist in the employment
experience and the work environment. Anything less is simply unacceptable. We
must treat each other and the public with respect and professionalism. This is
how we want to be treated and is the foundation for good customer service.
No one in the Forest
Service can be successful working alone; however, if we work together, all of
us can succeed. I look forward to your cooperation in helping me carry out the
Agency's responsibilities in the area of civil rights.”
2.
Diversity Statement: US Fish and Wildlife
Service:
WASHINGTON—
The U.S. Senate today will hold a hearing over the confirmation of Dan Ashe as
new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If confirmed, Ashe will
face a number of significant challenges, including fixing the agency’s
endangered species program that, under the Obama administration, has done
little to protect rare plants and animals facing the possibility of extinction.
Ashe will need to correct an agency culture that has led to dozens of Fish and
Wildlife Service decisions being overturned in court for failing to follow the
proper science in managing threatened and endangered species.
“We are
hopeful that Dan Ashe can turn the Fish and Wildlife Service around,” said
Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “To
date, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has done little to reform the agency’s
problems managing our nation’s endangered species. Under Salazar, the agency
has shown an utter lack of urgency when it comes to saving endangered species
and has been more intent on delaying protections than implementing them.”
Among
the worst problems in the agency is its reluctance to provide new protections
to species that badly need them. So far, the Fish and Wildlife Service under
President Barack Obama has protected just 54 species, most of them on a single
Hawaiian island, for an average of just 27 species per year. That rate is
better than under the Bush administration, when 51 species were protected for
an average of fewer than seven per year, but worse than under the Clinton
administration, when 498 species were protected for a yearly average of
62. The Obama administration’s failure to protect more species has left
more than 250 species to languish unprotected on a “candidate” list for federal
protections, including the wolverine, Oregon spotted frog, white fringeless
orchid and, in a new addition earlier this month, Pacific walrus. The agency
has also continued to see decisions overturned by the courts, including most
notably a decision to remove protections for the gray wolf. “The real test
for Dan Ashe is whether he can get the program for protecting endangered
species moving and restore the agency’s scientific credibility,” said Suckling.
“There is no more important function of the Fish and Wildlife Service than the
protection of endangered species, because the extinction of a species cannot be
reversed.”
In an
encouraging sign, the administration’s requested budget asks for an increase in
the endangered species budget, specifically for newly protecting species under
the Endangered Species Act.
If he is
confirmed, other significant action will be needed from Ashe, including major
steps to protect bats from white-nose syndrome (which has killed more than 1
million bats to date in the United States) and research funding for the
disease; and policies that recognize and respond to the dangers of global
warming for imperiled species in Alaska, the lower 48 states and Hawaii.
The
Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation
organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to
the protection of endangered species and wild places.
3.
Diversity Statement: UW-Stout
University Housing has a long history of
supporting all kinds of diversity and providing inclusive living environments
where all students are welcome. We hope that your experience in the residence
halls allows you to meet a lot of new people from a variety of backgrounds. We
also hope that you find the residence halls to be a comfortable and accepting
environment.
4.
Diversity Statement: Peace Corps
The
diversity of the American people is a large part of what makes America the
country it is. Diversity of ethnic
backgrounds, life experiences, and beliefs have strengthened our country in
countless ways. And because the Peace Corps shares with the rest of the world our
most precious resource -- our people -- it can carry out its mission only if
the Volunteer corps truly represents America in all its diversity.
5.
Diversity Statement: EPA
FROM: Administrator Lisa P. Jackson
TO: All EPA Employees
I am reaffirming my commitment to the principles
of equal employment opportunity and diversity in the workplace for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's employees and job applicants. The EPA must
continue to attract, develop, and retain a highly skilled, diverse work force
to meet the demands of our mission to protect human health and the natural
environment.
The EPA must be fully committed to promoting and
maintaining a workplace that ensures equality of opportunity for everyone,
regardless of her or his race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
disability, status as a parent, sexual orientation, protected genetic
information, prior EEO activity and marital status.
Our managers and supervisors must lead by
example to ensure the workplace is free from discrimination, hostility,
intimidation, reprisal and harassment. We all have a role to play, and each of
us must be committed to treating one another with dignity, respect and
professionalism.
I ask you to help me create a work environment
that embraces our individual differences and gives everyone full consideration
for employment opportunities, including hiring, promotions and training,
regardless of his or her protected status.
Our vision of One EPA can be realized only if we
respect and honor the differences that every employee brings from her or his
background. I am confident that, as we move forward, all of us will work toward
protecting and advancing the principles of EEO.
I offer my sincerest thanks to all of you for
your dedication to the EPA and for the excellent work you do every day to
protect the American people and our environment. None of it would be possible
without the diversity of experiences and ideas that each of you brings to our
agency.
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