Health care reform legislation effects on nursing
Medscape Medical News
The reform bill invests heavily in nursing education and retention, as well as many other forward-thinking programs geared toward building and maintaining the nursing workforce of the future. These include various federal grants specifically targeted at associate, baccalaureate, and advanced education nursing; workforce diversity; and the National Nurse Service Corps, which repays 60 percent of nursing student loans in exchange for at least two years of practice at a facility that has a critical shortage of nurses.More

Breaking the 'bamboo ceiling'
CNN
Change a few circumstances in her life and Sakie Fukushima says she would have been a housewife. She was raised to be a good Japanese wife and homemaker, after all. That's what was expected of women of her generation — to sit behind their men, make their bentos, iron their shirts and watch them rise to lead Japan's economy. Life did not go as Fukushima expected. She's one of Japan's most powerful executives, sitting on the board of both U.S. and Japanese-based multi-national companies. The fact that she is a female in one of the most male-dominated business cultures is a stunning back story in one woman's remarkable ascent through the so-called "bamboo ceiling."More

US surgeon general discusses diversity in research industry and clinical trial participation
Bradenton Herald
The Diversity in Biotechnology Summit at the 2010 BIO International Convention in Chicago will focus on the importance of integrating diverse and underserved populations within medical, research, increasing employment opportunities and encouraging participation in clinical trials. Experts in health, business and academia will discuss the challenge of increasing minority participation in research and the workforce.More

The economic imperative of achieving diversity
Forbes
Around the globe the pressure to raise college completion levels is growing. Many political and business leaders recognize that prosperity, within a rapidly changing global economy, requires more knowledgeable workers: Today's employers expect workers to be, among other things, critical thinkers, effective communicators, ethical decision-makers and effective team members. Given these realities, the educational community faces significant challenges — and opportunities--in ensuring that all students are equipped with the skills that are vital to America's long-term economic success.More

Connecticut woman alleges genetic discrimination at work
The Associated Press via Forbes
A Connecticut woman who had a voluntary double mastectomy after genetic testing is alleging her employer eliminated her job after learning she carried a gene implicated in breast cancer. …Her complaints, filed with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission and Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, are among the first known to be filed nationwide based on the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.More

Arizona immigration law draws Republican critics
MSNBC
When Arizona's governor signed the country's toughest immigration enforcement rules into law last week, Democrats — including President Barack Obama — immediately denounced it as a poorly-conceived bill that could threaten Americans' civil liberties. Now several national Republicans, many of them hailing from states with large Latino populations, are echoing some of those concerns.More

Coast Guard acts quickly on diversity, but not without implementation problems
The Washington Post
The Coast Guard's motto is ""emper Paratus." It means "Always Ready." We see that in action when the Coast Guard rapidly responds to an oil-rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico or a capsized boat off Key West, Fla., or a crashed helicopter in Lake Huron. Less apparent is how quickly the Coast Guard put that motto into action after it was criticized for doing too little to increase diversity in its civilian and uniformed ranks. It has moved swiftly, but not without important problems in the implementation of the agency's diversity program.More

Human resources: The business case for diversity
US Banker
There are myriad reasons why Royal Bank of Canada is so successful. Its balance sheet is strong, it has leading market share in all of its business lines-from banking to insurance to wealth management to investment banking-and, at a time when many of its competitors are retrenching, it continues to invest in new products, services and markets. But not to be overlooked as a contributing factor is the diversity of its workforce. Canada's largest banking company actively targets new immigrants, women entrepreneurs, Canadian Aboriginals, the gay and lesbian community and people with disabilities, and chief executive Gord Nixon says the key to reaching these audiences are having a workforce that mirrors their cultures.More