Civil Rights News: Equal Pay, DC Youth Unemployed, Minority Students Disproportionately Suspended

Unions and Women’s Groups Unite to Demand Equal Pay
Ylan Q. Mui, The Washington Post
Various women’s organizations and labor unions are asking Wal-Mart to look over its pay scale to ensure that women are not being discriminated against by their employers. The demands have come in response to the Supreme Court blocking of a class action lawsuit in which more than 1.6 million women alleged sex discrimination against the company.

DC Youth Unemployment Higher Than National Average
Chris L. Jenkins, The Washington Post
A new report from the Brookings Institution announced that almost one in three low income adults in D.C. were unemployed. “Using census data, the report examined 28,000 low-income 16-to-24-year-olds in Washington who had not earned a bachelor’s degree. Of those, nearly 9,000 were unemployed and not in school.”

Report shows minority students suspended at higher rates
Greg Toppo, USA Today
A report released by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a Colorado-based civil rights group, finds U.S. public schools suspend Black, Latino and students with disabilities at much higher rates than others – indicating the need for disciplinary reform and sound educational policy.

Compiled by Deborah D’Orazi and Laurie McGowan, Fall 2011 interns