Tuesday, December 8, 2020

The month of October offers a number of celebrations to highlight the value of diversity to our community. As part of the diversity committee's mission to foster inclusion, we highlight a few of this month's events along with some diversity-related fast facts. If you have suggestions for future informative emails from our committee, please let me know.

National Latinx Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
Latinx Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the contributions Latinx Americans have made to American society and culture. It also honors five of our Central American neighbors who celebrate their Independence days in September. The statewide festival was hold this past Sunday but details are still available online: https://www.latinoheritagefestival.org. The university is also holding events.

FastFact: Latinos make up the largest under-represented group in Iowa, with 6.3% of the statewide population estimated in 2019, and at the University of Iowa with 7.1% of our student population in 2020. (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/IA).
 

Indigenous People's Day (October 12)
In 2018, Governor Kim Reynolds replaced state-wide observance of Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day, following a trend of other states and cities. In that year's press release she noted, "This day recognizes the land now known as the State of Iowa, named in recognition of the Iowa Tribe, as well as the language used to identify many of our lakes, rivers, cities, counties, schools, buildings and considerably more, and reflects the inherent imprint of Indigenous People. This land has been home to Indigenous People since time immemorial, and without whom, the building of this state would not have been possible." Read the full proclamation here: https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/IACIO-21219ce. The History Channel offers great detail on this day: https://www.history.com/news/goodbye-columbus-hello-indigenous-peoples-day.

FastFact: There are currently 573 federally-recognized tribes in the Unites States, but 60% of people who identify as native or indigenous live in metropolitan areas rather than tribal lands (https://www.cnay.org/resource-hub/fast-facts).
 

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (October)
National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebrates the accomplishments in the workplace of persons with disabilities and reaffirms the commitment to ensuring equal employment opportunities to all citizens. For more information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/ndeam. Iowa Workforce Development has a video case that showcases the value of accommodations: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/celebrating-iowans-during-national-disability-employment-awareness-month.

FastFact: Research by the Job Accommodation Network indicates that the majority (58%) of work accommodations cost absolutely nothing to make ($0), while the rest of the accommodations made had a typical cost of $500. (https://askjan.org/topics/costs.cfm)