Kamala Harris says no racism
2022-09-12 02:24:18 UTC
In article <t1at50$2tpfe$***@news.freedyn.de>
***@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Anti-trust time. Break Microsoft up into 5 separate companies.
>
Its not just Google. Microsoft is capping the number of white
and Asian students that universities can nominate for a
prestigious research fellowship that includes a generous $42,000
stipend, part of a pattern of discriminatory policies sweeping
corporate America.
The Microsoft Research Ph.D. Fellowship allows participating
universities to nominate up to four students annually. "At least
two" of those four nominees, per Microsofts provisions, should
"self-identify as a woman, African American, Black, Hispanic,
Latinx, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific
Islander, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQI+, active or veteran service
member, and/or person with a disability."
It is illegal for companies to enter into contracts based on
race under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and Title VI of the
1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits federally funded universities
from discriminating based on race. The Microsoft fellowship
likely violates both laws, according to Gail Heriot, a member of
the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a law professor at the
University of San Diego.
A Microsoft spokesman, Rhoades Clark, declined to comment,
telling the Washington Free Beacon that Microsoft "has nothing
to share."
Until recently, IBMs Ph.D. Fellowship Rewards Program used
similar criteria. That program, which also allows four
applicants per school, required that half of each universitys
nominations go to "diversity candidates or underrepresented
populations in technology."
But 24 hours after the Free Beacon contacted IBM for comment,
the company scrubbed the quota-like language from its website,
which now stipulates that schools "consider a diverse slate of
candidates for the program." IBM did not respond to a request
for comment.
The fellowships reflect the race-conscious consensus that has
taken hold of Silicon Valley, where ostensible corporate
competitors increasingly mimic each others policies. Like
Microsoft and IBM, Google caps the number of white and Asian men
that universities can nominate for a Ph.D. fellowship, using
language almost identical to Microsofts. "If a university
chooses to nominate more than two students," Google says, "the
third and fourth nominees must self-identify as a woman, Black /
African descent, Hispanic / Latino / Latinx, Indigenous, and/or
a person with a disability."
That criterion has been in place since at least April 2020,
according to an archived webpage. It is not clear when Microsoft
and IBM adopted their criteria.
Nearly every elite university in the country has nominated
students for one of the fellowships and some, like Columbia
University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have
nominated students for all three. Though universities are
unlikely to lose federal funding over the fellowships, they
could face lawsuits or civil rights investigations.
So could the companies themselves. Since the programs are not
unconditional grantsfellows must remain in their Ph.D. program
for the duration of the fellowshipscourts would probably treat
them as contracts, said Dan Morenoff, the executive director of
the American Civil Rights Project. That would expose Microsoft,
Google, and IBM to liability under the 1866 Civil Rights Act,
the law banning race discrimination in contracting.
Other tech companies are already facing such lawsuits. In July,
a white woman filed a class action complaint against Amazon over
a program that gives "Black, Latinx, and Native American
entrepreneurs" $10,000 dollar stipends to launch delivery
startups. The program violates the 1866 Civil Rights Act, the
lawsuit argues, because whites and Asians are ineligible for the
stipends.
"Every morning you wake up to hear a new story about a
corporation ignoring the law," Heriot said. "They have to start
being held accountable."
https://freebeacon.com/campus/a-microsoft-fellowship-caps-the-
number-of-white-and-asian-applicants-lawyers-say-thats-illegal/
***@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Anti-trust time. Break Microsoft up into 5 separate companies.
>
Its not just Google. Microsoft is capping the number of white
and Asian students that universities can nominate for a
prestigious research fellowship that includes a generous $42,000
stipend, part of a pattern of discriminatory policies sweeping
corporate America.
The Microsoft Research Ph.D. Fellowship allows participating
universities to nominate up to four students annually. "At least
two" of those four nominees, per Microsofts provisions, should
"self-identify as a woman, African American, Black, Hispanic,
Latinx, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific
Islander, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQI+, active or veteran service
member, and/or person with a disability."
It is illegal for companies to enter into contracts based on
race under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and Title VI of the
1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits federally funded universities
from discriminating based on race. The Microsoft fellowship
likely violates both laws, according to Gail Heriot, a member of
the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a law professor at the
University of San Diego.
A Microsoft spokesman, Rhoades Clark, declined to comment,
telling the Washington Free Beacon that Microsoft "has nothing
to share."
Until recently, IBMs Ph.D. Fellowship Rewards Program used
similar criteria. That program, which also allows four
applicants per school, required that half of each universitys
nominations go to "diversity candidates or underrepresented
populations in technology."
But 24 hours after the Free Beacon contacted IBM for comment,
the company scrubbed the quota-like language from its website,
which now stipulates that schools "consider a diverse slate of
candidates for the program." IBM did not respond to a request
for comment.
The fellowships reflect the race-conscious consensus that has
taken hold of Silicon Valley, where ostensible corporate
competitors increasingly mimic each others policies. Like
Microsoft and IBM, Google caps the number of white and Asian men
that universities can nominate for a Ph.D. fellowship, using
language almost identical to Microsofts. "If a university
chooses to nominate more than two students," Google says, "the
third and fourth nominees must self-identify as a woman, Black /
African descent, Hispanic / Latino / Latinx, Indigenous, and/or
a person with a disability."
That criterion has been in place since at least April 2020,
according to an archived webpage. It is not clear when Microsoft
and IBM adopted their criteria.
Nearly every elite university in the country has nominated
students for one of the fellowships and some, like Columbia
University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have
nominated students for all three. Though universities are
unlikely to lose federal funding over the fellowships, they
could face lawsuits or civil rights investigations.
So could the companies themselves. Since the programs are not
unconditional grantsfellows must remain in their Ph.D. program
for the duration of the fellowshipscourts would probably treat
them as contracts, said Dan Morenoff, the executive director of
the American Civil Rights Project. That would expose Microsoft,
Google, and IBM to liability under the 1866 Civil Rights Act,
the law banning race discrimination in contracting.
Other tech companies are already facing such lawsuits. In July,
a white woman filed a class action complaint against Amazon over
a program that gives "Black, Latinx, and Native American
entrepreneurs" $10,000 dollar stipends to launch delivery
startups. The program violates the 1866 Civil Rights Act, the
lawsuit argues, because whites and Asians are ineligible for the
stipends.
"Every morning you wake up to hear a new story about a
corporation ignoring the law," Heriot said. "They have to start
being held accountable."
https://freebeacon.com/campus/a-microsoft-fellowship-caps-the-
number-of-white-and-asian-applicants-lawyers-say-thats-illegal/