This story appears in the
July 2000 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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In case you didn't notice while you were filling out your
Census 2000 form a few months ago, there's been a major
revision in the format: Individuals may now identify themselves as
members of more than one race. In other words, if you consider
yourself both Asian and white, you may now check both race
boxes.
As a result of this new standard, the five basic race categories
can now yield 63 different racial combinations. What does that mean
for employers? Most likely a whole new set of Equal Employment
Opportunity issues to comply with. "The big question is, how
will all this new information affect affirmative-action plans and
civil-rights monitoring and enforcement?" asks Deron Zeppelin,
director of governmental affairs for the Society for Human Resource
Management in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Office of Management and Budget recently issued a bulletin
that summed up the reason for the change: "Data from Census
2000 will capture more accurately the increasing diversity of the
nation's population." But the office is conspicuously
vague on how the information will be used and what new regulations
will come from it.
"They are just starting to put the puzzle together,"
says Zeppelin. "Employers need to realize there will be
implications down the road. You need to start thinking about and
preparing yourself now."
Ellen Paris is a Washington, DC, writer and former Forbes
magazine staff writer.
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