The General Accounting Office (GAO) has produced a new report that reveals a greater percentage of white men at the nation's weapons laboratories who are in management positions and who hold professional jobs than minorities and white women. There is also a disparity in the rate of pay between the groups. Salaries for minority men and women and white women were lower than for white men, with the exception of Asian men at Los Alamos and Sandia, and Hispanic men at Lawrence Livermore. White, Asian and Hispanic women earned less than their male counterparts. Management promotions for minority men and women and white women generally met 80 percent of the promotion rate for white men, with a few exceptions.
In light of these findings, Professor Ling-chi Wang, head of UC Berkeley's Asian American Studies Department and one of the leaders of Asian Pacific Americans for Higher Education (APAHE), says his group of educators is still urging APA scientists to continue boycotting the labs until its leaders put together a specific plan to end racial profiling and the disparity in wages and employment. Rep. David Wu (D - Ore.), the current chair of the API Congressional Caucus joined in calling for congressional hearings to investigate the hiring, employment and promotion practices at the labs. Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose said, "I think change is critical because if there is a general consensus by the people who already work there that there is a discrepancy in pay among the professionals, they're not going to be able to recruit high-caliber people. Why should they go some place where they're not appreciated or be compensated properly? In terms of national security, we're not going to be able to recruit the best and the brightest."
The GAO initiated its study in the wake of the 1999 Wen Ho Lee case, because the former Los Alamos scientist was alleged to have been a victim of racial profiling and the equal treatment of minority men and women at the labs was called into question. (Source: By Sam Chu Lin, AsianWeek).
The full GAO report can be viewed at www.aagen.org.