Assemblyman Ron Kim, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), Korean American Civic Empowerment for Community (KACE), and the YWCA of Queens have announced a broad, joint initiative for "true inclusion and real diversity" in the public sector. They and other community partners have spoken out against the clear disparity in Asian American representation in New York State’s government workforce, and will be collaborating together on potential solutions.
There will also be a large public awareness campaign to reach out to all New Yorkers, encouraging everyone to spread the word, voice their concerns to their elected officials, and sign onto a petition supporting Bill A.08050 – the New York Minority Employment Act – which would include Asian Americans in efforts to reform the state hiring and recruiting system.
The website for this initiative:
“Claiming to champion greater diversity and inclusion while overlooking an entire group of Americans is wrong and misleading, and through his actions the governor has shown a deliberate neglect for the concerns of our community,” stated Assemblyman Ron Kim stated, “When representation of Asian Americans in the government workforce is less than half that of our state’s total workforce, there is clearly systemic inequality that must be dealt with. The support of my colleagues and my office’s community partners has given us a mandate to truly address this problem. Though we hope to work with the administration on this issue, this is only the first step in a larger, community-wide mission to build a public sector that represents all New Yorkers.”
Henrietta Ho-Asjoe, Interim Executive Director, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, stated: “Diversity and inclusion discussions exist to give a voice to the most historically excluded, as well as those with new perspectives and unheard experiences. The state workforce and Governor Cuomo's Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion are not in line with these goals. We invite Governor Cuomo to join in the fight against the model minority myth and urge him to make sure that those who serve and lead our state truly represent the community”
Dongchan Kim, President of KACE, stated, “Asian Americans in New York State have been underrepresented in many aspects. Especially in the NYS Government work force, only 3.8% are Asian Americans while 8.6% of the total state workforce is Asian American. When Governor Cuomo created the Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion in March 2016, we were very concerned about the fact that Governor Cuomo didn't pay heed to Asian Americans. The exclusion of Asian Americans is becoming systematic. Now we need a systematic measure to address the problem. The NYMEP Act will be the first step to address the problem."
South Asian Community Leader Dilip Chauhan stated, “We urge the NY State Governor to promote and encourage diversity in the state government workforce by including the Asian American population, evaluating the recruiting and employment practices of state government agencies, and mandating proper reporting - as well as including a Chief Diversity Officer in each of the respective agencies to monitor these initiative.”
“The Young Women’s Christian Association of Queens’ mission is to Eliminate Racism and Empower Women,” stated Katherine H. Kim, Executive Director of the YWCA of Queens. “We believe that while current law starts to address the structural inequalities that keep all New Yorkers from gainfully seeking employment in government positions, there is still a long way to go. NYMEP will help everyone keep to task and ensure that our public servants truly reflect the wonderful diversity of our State. As YWCAs are united in our mission, we have engaged our sister associations across New York State to stand with us in this effort. “
