Diversity : News brief

Nike said it will pull its ads for its Hyperdunk basketball shoes, responding to criticism that they fed homophobic views. Nike previously defended the ads, but said it would withdraw them as quickly as possible "to underline our ongoing commitment to supporting diversity in sport and the workplace,"

Read more about the hyperdunk ads here.

Women had piled into jobs in growing numbers since the 1960s. But that stopped happening this decade, and as the nearly seven-year-old recovery gives way to hard times, the retreat is likely to accelerate.

Indeed, for the first time since the women’s movement came to life, an economic recovery has come and gone, and the percentage of women at work has fallen, not risen, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Each of the seven previous recoveries since 1960 ended with a greater percentage of women at work than when it began.

Rallies and marches are scheduled to take place across the city today in honor of May Day, the annual event which pays tribute to labor unions and immigrant workers.

Promotes the financial empowerment of women in South Africa through proper financial planning.

Homosexual employees face discrimination across most of Asia, but global investment banks are at the forefront of change.

Racial harassment is up to record levels in offices and factories across the country, according to a recent article in msnbc. You can read the article here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22575581). Racist graffiti, Klu Klux Klan propaganda and even physical threats including the display of hangman’s nooses are included among the intimidation tools.

Corporations like Exelon, the country's largest operator of nuclear power plants, and McDonalds have discovered that fewer of their black employees participate in their 401(k) plans and those that do contribute less to the plan than white employees.

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2003 and 2004, the most recent years with data available, 27 percent of children and 29 percent of adults had untreated cavities.

The number of companies owned by women has increased by 43 percent in the last decade, to about 7.7 million — about 30 percent of all private firms, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research.

Minority and lower income employees of Duke University and Duke University Health Systems are less likely to take advantage of mental health and perscription benefits.