【823-826】美商界有很多女性，少数族裔&等待移民，墨西哥边境城镇的希望&美军训练极寒中作战&巴西将对教育制度进行重大改革
AS IT IS
American Business Finds Lots of Women, Few Minorities
February 24, 2019
IBM's President and CEO Virginia Rometty attend the opening of the VivaTech gadget show in Paris, Thursday, May 24, 2018. Rometty is one of the few female business leaders in the U.S. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)
Diversity is making uneven progress in leadership positions of American business. Women increasingly are getting positions on boards of companies. Members of racial and ethnic minorities, however, are still rarely appointed to boards.
Twenty-seven percent of new company directors in the Russell 3000 Index were women during 2016-2018. That is up from 21 percent in the three-years before, says ISS Analytics. It provided these estimates in an examination for Reuters. In 2018 alone, the percentage was 32 for women.
Though women still are underrepresented, their gains have been larger than those of African-Americans and Latinos. Blacks represent 5 percent, and Latinos 2 percent, of new directors in 2016-2018. This is very close to the percentages from the three-year period just before.
White men have long controlled U.S. corporate boards. Some business leaders argue that it is hard to find qualified candidates of diverse backgrounds. They also say it is difficult at times to know the race or ethnicity of candidates.
Now, directors and experts say, women are gaining entry partly because of pressure from major investment companies and lawmakers. But also, the experts say, realizing gender diversity is simpler than other diversity. Women are easier to count and make up a larger group to choose, they say.
Supporters of greater gender diversity say it can bring better financial results and improve public relations. They also argue that gender diversity is the right move since women are more than half the American population.
Joe Johnson is a Boston-based partner at the Goodwin law firm. He advises corporate boards. “They’ll move to minorities next,” he said, adding that now most big companies are looking for more women.
Dominique Mielle is a white woman who was named a director of Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation in November. She said things like the “Me Too” movement have forced boards to add women so that big investors will continue to support them.
“If they will say no to your…directors, that’s a problem” Mielle said.
A new California law requires that at least three women sit on the boards of state-based publicly traded companies with six or more directors by the end of 2021. At least four other states have passed or are considering similar laws, says the National Conference of State Legislatures. While this is good for women, no laws are planned to help minorities.
Lack of women 'a flag'
Other countries are more explicit in their demands for diversity – at least when it comes to gender.
In Europe several countries have quotas, including France which requires 40 percent of board members at its largest listed companies to be women. In Germany there is a 30 percent quota. Britain has a government-backed target for women to make up a third of its 350 largest boards by the end of 2020.
In the U.S., those who want diverse boards say they help companies deal better with modern issues.
Some research shows that gender diversity is linked to better financial results. This may be because those companies are more likely to have engaged employees and lower turnover.
But other studies suggest that companies with more women directors perform no differently.
The advising company PwC surveyed 714 corporate directors last October. Eighty-four percent of those questioned said diversity improves board performance. But 52 percent agreed, at least partly, that “board diversity efforts are driven by political correctness.”
Males represented 80 percent of the board directors surveyed.
Keeping a list
Some companies now provide diversity information in documents required by the government.
Last year finance company Regional Management Corp documented four of its eight directors as “White/Caucasian” and four as “Hispanic/Latino.”
Regional director Roel Campos said investors probably want these details because many of Regional’s customers are Latino.
He says, “We believe that...investors are better informed and can judge” whether his company’s diversity leads to better performance.
Luis Aguilar sits on several corporate boards. He says he does not believe arguments that it is hard to find qualified women and minorities to serve on boards.
“I no longer give much credibility to people saying they can’t find who they’re looking for, because I can quickly find who they’re looking for” through several organizations, Aguilar said.
I’m Susan Shand. And I’m Caty Weaver.
Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English based on a Reuters News Agency original report. Caty Weaver was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
boardroom – n. a room where the group of people who manage or direct a company or organization have meetings
bias – n. a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly
gender – n. whether one is a man or a woman
quota – n. a specific amount or number that is expected to be achieve
AS IT IS
Migrants Wait, Hope in Mexican Border Towns
February 24, 2019
Migrants seeking to enter the United States continue to arrive in Tijuana and other Mexican cities along the U.S. border.
Some migrants are traveling in large groups with thousands of people. Others come in groups of just 10 or 12 people.
Many walk for days through Central America, then ride buses or trucks for the long trip through the Mexican countryside.
In border cities like Tijuana, they find help in shelters operated by aid groups.
Angela Escalante is an asylum seeker waiting in Tijuana. She is there with her husband and 7-year-old son.
“The situation is very bad, there are no jobs,” she said of her country of Nicaragua, blaming its political violence on the country’s president, Daniel Ortega. “There’s no security so you can’t safely walk the streets,” she added.
Post-traumatic stress
New arrivals along the border say they also face violence from organized crime and local drug gangs.
Jorge Alejandro Valencia is a 19 year old from western Mexico. He told VOA that, around 14 years ago, criminals killed the brother and a son of his grandfather. Now, criminals are threatening his sister, Valencia said. He fears he and other family members are in danger.
Many migrants have experienced violence from organized crime groups, notes Gordon Finkbeiner. He works for the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders.
Finkbeiner says the group has witnessed and treated people with mental health problems linked to trauma. Many show high levels of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
A 23-year-old Honduran, newly arrived in a shelter, said a gang demanded that he sell drugs. The young man said he could see no escape except to leave his country. He asked not to be identified, saying that the gangs watch Facebook and if his name is made public, they would target his family.
US citizens wait, too
Other people are also waiting in Tijuana’s shelters. They include Africans and Haitians who moved from their home countries to Venezuela, and migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
A woman from Honduras, for example, has a 12-year-old son named Jimmy. He was born in the United States and has U.S. citizenship. Jimmy was sent to Honduras with his mother when the government ordered her to return to Honduras.
A middle-aged man named Efren Galindo was born in Mexico but grew up in Texas. Two years ago, he was sent back to Mexico and nearly killed by drug dealers, he said as he showed injuries to his back and shoulder.
Galindo has four sons and several grandchildren – all of them U.S. citizens.
Credible fear, big backlog
To receive asylum in the U.S., asylum seekers must show a clear possibility of harm or torture. They must show they are not simply fleeing poverty. People who have been deported from the United States face added restrictions. Many cannot return for five, 10, 20 or more years.
At the same time, the U.S. immigration system has a serious backlog of cases. The number of cases rose during the recent 35-day partial closing of the U.S. government. U.S. immigration officials said in a statement January 21 that the government faced “a crisis-level backlog of 311,000” asylum requests.
The backlog of all immigration court cases was more than 800,000 in November 2018, noted researchers at Syracuse University in New York State.
In addition, many detention centers that house illegal immigrants are temporary, notes Tekae Michael, a border agent who works south of San Diego, California. She said there are not enough immigration judges to process people correctly and quickly.
Mexico is permitting Central Americans to legally stay in the country temporarily. And volunteers from U.S. groups like San Diego’s Border Angels bring supplies to the shelters. Mexican businesses are making donations.
Carlos Yee of the Catholic shelter Casa del Migrante says aid workers like him are angry because they lack the power to speed up the process.
“We only can say to them, ‘Be patient,’” he said.
The city of San Diego can be seen through a border barrier, just 30 kilometers north of Tijuana.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
And I’m Alice Bryant.
Mike O’Sullivan wrote this story for VOA News. Alice Bryant adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
migrant – n. a person who goes from one place to another, especially to find work or better living conditions
gang – n. a group of young people who do illegal things together and who often fight against other gangs
trauma – n. a person who goes from one place to another especially to find work
anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen
deport – v. to force a person who is not a citizen to leave a country
backlog – n. a large number of jobs that are waiting to be finished
AS IT IS
Brazil to Make Major Changes in Education System
February 24, 2019
In this Feb. 4, 2019 photo, students arrive for their first day of school, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is taking his anti-leftist ideological war to the country's classrooms and universities, causing angst among teachers. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquier
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is looking to make major changes to his country’s education system
Brazilian officials recently announced plans to remove subjects related to feminism, homosexuality and violence against women from school textbooks. They say the military will take over some public schools. Bolsonaro and other officials also criticize the ideas of Paulo Freire, one of Brazil’s most famous educators.
The announcement concerns many teachers and education officials. They say the government wants to fight an enemy that does not exist.
Students may not find many differences as they return to school this month, but changes are on the way.
For the government, the ideological battle begins with the removal of Freire’s legacyin schools. Bolsonaro and others say Freire’s way of thinking turns students into, in his words, “political militants.”
They say Freire’s methods encourage students to go against traditional values such as family and the church.
Bolsonaro and his education minster appear to be taking ideas on education from people like Olavo de Carvalho. De Carvalho is a Brazilian who lives in the United States and is known for his anti-globalism and anti-socialist views.
Freire believed that the government has a responsibility to educate the Brazilian people, including poor farmers and those unable to read. But de Carvalho believes in reducing the government’s part in education. Instead, private or religious schools should have that responsibility.
During a talk about education on YouTube, de Carvalho said, “The government does not have to educate anyone; it is the society that has to educate itself.”
Brazil has 13 military-run schools. They are aimed at educating children of soldiers, but also accept some students based on merit. The military is the most respected institution in the country. Its schools are thought to be better than many public schools.
Last year, 39.5 million students attended a public school. Private schools served 9 million students. Opponents say the way military schools select students would end up being unfair to children living in poor areas.
Claudia Costin is director of Brazil’s Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education Policies in Rio de Janeiro. She said government efforts should center on things like improved training and wages for teachers and making the entrance test for teachers more difficult. She also supports the idea of building a common program of study for schools across Brazil.
The government “complains about indoctrination at school,” Costin said. “But it is not with laws that you solve these things.”
Brazil was 63rd out of the 72 countries and areas in the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment. The study was done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The group says Brazil has one of the largest numbers of adults without a high-school education. Schools are overcrowded, teacher wages are low and school buildings are often in need of repairs.
Government reports say more than 5,800 schools had no water supply in 2017. Nearly 5,000 had no electricity and 8,400 had no waste removal systems.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
Diane Jeantet reported this story for the Associated Press news service. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
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Words in This Story
feminism – n. the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities
homosexuality – n. showing a sexual attraction to people of the same sex
indoctrination – n. the teaching of someone to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs
legacy – n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past
AS IT IS
US Military Trains to Fight in Extreme Cold
February 24, 2019
A U.S. Marine takes his position during advanced cold-weather training at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Bridgeport, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Hiding behind a wall of snow, two American Marines melt some snow to make drinking water. They are spending the night digging out a defensive position high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
The Marines keep their map of targets protected in clear plastic on the icy surface below the machine gun. Other Marines just a few kilometers away are preparing to attack.
They are about 2,440 meters above sea level. The air is thin, the snow is high and the temperature is low and dropping further. The mountain weather is similar to that in parts of Russia, North Korea and China, countries where the U.S. believes troops could fight the next war.
Major General William F. Mullen is head of the Marines’ Training and Education Command. He told the Associated Press, “We haven’t had to deal with these things. We’ve been very focused on Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Mullen added, “What we really have to do is wake folks up, expose them to things that they haven’t had to think about for quite a while.”
The U.S. has been fighting for 17 years against the Taliban and al-Qaida-linked forces. Now the country’s military is preparing for possible conflicts in Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
U.S. forces are training to survive severely cold weather and fight a high-tech battle of drones, electronic and cyber weapons.
Colonel Kevin Hutchison is the training center commander. He said “What you’re seeing here is Marines fighting Marines, so we are replicating a near-peer threat” in the training exercise.
As a snowstorm blows around them, Mullen and Hutchison move through the woods to check in with the group of 250 Marines on the mountain. Their training goal is to prevent 800 attackers from gaining control of nearby Wolf Creek Bridge.
Marine Reese Nichols is from Pensacola, Florida. Another, Chase Soltis, calls Bozeman, Montana home. They had dug their defensive position a day earlier. The two have been watching all night for enemy movement while melting snow for drinking water.
Nichols says the hardest part is “boiling water 24/7. And the cold. It’s cold.”
The Marines use snowshoes and cross-country skis to get around. They wrap their weapons in white to make it hard for the enemy to see. It is a struggle to keep ammunition dry and heavy machine guns from sinking into the snow.
Marine Rian Lusk is one of the trainers. He says many of the troops have never dealt with snow before. And, the troops have to be digging or moving up the mountain all the time. Lusk says “It’s physically taxing, but more than anything, I think, it’s mentally taxing.”
Military changes its training
A very different training exercise is happening about 640 kilometers to the south at Twentynine Palms Marine base.
Trainers here provide the Marines with only the general purpose of the exercises. The trainees make their own battle plans as they would in a real conflict.
Commanders say today’s troops have to be more independent, providing their own protection and support. The training, Mullen said, is to prepare Marines to remain unseen and make quick changes to their battle plan when faced with unexpected threats.
Back on the mountain, the attacking force saw a defensive position and opened fire. Real ammunition is not used so no one gets hurt. But the competition is real.
Hutchinson told the leader of the defensive force, “You took casualties today, and you didn’t respond to it.” Mullen asked the leader why he did not move his Marines to a safer place.
The group’s leader, Brendan Dixon, defended his decision. He said his forces were in the right place to defend the bridge.
It turns out, he was right.
Moving toward the bridge, the attacking forces became trapped, and open to enemy fire. They were unable to move through a narrow area filled with snow.
After the battle, Marine trainers judged that the attackers suffered 30-40 percent casualties, while Dixon’s defensive troops had about 10 percent.
The attacking force, said Hutchison, made some decisions that would have resulted in Marine deaths in a real battle. He added, it is better to learn now than in conflict.
I’m Caty Weaver. And I’m Bryan Lynn.
The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
focus - n. to direct attention or effort at something specific
expose - v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected by something
replicate - v. to repeat or copy (something) exactly
peer - n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else
folks - n. people in general (informal)
casualty - n. a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war, etc.
respond - v. to do something as a reaction to something that has happened or been done
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