The OFCCP Institute Previews Retrospective Video to Attendees in Advance of Executive Order 11246 50th Anniversary Celebration on September 24, 2015
NEW YORK CITY – August 18, 2015 – With equal employment opportunity, compliance, diversity and inclusion among the topics at hand, The OFCCP Institute (“The Institute”) announced its plans for celebrating 50 years of equality at work to approximately 1,000 attendees at the 33rd annual ILG National Conference in New York City, which recently concluded on July 31, 2015.
On September 24, 2015, The Institute will host a “50 Years of Equality at Work” celebratory reception at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Wilson Center, 6th floor dining room) in Washington, D.C. in recognition of the accomplishments achieved under the first 50 years of Executive Order (“EO”) 11246 since its signing in 1965. Open to the public and attended by former OFCCP Directors and prominent federal contractors, the event will commemorate how EO 11246 has advanced the goal of equality in the American workplace.
A highlight of the anniversary event will be the showing of a trailer-length version of the Equal Opportunity in the U.S.: A Historical Retrospective documentary. This preview was screened at the ILG Conference with an introduction by Sandra Evers-Manly, President of Northrop Grumman Foundation. Received by conference attendees with great enthusiasm, the video helps tell the story of equal opportunity in America. The documentary will also address the accomplishments made under the Executive Order while honoring the significant events surrounding EO 11246 as told by former OFCCP Directors. The full length version of the video, to be finalized later this year, will be donated to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN and the National Archives Museum in Washington D.C.
The Institute will also launch the EO 11246 Equality at Work Scholarship Foundation at the September 24 celebratory reception, an effort designed to continue the legacy of EO 11246 and inspire the next generation of equal opportunity advocates. The Institute, in partnership with D.C. Public Schools (“DCPS”), will establish the EO 11246 Equality at Work Scholarship Foundation, allowing DCPS high school seniors graduating in the class of 2016 to participate in a scholarship essay contest and compete for four $10,000 college scholarship awards.
For more information on The Institute’s 50 Years of Equality at Work celebratory reception, please visit: https://theofccpinstitute.org/50thanniversary/index.html
About EO 11246
On September 24, 1965, the nation took a historic step towards equal employment opportunity when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed and issued EO 11246. The current of change, which began with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and helped lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, continued with EO 11246, which charged the Secretary of Labor, a Cabinet-level official with strong enforcement authority, with the responsibility of ensuring equal opportunity for minorities in federal contractors’ recruitment, hiring, training and other employment practices. Amended by President Johnson in 1967 to protect women from employment discrimination, and most recently by President Barack H. Obama in 2014 to protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, EO 11246 continues to lead America’s success in achieving equal employment opportunities in the American workplace.
EO 11246 prohibits federal contractors and federally–assisted construction contractors and subcontractors with government contracts over $10,000 from discriminating in their employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. The Executive Order also requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment.
About The OFCCP Institute
The OFCCP Institute is a national nonprofit employer association based in Washington, D.C. that trains and educates federal contractors in understanding and complying with their affirmative action and equal employment obligations. The Institute has no affiliation with the U.S. Department of Labor or its agencies. To learn more about The Institute, please visit: https://theofccpinstitute.org/
