I believe strongly in growth for Whitewater, and in the the importance of attracting new businesses to our city.
The Whitewater Community Development Authority is part of that effort. Here is how the Community Development authority describes itself, from its website:
The Whitewater CDA is a Housing and Community Development Authority formed in 1983 by the City of Whitewater under Wisconsin State Statute 66.1335. It has a seven-member board appointed by the Common Council, and two full-time employees. Although technically a part of the city government, the CDA operates with a great deal of autonomy. Major decisions by the CDA Board must be ratified by the Common Council.
To attract businesses to our city, it makes sense to post information about Whitewater on a website, so that prospective business owners can learn more about our community. So far, so good.
What’s more than a bit troubling is how they describe our potential workforce, on the Community Development page entitled, “Work Force.” Here’s what it says, as of this evening, May 31st:
Our workforce is listed as “white, non-minority 95%.”
I have a few quick questions:
1. Why would the Community Development Authority describe our workforce as “white, non-minority” when the law itself forbids hiring based on racial preference?
2. Who are “non-minorities?” Would Jews, or Mormons, for example, be considered minorities?
3. If the goal were diversity in hiring, why not directly mention by group those who are “non-white, minority” rather than emphasize whites, and leave others out by express exclusion?
4. Who actually wrote this description of our workforce?
5. From the point of view of the free market, why would race matter? Education, or experience in previous jobs, of course. But race?
I can find no similar statistics (‘white, non-minority’) listed for neighboring Fort Atkinson’s website, and that’s unsurprising: the Whitewater Community Development description of our workforce speaks for itself, and its authors, and none too well.