Every time I learn more about the countries to which our businesses offshore work, I am saddened, even angered. This is a controversial subject but one I will never shy away from.  My Sharing this month is not intended to single out a specific country but if I don’t use one as an example this article would go on for pages and pages. I selected Saudi Arabia as the example to make a point against offshoring jobs only because it was part of a recent discussion with a call center consultant who shared his personal insights during his work there.

Many will find this article upsetting.  I hope you are motivated to action.  Address the issues here in your contract renewals if you are already outsourcing, or find a way to put economic pressure where needed to protect everyone using our enlightened country’s definition of basic human rights and maintain pride in our business ethics.

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little".

-Edmund Burke 

Did you know these facts about Saudi Arabia? The following items have been copied from the resources which are listed below for your further study, should you desire.

• Equal treatment for women and men is a fundamental principle of international human rights standards. Yet in Saudi Arabia discriminatory practices against women are not only prevalent, they are also in some cases required by law.

• Women are not allowed to work in the corporate business world.  Men perform the roles of call center representatives, administrators, technical engineers, doctors, business executives, etc.

• Women in Saudi Arabia who walk unaccompanied, or are in the company of a man who is neither their husband nor a close relative, are at risk of arrest on suspicion of prostitution or other "moral" offences.

• Women are not allowed to drive.

• Women in Saudi Arabia, whether Saudi Arabian or foreign, emerge time and again as victims of discrimination and human rights violations because of the gender bias in law, social mores and traditions.

• Figures from the Saudi Labor Ministry show that women make up only 5% of the Saudi workforce - the lowest proportion in the world.

• November 17, 2006: "Public debate has flared up recently in Saudi Arabia over the issue of women in the workplace, following the government's decision to expand the number of areas in which women may work, as well as to allow only Saudi women to work as saleswomen in shops catering to women, such as women's clothing, lingerie and cosmetics shops. The government decision provoked opposition from Muslim clerics, who consider it to be against shari'a for a woman to work outside the home." memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA30006

• It is the inevitable result of a state policy which gives women fewer rights than men, which means that women face discrimination in all walks of life, and which allows men with authority to exercise their power without any fear of being held to account for their actions.

• The Saudi interior minister has said women will not be allowed to vote in the country's municipal elections.

• Thieves still have their hands amputated and capital crimes are punished by public beheadings.

• Saudi Arabia has no laws against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. An employer is certainly free to discriminate against a gay employee or subject them to blackmail. The exit and entry paperwork does not ask people about their sexual orientation, as it does their nationality, religion and marital status.

• Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and is punishable by imprisonment, corporal punishment or death.

• Gay rights are not recognized in Saudi Arabia and homosexuality is a crime punishable by death.

• People accused of homosexuality may be sexually abused by the police or sent to a mental institution for treatment. The government still beheads a handful of people each year for engaging in homosexual relations between consenting adults in private.

• No right to privacy exists. The government can, without a court order, search homes, vehicles, places of business and intercept private communications.

• The Government does not provide legal protection for freedom of religion, and such protection does not exist in practice. Islam is the official religion, and the law requires that all citizens be Muslims. The Government prohibits the public practice of non-Muslim religions. The Government recognizes the right of non-Muslims to worship in private; however, it does not always respect this right in practice and does not define this right in law.

• Freedom of religion does not exist. It is not recognized or protected under the country's laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam. Citizens are denied the freedom to choose or change their religion, and non-citizens practice their beliefs under severe restrictions.

Sources:

• www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/saudi/briefing/4.html

• news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3734420.stm

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia

• www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35507.htm

• www.cyborlink.com/besite/saudi-arabia.htm

• Amnesty International

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American Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination (www.eeoc.gov/facts/qanda.html)

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

2. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination.

3. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older.

4. Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments.

5. Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government.

6. The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.

Why is it not acceptable to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin in America but we will outsource our jobs to countries where this is acceptable?  What makes it acceptable to promote something we so strongly oppose?  Does this not make us hypocrites to give American jobs to countries who violate rights that our citizens have fought and died for to make the work environment a fair place for anyone to work?  Why should it be OK to send American jobs to a country that will punish people by lashing, death or severed hand for simply choosing a different religion, sexual preference or being a woman who wants to work or even go outside of the home without their husband??

My personal challenge to each of our readers is to listen and take an active approach to discourage companies from offshoring to this county and any others who discriminate on basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. If we don't stop this, we are all hypocrites, including the leaders of the companies who offshore businesses. 

Why is it illegal and unethical to discriminate in our country, but when we offshore work, we give discrimination the green light, just turn and look the other way?  Is the goal of making money for the stockholders and financing senior executive’s exorbitant compensation beyond reproach?  Does it justify working around these hard-earned worker protections by getting the unenlightened dictatorships of the world to do the work, for supposedly less than possible in America.  This is wrong!  There ought to be a law.

What can you do?

1. Don’t buy from businesses that send jobs to countries and companies that violate, directly or indirectly, the rights of people.

2. Influence through education, those in your company or others considering offshoring where rights are violated by American standards.

3. Know your role in the help desk or call center no matter what your level, is a crucial part of the business.  Know that you are truly an asset to the company.  Perform your job as though you were working in your own company and know that whatever you do contributes to the bottom line.  Think productivity, efficiencies, and realize the full potential of what you have available.

4. Question and don't join associations that are supporters/proponents of moving jobs offshore.

I hope this issue of eSharings was informative and the resources posted below valuable.  Until the next issue of eSharings, sending positive thoughts and energy to you,

Ivy Meadors
High Tech High Touch Solutions

www.ivymeadors.com or www.hthts.com

425-398-9292

P.S. Will you please help us grow our list of readers and forward this newsletter to others and encourage them to subscribe to our secure, never sold or shared readership?  It would mean the world to us to have more readers to share information with.

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Dear Ivy

Thank you very much for ensuring that your fans, supporters and previous alumni (one in the same, right?) are continually provided with the latest and greatest editions of eSharings! I always find the information to be relevant and thought-provoking. Good Job and Thanks!

Glenn  Gramm
United Space Alliance

Brand new inclusions to eSharings!

We are including job openings and job candidates in our newsletters from time to time as one more way to help make a contribution to our industry.  You can email a short job description like the ones noted below.  If you would like to be listed as a job candidate email us your contact information, the position you are interested in performing (i.e. Help Desk or Contact Center and what level), and your location of work or if you are willing to relocate.  Please do not send your resumes.

Associations and seminars, particularly free options, are useful for our readers to know about.  We will be including those we learn about that are not vendor promos, but educational venues. I listen in on tele-seminars frequently and visit association websites to access valuable resources.  Often I tape the tele-seminars and listen to them later.  If you know of upcoming events or associations our readers would benefit from knowing about, do send them to us.

 We welcome a variety of submissions, except for unsolicited vendor advertisements or promotions for vendor events/webinars, unless they are a paid sponsor at one of our events.

Send your posting to email address solutions4u@hthts.com.  We will include it in the next newsletter following receipt of your request.