SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – The National Coalition for Men is accusing a career fair aimed at women in the military of sexism because they believe it discriminates against male veterans who may be seeking jobs.
The group said their gripe is not who’s invited but who they feel is left out – male veterans. The job fair organizer said the claim is much ado about nothing.
“We just think they should respect all veterans,” said Harry Crouch, president of NCFM.
Crouch claims the upcoming job fair discriminates against male veterans and spouses – further it may even violate federal employment law. “All we are suggesting is that it should be inclusive.”
In a letter to the City of San Diego and county officials that are participating in the event, Crouch claimed no men are allowed – even though they flyer does not explicitly state that. “I am sensitive to the plight of the military community,” said Crouch.
Oran Brown is the CEO of Military Inclusion – the local veteran’s advocacy group that is organizing the event. “The theme is military diversity, inclusion and diversity carries a pretty broad spectrum.”
Brown said male veterans and the general public are invited; however, they chose to highlight women veterans for a specific reason. “We wanted to shine a light on military veterans. They are the highest unemployment in the military community.”
Crouch’s letter asks for the fair to be postponed or to include men in the title, but Brown is now budging.
The San Diego Mayor's office sent News 8 the following message:
"I will never back down when it comes to supporting San Diego's veterans and we are proud to have SDPD as part of an event focused on helping military women find career opportunities after they have honorably served our country. This is a terrific event that shouldn't be delayed by a misguided organization that would better serve San Diego by finding ways to support veteran career fairs instead of trying to derail them."
The San Diego Sheriff's Department sent News 8 the following statement:
"We take our role as an equal opportunity employer seriously. We regularly work to recruit quality candidates at military events, a wide variety of schools and universities and community events. We use a variety of mediums to include radio, print ads, internet based hiring, etc. in order to reach every cross section of the population."
The job fair will take place on Friday at the Naval Base San Diego.
Crouch's letter to the city: