Ida L. Castro

Ida L. Castro is the former Chair of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), having served from October 23, 1998 until August 13, 2001.[1] She is best known for having one of the highest all-time civil rights enforcement rates of any commissioner at the EEOC. During her tenure at the EEOC, the probable cause rate, a measure of agency action to reduce employment discrimination and harassment, reached an all-time high of 9.9%, nearly three times the average rate. [2]

Ida L. Castro
Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
In office
October 23, 1998 – August 13, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byPaul Igasaki (acting)
Succeeded byCari M. Dominguez
Personal details
Born1953 (age 66–67)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of Puerto Rico (BA)
Rutgers University (MA, JD)

Early life and education

Ida was born in New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Puerto Rico, and later went to Rutgers University to earn her Master of Arts in Labor Studies. After graduate school, Ida returned to Rutgers University as a law student and completed her Juris Degree in 1982.

Career

Castro is licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey. Prior to joining the EEOC, Castro served as the acting director of the United States Women's Bureau from 1996 to 1998. She also served at United States Department of Labor as deputy assistant secretary and director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs from 1994 to 1996.[3][4]

Castro worked as a labor and employment lawyer and a professor. She was the first woman to earn tenure as an associate professor at the Rutgers University Institute for Management and Labor Relations. During her career as an attorney, she served as Senior Legal Counsel for Legal Affairs of NYC Health + Hospitals, Special Counsel to the President and Director of Labor Relations at Hostos Community College, Associate counsel at Eisner, Levy, Pollack and Ratner, and Associate Counsel at Giblin and Giblin. Castro, representing the New Jersey Public Advocate's Office was a member of the litigation team on the Abbott v. Burke case.[5]

After leaving the Clinton Administration, Castro served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission from 2002 through 2004, appointed by Governor Jim McGreevey. She also served as the Director of the Democratic National Committee's Women’s Vote Center.[6]

She was a visiting professor at the CUNY School of Law, where she served as the Haywood Burns Chair. In 2005, Castro established her own consulting firm specializing on Diversity Management. She then became Vice President of Government Affairs, a founding executive, at V-ME Television, and helped establish a national television network in Spanish designed to provide high quality programs to the Spanish-speaking audience. Since 2008 she serves as a founding executive the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she serves as Vice President of Government and Community Relations and Chief Diversity Officer.[7]

Castro serves on the Scranton Area Foundation Board and chairs their Human Resources Committee. She also is a founder of Women in Philanthropy, a foundation initiative to increase engaged philanthropy for the benefit of women and girls in northeast Pennsylvania. Castro also serves on the Greater Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and chairs its nomination committee. In addition, Castro chaired the Employment Opportunity Training Center Board from 2013 to 2015 and is a member of the board of United Neighborhood Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania.[8][9]

Historical Achievements at the EEOC

During Ida's time at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she raised the probable cause rate to an all-time historical high of 9.9%.[10] At no other time in the commission's history had that many people secured the promise of civil rights. When she was appointed in 1998, the rate was well below 3%. It rose steadily to 6.6% in 1999, 8.8% in 2000 and peaked at 9.9% in 2001. Subsequent commission chairs have not been able to match Ida's record-breaking civil rights enforcement rate at the EEOC, making her one of the best commission chairs of all time.

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References
  1. "Ida L. Castro".
  2. "All Statutes (Charges filed with EEOC) FY 1997 - FY 2019".
  3. "VICE PRESIDENT GORE SWEARS IN IDA L. CASTRO AS EEOC CHAIRWOMAN | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". www.eeoc.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  4. "Biography: Ida Castro". 1997-2001.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  5. Yaffe, Deborah (2007-11-15). Other People's Children: The Battle for Justice and Equality in New Jersey's Schools. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4393-2.
  6. "Ida L. Castro". Rutgers Alumni. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  7. "Office of Community Engagement". www.geisinger.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  8. "Ida L Castro | Daughters | Distinguished Daughters of PA". distinguisheddaughtersofpa.org. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  9. "Ida Castro to Speak at Empower, the NEPA Women's Leadership Conference". The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  10. "All Statutes (Charges filed with EEOC) FY 1997 - FY 2019".
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