Representation

I'm intrigued by President Obama's decision to nominate Chai Feldblum to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Given that she helped draft the Americans with Disabilities Act, I'd imagine she'd bring the same level of knowledge and commitment to the issue that Christine Griffin did during her time at the EEOC. And her work on gay rights issues will provide her with an additional perspective, particularly at a time when the Obama administration is expanding benefits for gay and lesbian federal employees. For all the hullabaloo Senators made over Sonia Sotomayor's "wise Latina" remark during her confirmation hearings this summer, the Justice had a point: people who have different life experiences do see and interpret things differently. The EEOC is a particularly good place to have those multiple perspectives so the Commissioners can challenge each other on their assumptions and explain to each other their interpretations of situations.