I’ve been travelling, and not able to do my normal web work…But listening to the news and the liberal media (but I repeat myself) comments and complaints about the remarks by Trump regarding DEI hires, I am struck by something:
They all, to a man (and yes, there are few liberal. black. or latin or hindu or oriental women being called to comment) all assume and appear to believe that the standards are always the same for all races, genders, sexual preference groups….and this just isn’t so.
Like Affirmative Action, DEI ends up, once you are no longer looking for excellence, but rather other metrics and qualifications…like gender or race or whatever, causing pressure to hire based on quotas means that standards must often be lowered to find enough individuals in those groups.
Are all black engineers less able than their white counterparts? Not at all, many are as or even MORE competent. Are all women air traffic controllers less competent than their white male coworkers? Nope. Some are excellent. Same with any group or any profession. There are great individuals and mediocre ones working in most fields. But not everyone is judged at the same standards.
When any organization chooses anything, like race or gender or sexual preference or religion as the primary metric, rather than a standard of competency, and lowers standards to meet some perceived or real quota, then the overall standard of merit is lowered for that organization.
And, again, like Affirmative Action in the 80’s, 90’s and the early oughts, one never knows if that non-white person is qualified and good at their job or a “Diversity Hire”.
Until and unless, the qualification standards are the same for everyone, no matter what the outcome of testing or recruitment, one will not approach any level standard of excellence. …and every “minority” will be looked at askance, and it will be assumed that they were hired for something other than merit.
So, do you want the best surgeon, the one that graduated first in her class at medical school, or the other guy who was passed because there were not enough brown skinned-left handed-gay people graduating? Yes, they are both called “Doctor” but did they really earn that title? Do you want that guy who they let graduate because of the color of his skin to take out your appendix? Or would prefer to know that the surgeon met standards of excellence before they cut into your belly? And yes, that is what Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness is, no matter what it was intended to be…..the hiring based on metrics other than merit.
DEI has made it so that you never know if that person who is non -white has met those standards of excellence or not.
“DEI” and “Affirmative Action” are nothing less thaan REVERSE DISCRIMINATION. End of story.
I was a telecom tech (TT) in the Coast Guard. When we were doing pole climbing class, we were told that if we didn’t complete that class, we would be re-tracked to the Electronics Technician class. We had one girl in the class. Not only did she not pass the pole climbing class, she FROZE halfway up a 45ft pole. The instructor and one of the students had to perform a pole-top rescue to get her down. She was allowed to remain in the class. Other students, all male, were booted from the class because they failed it. The girl went on to become as bad a TT as she was a pole climber. Did that mean there weren’t women who could do the job? No. One girl fell from the top of a 25ft pole and broke her arm. The instructor gave her a pass. She said “NO. The requirement to be able to pass the class is there, and I’m going to PASS.” She was in a cast most of the time she was in training, but DID PASS THE CLASS before she graduated. I knew another female TT who was as tough as ANY man when it came to outside plant work, and was MORE than competent in all other aspects of the rate.
Promotion MUST be based on CONTENT OF CHARACTER…. MERIT. NOT the color of one’s skin, or what they have between their legs…
I’m embarrassed to not be able to remember the lawsuit years ago in which a less qualified black student was admitted to med school over a better qualified white student (University of Michigan???)
They tracked both of the careers of the medical students and one of them was rather under impressive………………………………..
A couple of years a go, our HR lead retired and there was a lot of speculation as to whom was going to replace HIM.
It was a black female………………………………….
She is now the leader of all the DEI/WOKE crap in our company.
Hmmmmmmmmm
A standard of competency ‘should’ be the minimum requirement. Period… I don’t care who/what they are if they meet THAT requirement!