To some extent, yes. We had an unconscious bias training that I thought was very good. Saw women rise through the senior ranks and do a great job. They just needed the opportunity. Saw male managers actually pay attention to who was at the table and stop behaviors like interrupting others, taking over conversations, etc. Of course, the guys who think they should be in charge because they are 7th generation at one of the military academies or were hired because their dad was a general resented the he*K out of it not being handed to them anymore. There are other things I didn't care for - pressure to prove a commitment to diversity and inclusion through something demonstrative instead of just committing to not discriminating in hiring or promotion. Some of the performative stuff. But overall I think it was a net positive at my agency. |
I hear this anecdote a lot, but where are all the lawsuits? Where's the proof? |
There isn’t any because it didn’t happen. |
Now, sure. But not when Pete Hegseth gets done with the military! |
It's very difficult to prove discrimination in hiring. If someone is dumb enough to put it in writing, maybe. And that's true for all kinds of discrimination and shady hiring behavior. Think about all the hiring actions in the federal government that are wired for a particular candidate -- but you can't prove it. |
Exactly! The first thing anyone would do if they were told that is to sue. This is how you know it's all BS: First, no sane manager would say that to a job applicant even if it were true. Second, if some crazy manager spilled the beans and told a job applicant that they were passed over because of race, gender or national origin, the job applicant would sue. |
So how could there be forced DEI hiring if no one could put in writing that they engaged in it? |
No lawsuit. That would have been career suicide. When it happened to my friend, he had to suck it up. There was nothing he could do even though it was shockingly blatant. Most people at that his level would never consider filing a suit. It is happening but it’s silent. As with my friend, he is (or at least was) a hardcore Dem. He couldn’t believe it happened to him. |
A lot of people certainly can’t believe your story. |
It’s not necessarily outside job applicants. It’s internal promotions. |
Just as an FYi- there will be FOIAs regarding this. It will be laughably easy to see who emailed OPM to tattle. If you’re going to tattle, best not use your work email. |
Right. Of course not. That doesn’t make it less true. I know all parties. The person passed over in a very shocking way. The AS who passed him over. And the person who got the job. When stuff like this happens in real life, it often is very close and personal. There isn’t much space to step back and file a lawsuit like you’re ordering a coffee. |
How could positions be wired for people if no one puts it in writing? How could anything against the rules be happening? You call someone or meet them in person. |
What would be the point of forcing people to hire a black person to meet a quota if the quota can never be discussed? There would be no point. |
It sure sounded that way - you'll get in trouble if you're aware of something but don't report it? Sounds pretty familiar. |