Diversity & Inclusion in Today's Organizations

From Merriam-Webster – Diversity (noun) di·ver·si·ty | \ də-ˈvər-sə-tē: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements; variety. A range of different things. 

There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about diversity and inclusion in organizations. The point is that organizations should hire or otherwise have to join different types of people, meaning from different races, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, etc. In many cases, progressives/liberals have been demanding that various organizations become more diverse or suffer the consequences. “Nice organization you have here. Sure would be a shame if something happened to it.” 

I have nothing against diversity or inclusion per se, but if you look at the details of what is going on, it has nothing to do with being inclusive or diverse. It is about criticism and division. It is about the Orwellian use of words to mean one thing when their actual meanings are opposite their use. 

To prove my point, take a look at the various diversity & inclusion employee groups at three organizations; Fannie Mae, Mr. Cooper (used to be Nationstar, a mortgage company), and EXXON. 

Fannie Mae Employee Resource Groups - African Ancestry Business Leaders for Excellence, Asian ERG, Christian Salt & Light, Hispanic ERG, In-Visible Inclusion (people with disabilities), Live Openly (LGBTQ), Muslim ERG, Progressive Organizational Programs (POP), Veterans ERG, Women’s ERG, Young Professionals, INDUS ERG. 

Mr. Cooper Diversity & Inclusion resource groups - AIM (Asians in Motion), Cooper Pride (LGBTQ), Cooper Veterans & Patriots, HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Leadership & Achievement), Interfaith Coopers, NAAC (Network of African American Coopers), The Women’s Network, Diversity Champions of Longview, Denver, Chandler, and Irvine. 

Exxon Employee Resource Groups - Asian Connection for Excellence (ACE), Black Employee Success Team (BEST), Global Organization for the Advancement of Latinos (GOAL), Organization for New Employees (ONE), People for Respect, Inclusion and Diversity of Employees (PRIDE) – LGBTQ, Veteran Advocacy and Support Team (VAST), Women’s Interest Network (WIN). 

Each one of these resource groups is differentiating people by their group identity – segregating them. Each of these organizations has effectively institutionalized segregation. 

When was the last time you filled out a government form that did not ask for your race/ethnicity, etc.? In fact, these forms have become ridiculous. They ask if you are Hispanic/Latin or non-Hispanic/Latin and they ask your race. This is government sanctioned segregation if ever there was. 

In the name of inclusion and diversity, they segregate you. That is Orwellian to the nth degree. 

And the virtual signaling that goes with this is also ridiculous. “Look at us! Aren’t we wonderful for being so virtuous and filling our organization with this so many diverse people? “ 

I used to work for Fannie Mae, and at one all-hands meeting, the CEO made the statement that the company’s diversity had a positive impact on the bottom line – the company’s diversity made it more profitable. I really wanted to call out this bullshit and ask him to justify this statement with facts, but as I wanted to keep my job, I took the coward’s way out and said nothing. I do know that, while the workforce was indeed diverse, you could not always depend on co-workers to be able to do their jobs. I am sure this had an impact on the bottom line, and not a positive one. 

I say that any group of people is diverse by definition. Every person is unique. Everyone has different intelligence, abilities, talents, to say nothing about height, weight, hair color, etc. Their membership in some identity group does not make them unique. In fact, just the opposite is true. They are just one of many in whatever group in which they belong. How is that diverse? 

I understand why businesses go to the effort to espouse a diverse culture, why they spend the money to train their people in inclusion and diversity, why they hire a Director or VP or SVP of Diversity. They are trying to avoid all the trouble that will come their way if they don’t do this. It costs less in the long run to bow to the winds of the latest progressive cause du jour. 

How about hiring people based on their capabilities to do the job? You will get a diverse workforce, maybe not by the definition of the race & sexual orientation hucksters, but diverse nonetheless. And you will get a capable workforce. You can certainly hire people and train them for a job if you choose. But hiring someone just because he is black, or she is gay, and not necessarily capable of doing the job, is not the way to run a profitable business and is not fair to the person being hired. They get a job they are not capable of doing and will most likely fail as a result. Just as admitting someone to a university just because she is a woman, or he is transgender, does not assure that these people will thrive and achieve in their education. In fact, just the opposite is true. Many affirmative action enrollees fail to complete their degrees or require remedial courses to compete effectively with others. How is that equitable? 

How about really celebrating and encouraging diversity and inclusion, and offering employee resource groups for people with common interests? Why not have a fly-fishing group, or a stained-glass making group, or any of thousands of hobbies and other interests that will pull a diverse membership? 

If you have a black employee’s group, who will join? Black people. 

If you have a group for people interested in woodworking or chess or whatever, who will join? People interested in those things. People from many different identity groups. These people, from all different walks of life, will have something in common, not something dividing them. I see this as the best way to build inclusion in an organization, to build comradery, build a team. Any sports team shows this. All the team members, wherever they come from or how they look, have a common interest and a common goal. 

Which group will be truly more diverse, the group for black employees, or the chess players group? 

The Orwellian Newspeak of calling for diversity and inclusion while actually endorsing segregation and discrimination has to stop. All it does is divide people.