Will Diversity Be The Death Of Us?
Life is not fair – it never has been and it never will be. Some are born stupid and others are born disabled. A handful of children are geniuses and many sports stars have inherited physical traits that make them superhuman. None of this is fair.
Was it fair that Hitler hated Jews and murdered 6 million? Was it fair that 22 young people went to a pop concert in Manchester and were blown up? Was it fair that energy prices have shot up and poorer families struggle to pay their utility bills? Was it fair that I had a speech impediment until my teens and was the butt of every joke?
As I stated above – life is not fair. But this does not mean we do not try to overcome unfairness as individuals or as a country. It is an English trait to be fair, even-handed and unbiased in our dealings with others. We may fail, but we are getting better at it.
At the exact time that we have become the most fair and tolerant nation, we are told we are not good enough and must do better. To help us do better they have kindly given us the answer – the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion, aka DEI.
We are told that DEI frameworks promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly those who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination.
If DEI is not trendy enough for you then you can always try one of the alternative versions. EDI - equality, diversity, inclusion. DEIB - diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. DEIA - diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. My favourite is JEDI, which is justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. I have always wanted to be a Jedi.
Does DEI work? Does it produce a fairer society with no additional cost to that society? Or is it a modern version of The Emperor's New Clothes?
Last month, we saw what DEI delivers when put into practice – Donald Trump almost lost his life. The American Secret Service is run by a woman who was probably appointed because she was a woman. The female agents protecting Trump looked out of their depth. The brave agent who placed her body in front of Trump to protect him from another bullet was not tall enough for this role and left his whole head exposed. The catalogue of errors by the Secret Service at the Trump rally is being investigated – will this lead to a change in recruitment policy?
Closer to home, the Welsh First Minister resigned last month. He had only been in power for four months. The first black man to lead Wales did not last long when tested. The same happened in Scotland where First Minister Humza Yousaf lasted slightly over a year before his world fell apart when he was tested. And let us not forget Rishi Sunak, potentially the worst Prime Minister we have ever had. He lasted less than two years and delivered the worst election defeat ever for the Tories. He also delivered the highest taxes for nearly 100 years. As well as the highest immigration ever, crumbling public services, and paved the way for a massive Labour election victory.
Each one of these politicians was lauded for being non-white and reaching the top echelons of power. What did the three of them do once they reached the top of politics? Good question for I cannot think of anything beneficial. The same can be said of Theresa May and Liz Truss - they achieved nothing and resigned when tested. What about Boris I hear you ask. He also let us down, but he delivered Brexit and won the 2019 election with a big majority.
Our public services are heavily influenced by DEI and many recruit on such an ideology. The Royal Air Force was forced to stop rejecting qualified white men because they were white men. Several police forces have been sued for rejecting white men because they were white. The BBC has been widely criticised for only allowing non-white men to apply for certain internships and volunteer positions.
If DEI is so wonderful then why are our public services in the worst state they have ever been in? Why does nothing work in our country any longer? We have more women and non-whites working everywhere and it is all getting worse. Is there a connection?
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What about the private sector? Sharon White is the current chair of the John Lewis Partnership who has overseen stores closed, staff bonuses axed, ￡234m losses and decline of its famed customer service. She was hired with no retail experience which leads me to believe that there was something else they liked about this successful black woman.
We overcome unfairness by attempting to make the game of life fairer by removing barriers to participation. Not penalising a different group of people as a form of payback for this only breeds resentment.
We have reached the pinnacle of human achievement by embracing the notion of meritocracy – using the best people to do the task at hand. This is exactly what we do in sports. We select individuals to play in a competitive team through merit, skill, competence and work ethic. The only difference between sport and business is that sport is not important in the grand scheme of things. Remember that Boeing aeroplanes are not as safe as they used to be, according to a former employee, because of DEI recruitment.
Let me end by reminding you that life is not fair and never will be. All you can do is prepare yourself for this fact. But do not allow failure to deter you from achieving - spend time gaining the skills needed to be successful. Everything else is out of your hands.
References:
Royal Air Force - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66060490
Police Force - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-47335859
BBC - https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/885434/bbc-trainee-job-advert-open-to-non-white-applicants-only
Data protection through Data Recovery. Helping those affected by data storage failure. Told their data is unrecoverable or requiring high security, confidential assistance, emergency response throughout the UK and Europe
3 个月Diversity in many forms
Fleet Professional - now retired
3 个月Regarding winners and losers. School, surely, is, to a degree, preparation for the rest of your life. Not all of life is sweetness and it can certainly give you a few knocks. We’ve banned conkers and snowballs. I guess that says a lot ??
Director Of Business Development at Tatton Building Products
3 个月Well said 100% agree. Should be best person gets the job no matter who or what they are.
Home washer up and gofer at Hampshire
3 个月Very interesting Read and Very Accurate I Feel
Facade Manager at McLaren Construction
3 个月I agree! Hire the correct people to do the job not friends & family or to comply eithDRI