Do DEI Initiatives Lead to Reverse Discrimination?
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Chart: Americans on Racial Equality
Do DEI Initiatives Lead to Reverse Discrimination?
Back in 2020, Gannett announced that they were making changes to their employee demographics to better reflect their readership. Here is what they said back then …
And yet, across the nation, newsrooms continue to struggle with a lack of diversity –– especially in leadership ranks, including some of our own. We must do better. Diversity and inclusion are choices, not just words.
Today, USA TODAY and our local newsrooms are publishing a census that documents the number of our journalists who are female, Black, Indigenous and people of color, putting our staffs in context of our communities' demographics.
We are committing to achieving gender, racial and ethnic parity by 2025 and will report our progress annually.
Flash forward to today, and a lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by current, former, and potential employees of Gannett . The lawsuit claims that the company's "Reverse Race Discrimination Policy," which was introduced in 2020 with the aim of achieving demographic diversity in its newsrooms matching the communities they report on by 2025, unfairly discriminated against individuals categorized as "non-minorities" based on their race. The complaint alleges that Gannett implemented this policy without proper regard for civil rights laws or the well-being of the employees and potential workers whose lives would be affected.
According to the complaint, the leadership of Gannett was motivated to adhere to this new policy through the offer of bonuses, recognition, and career advancements. Ironically, the desire for a more diverse workplace did not seem to be motivation enough. SMH.
This had me wondering if there was a cause-and-effect dynamic going on. If companies launch a DEI initiative, would it ultimately lead to reverse discrimination cases? How could I even begin to track that? My first thought was the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) so I began poking around there and struck paydirt rather quickly. (Yay.) In March 2023, the EEOC published its Annual Performance Report that provided an overview of charges filed, and the EEOC's enforcement measures from fiscal year 2022, among other things. These are my cliff notes.?
Initially, there was a 20% surge in discrimination complaints compared to the preceding year. The report said that should not be surprising as historically, there tends to be a rise in grievances during periods of financial strain and workforce reductions. It also argued that the uptick in complaints could also be attributed to heightened interactions among employees upon their return to the office. The substantial upswing should serve as a signal to employers, indicating a heightened perception of discriminatory incidents taking place within the workplace. (Yikes)
Secondly, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) initiated 91 merit-based lawsuits, accusing employees of involvement in illegal discriminatory activities. Among these, 13 lawsuits alleged systemic discrimination that affected multiple individuals. This number is projected to continue its upward trajectory.
Another noteworthy observation is that the commissioners themselves instigated 29 investigations—referred to as commissioner charges—an infrequently utilized approach. To put this in context, only six commissioner charges were authorized in each of the prior two fiscal years. These charges are regarded as "targeted" investigations, distinct from those spurred by individual complaints.
Although the report is extensive, it is evident that there exists, at the very least, a perception of heightened workplace discrimination. The commissioners, who are currently quite active, are instigating focused investigations into areas prioritized by the administration. As the Biden administration has stated on several occasions that the biggest threat to America is white supremacy , I doubt “reverse discrimination” cases will be a high priority. Despite that, a few reverse discrimination cases have made headlines in 2022. At the heart of the cases is how DEI programs (or moves to comply with the spirit of such programs) sometimes conflict with federal or state EEO (equal employment opportunity) laws. For example…
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The Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage
Last week was the anniversary of the “March on Washington,” also known as “The Great March on Washington,” also known as “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” At the march, final speaker Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism. The best-known part of his speech, and my favorite part, is when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." That moment was iconic and in retrospect, overshadowed the overall goals of the march which included calls for congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act, full integration of public schools, and enactment of a bill prohibiting job discrimination. It’s the “job discrimination” part that’s been forgotten by the public, I think.
Click here to see an historical list of the demands being expressed by the speakers and the marchers assembled. Number eight on the list is “a national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living. (Government surveys show that anything less than $2.00 an hour fails to do this.)” In 1963, the minimum wage was $1.15 which is $11.23 today when you adjust for inflation . And $2.00 back then is about $20 today. That being said, the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 which translates into $0.74 in 1963 dollars, a step backwards for sure. Due to that regression, some groups have been fighting for a higher minimum wage.
The Fight for $15 movement , which began in 2012, advocates for a $15 per hour minimum wage and a union for workers. The movement has involved strikes and protests by workers in various industries , including fast food, home healthcare, and convenience stores. The movement has been successful in getting some states and cities to raise their minimum wage. In support of that ideal, the Rockefeller Foundation argues on their blog that increasing the minimum wage could help close the racial wealth gap and highlighted how people of color are disproportionately represented among low-wage workers. And in March 2023, Politico reported that liberal lawmakers and progressive activists were aiming for a minimum wage of $20 per hour?or more. The article noted that some states had already raised their minimum wage, and that there was a growing push for higher wages in response to inflation and economic growth.
When you consider the popular arguments for increasing the minimum wage, they pretty much fit into these buckets:
All of these reasons sound compelling however, there is a contrarian view that says raising the minimum wage does more harm than good.
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The Jim Stroud Podcast
Who is responsible for the mental health of workers?
Today I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Genevieve Hawkins, author of “Mentally at Work.” We discussed her motivations for writing this book, workplace strategies for encouraging good mental health in the workplace, the future of mental health in the workplace and just how much should a company focus on the mental health of their workers. After all they are there to work and not receive therapy, well, that answer may surprise you.
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Jim Stroud
Microsoft Dynamics (D365FO) Architect/Advisory with over 15 years experience with a specialism in helping End User Companies embarking on ERP transformation projects.
1 年DEI is the ideology that delivers 'reverse discrimination' other wise known as 'Positive discrimination' (an oxymoron if there ever was one....) or for our American friends, 'Affirmative action'. It is all prejudice wrapped in a HR wrapper sold by those who are too dense to see it for what it really is.