On Saturday, an MIT spokesperson confirmed in an email to me that “requests for a statement on diversity will no longer be part of applications for any faculty positions at MIT”, adding that the decision was made by embattled MIT President Sally Kornbluth “with the support of the Provost, Chancellor, and all six academic deans”…
As one dean at Emory University put it while describing her approach to hiring, “Diversity statement, then dossier.”
MIT embraced the diversity statement trend. In late 2023, the university’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering sought an assistant professor “in fields from fundamental nuclear science to practical applications of nuclear technology in energy, security and quantum engineering”. Applicants were required to submit “a statement regarding their views on diversity, inclusion, and belonging, including past and current contributions as well as their vision and plans for the future in these areas”.
The shrinkage in DEI staffing has been going on for awhile since the wave of hirings in 2020. From 18 months ago:
DEI roles increased by 55% following demands for broader racial equity and justice after Floyd’s murder, the Society for Human Resource Management reported in 2020… DEI professionals are losing their jobs, as layoffs across the economy have gained momentum.
The attrition rate for DEI roles was 33% at the end of 2022, compared to 21% for non-DEI roles. Amazon, Applebees and Twitter lead the way with DEI layoffs since July 2022, according to Revelio Labs, a New York-based company that uses data to analyze workforce dynamics and trends.
Shiny-land is turning into a moral inversion, where giving everyone an equal opportunity gets you punished. Several years ago, a group was trying to boycott Ford Motor, because Ford advertised in a magazine catering to gay people.
People talk about DEI like it’s the same at each company, it’s not.
Some manage it well and have clear goals. Others jumped on the band wagon and thought DEI would magically make them better.
I don’t know how you can argue against the benefits. Recruiting and retaining diverse employees creates diversity of experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and skills. Equity ensures that everyone is supported to be successful. Inclusion efforts improve employees’ sense of belonging and contribute to happier employees.
I suspect that people who are against DEI really don’t understand what it is.
Unfortunately, a significant portion of the population understands DEI, the same way they understand “affirmative action”: people of color “taking opportunities away from white people”.
Job creators don’t want that. They want to maintain “corporate culture.” That is, people who think the same way as the bosses. Let this DEI stuff get out of hand and pretty soon you don’t have separate drinking fountains.
Too much pressure from the anti-woke yahoos. Robby Starbuck put it best - “People should go to work without having to feel like they have to behave a certain way in order to be acceptable to their employer.”
Oh the irony, that’s exactly what thoughtful DEI policies aim to address…
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will dissolve its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and eliminate the vice chancellor position that directed its efforts, administrators said on Tuesday…
Barker’s total salary and benefits is nearly $320,000…The $750,000 annual budget of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which was previously subjected to budget cuts implemented last year, will also be reabsorbed into UNL.
That’s not what DEI means. It’s a requirement that you open up the hiring pool beyond the CEO’s “golf buddies and fraternity brothers”. The big fear is that an honest recruitment process would have 75% of the Fortune 500 being run by an Asian female.
How many white, Jack Welch-trained failures have been leading Boeing over the past 20 years?
We see the importance of education in the difference between the football and basket ball coaching salaries and what a top professor gets paid.
When I lived in Texas, it was always fascinating when you saw a high school football coach being paid more than the Superintendent of Schools. {{ LOL }}
A number of years ago, I saw a survey that showed that, in most states, the highest paid government employee was a college football or basketball coach, not someone doing a job that really mattered, like the Governor or Supreme Court Justice.
Ford joins the parade, as Shiny-land goes retrograde. Now virtually illegal to treat everyone fairly, ie, racist dog whistle for “straight, white, people only”.
The people who are against DEI have written to Brown University about divesting against Israel. There are some states that have written Brown threatening to divest and work against Brown per their states’ laws against ESG. Similiar bucket of laws.
I find myself supporting them.
The people who want complete equality do not want a power structure. It is not that simple.
I see in work people of all stripes against power structures who also are lazy. I see it on all levels including in management. It is no way to run anything at all.
It also is not fair. In fact a lot of the removal of power structures would be based on sheer ignorance to make some lazy people happy.
The flip side I want the minorities and majority women involved on all levels. I support DEI. The part of each demographic that is leadership is needed. The resources of the labor is needed.
The problem in Gaza is an unwillingness to live with the minority Jewish and Christain populations. Hamas is an Islam only organization bent on violence.
We know what the US would do if Hamas directly attacked the US. ISIS and al Quaeda come to mind.