“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives were not put in place to ensure lower-qualified minorities could get hired instead of more highly qualified white people. They were put in place to ensure lower qualified white people were not hired instead of more qualified minorities.” – – Anon
I believe that those who oppose DEI initiatives are simply not aware of what they actually are and what they accomplish. The quote above explains it very well. The bar is not being lowered.
In my 50+ years with the City organization I have not seen a “DEI hire.” I have seen wonderfully capable females working in formerly male-dominated jobs and persons of color working, managing and leading at various levels of the organization. We have persons with disabilities doing multiple jobs and doing them well.
Absence of this commitment to fairness, minorities and persons with disabilities might not get equal consideration for employment opportunities, access to banking services and other societal systems.
Our Human Resources Department redacts all personal information when providing applications to our Department Directors. The choice of who to interview for city positions is based on the nameless, faceless qualifications represented in the application or resume.
The clear result of this is that we have extraordinarily qualified, kind, helpful people of multiple races, ethnicities and abilities working in the City Organization.