Consider for a moment that you are a company that contracts with the government. You have a 5-page contract about what you are supposed to deliver, how much you will charge, and when it will be delivered.
The other 200+ pages of the contract are where you promise to do all the “equality” stuff the government mandates.
You don’t even need to be a government contractor, there are many industries where there is a government agency watching over them to make sure they are “equitable” in their hiring.
So we have two positions open, one is for a Widget Designer, and one is for a Machine Operator.
The requirements for the Widget Designer are that they have a 4-year degree, 3 years in the Widget Industry, and have two successful widget designs.
The requirements for the Machine Operator are the ability to lift 50 pounds, to be able to stand for 8 hours, to be able to read English, and to be able to learn to operate the machine. Training will be provided by the company. The first 6 months are probationary.
20 people apply for the Machine Operator position. The top 5 are asked to return for a second interview. After the second interview, two are offered employment.
These 2 are the top 10% of the applicants. They both look good for the position, both have the potential to move up.
And they are both people of color and met the diversity requirements put in place by the government. Everybody is happy. These are both merit-based hires.
The Widget Designer position is a different animal. There are four applicants, not 20. Of the four, one does not meet the requirements and does not move forward.
The other three are interviewed and two are asked to return for a second interview with the lead Widget Designer.
After the second interview, there is a management meeting. The lead Widget Designer comes in to give his opinion.
Candidate A is outstanding! They know this stuff inside and out. It turns out that they were part of the design team for the XYZ Widget Company.
Candidate B is ok. They are competent, they will work out. We might have to do a bit of hand holding in the beginning, but not a horrible choice.
The lead leaves and management gets down to work.
Both candidates meet the requirements.
But, one of them is a black woman in a wheelchair that is non-binary. The other is a normal, every day, guy.
Who gets picked?
If there is any DEI involved, the woman gets picked. If not, then candidate A gets picked.
Did the company lower their standards if they picked the woman? No. They did not. Both candidates passed the requirements stage.
Did they pick the best candidate for the job, based on merits? Only if the woman is candidate A.
And this is how you end up with a lower quality of people without ever lowering your standards.
If candidate A is not picked, he will go find something else to do. He might even change careers. The world is his oyster because he is a capable person.
In a couple of years, when the company is looking for another Widget Designer because they hired based on “equity” standards and not merit standards, he, and many like him, aren’t available. They have moved on.
Because there is an education requirement as well as an experience requirement, there is a tail from the time the “equity” hires start until there are new, qualified people.
If a person in school learns that they will not be hired, because of the color of their skin, they will switch majors. That means from the time that they say “We want to hire” it is four plus years before we have new candidates, with no experence.
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