[ottoflux]

“No one”?!?

Poorly written headline for a very thin article.

Sure, lots of people who are white and deny systemic racism or the effects of it exist. That’s literally the problem we’re fighting and why we need diversity efforts.

[hospitalJail]

Lets say what it is, there aren't enough African Americans in the white collar workplace.

Its not that we don't have Asians, Mexicans, or Indians. At least half the companies I worked for, white people were less than 50% of the workers.

Its not a current racism issue, its likely a relic of racism issue. A large number of African Americans grow up in poor areas, get terrible education, are among a non-work-ethic driven culture, and never make it to the American Dream. Repeat generation after generation. Sure there are racists from the south, but talk to an African American of privilege(middle/upper middle class) living in a city. They have little bad things to say, and mostly blame it on the individual.

The issue is the zip code. You can see it in how white people living in these same areas perform.

[ottoflux]

you make good points but i'd argue it's both. i'm talking about the subconscious bias aspect of racism (to your point it's a relic of racism, but it's an active relic) as well - this is the very reason we need DE&I. we're 3 to 4 years into it and still non-marginalized folks don't seem to fully understand the problem.

i feel like "talk to an African American of privilege" and what follows is incorrect. i know and have known a lot of well off Black friends and associates and they all have stories - there are a lot of racists in the north too, they just act a little different.

[jaredhallen]

My issue isn't with the ostensible spirit or intent of DEI programs. The concept sounds great. The problem is the corporate implementations are transparently inauthentic and insincere. It's abundantly clear that the real intent is PR and compliance, not some altruistic desire for fairness.

[ottoflux]

This is totally true more often than not (in my experience).

[ofcourseyoudo]

>At least half the companies I worked for, white people were less than 50% of the workers

In white-collar positions? I call BS. Cite the companies and we can look up their employment stats.

[P_I_Staker]

Admittedly didn't read the thin article. I do think there's something to the premise that people from diverse backgrounds end up unhappy.

Poorly run diversity efforts are upsetting to POC. In a way they all tend to be poorly run. It can be infantilizing and condescending.

Ultimately, we end up falling short of the numbers, so the people behind the programs are unhappy. POC are unhappy because of the quality of how the programs tend to be run. Obviously the fascists/republicans aren't happy. The centerist people tend to fall between the people running the program and the right.

So who's supposed to be happy. I will say that in my experience, these diversity programs don't exist. That is to say the really overbearing ones people complain about. I imagine it's a bigger thing for SV and some big companies (although, I have worked for big companies).

In my experience, programs are nearly non-existent and the minorities they hire are at least "pretty competent", which is hard to find in software. If anything, it looks like they're still being pretty choosy. So people like OP get their wish, and the programs are pretty laid back.

[ofcourseyoudo]

>Admittedly didn't read the thin article.

Why do people even proceed to put in comments after admitting this kind of ignorance on HN

[ottoflux]

for anyone else not able to get past the paywall:

from the article, only around 14% think DE&I efforts are "too much", while 54% say "about right", 17% "not sure", 15% "too little".

for thinking increasing DE&I at work is a good thing, only 47% of white people agreed while 78%, 72%, 65% (Black, Asian, Hispanic) thought so.