Patricia Crosby: DEI not what some think it is

I guess it needs to be said yet again that DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) practices in the employment world do not mean hiring unqualified people over others because the former are part of some special population. DEI means making sure people who are also qualified get a fair, unbiased chance at being selected for a position.

Without even realizing it, employers and hiring managers can be inclined to hire people like themselves, with a similar look, manner or background. That means qualified people without that shared background often don’t get a fair opportunity.

This goes for everyone. If you were a low-income white southerner competing here for a job with a New England prep school grad, you’d want to be judged on your qualifications and skills, not your appearance, manner or accent. (The New England prep school grad probably wouldn’t want to be stereotyped either.) DEI training gives hiring managers the little push they need to recognize — when they find themselves “liking” one qualified candidate better than another, or finding one a “better fit” — that they may be betraying some unconscious bias and need to clean up their act.

If some have suffered from DEI practices used wrongly, they have a right to be indignant. But let’s not cut off our nose to spite our face. DEI done right protects all of us.

Patricia Crosby

Gill