DEI, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, has gained momentum in recent years as we strive for a more inclusive society. I am 100% with this.
Defining DEI means creating spaces where all individuals feel valued and respected regardless of their background. It’s about acknowledging and celebrating the differences that make each person unique while also working to dismantle systems of oppression and discrimination.
Whether advocating for equal pay for all genders, fighting against racial injustice, or promoting accessibility for individuals with disabilities, DEI is about standing up for what is right and ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. You don’t need a DEI policy to implement it. It can be a natural behavior.
Example of DEI abuses
Race and Gender Abuse
I hired a young African American woman for my department with less experience and less technical background than other candidates, but she was promising.
The first 90 days were fantastic, and she showed great effort. After 90 days, however, things changed considerably. She complained that because of her gender and skin color, she wasn’t allowed to have an office while the white guy who was hired two weeks before she had one.
He is a manager and needs some privacy. After meeting with HR, we decided to bow and give her an office. Then everything went much worse. She never said good morning or good evening to anyone. She walked to her office, closed the door, and never talked to anyone.
She started refusing work assignments, and when asked to, she complained of racism, sexism, and other issues. We hired a young woman from Kenya, and I asked her to chaperone the new hire. She went straight to HR, saying I was making her “train that thing”. (HR still has the recording.)
Okay, step back and think—everything she did was to get fired. We contacted our HR attorney, who immediately said, “I bet she will see you in court as soon as you fire her.”
So, as a smart aleck, I asked recruiters I know to find her a job. They understood the problem and said not to worry; very large companies are used to dealing with DEI people like her.
Finding a well-paid job in our field is easy; 5 weeks later, she quit, claiming she couldn’t work in such an offensive environment. YAY!
When you look closely, this DEI advocate generated a hostile environment to get fired and sue for money. She failed!
Note: As I wrote a raving recommendation letter to the recruiters saying that we didn’t have the space for the promotion she deserved. I got a call from one of a large local enterprise’s HR department verifying if my recommendations were for the person they hired LOL
Trans Abuse
Paul, a customer service employee. He is/was married, and his wife was pregnant with their third child. He is a nice, a bit overweight, bearded guy.
I talked to him several times, and he was very excited about the birth of their next child.
Four or five months later, he got very sick with depression and had to take time off frequently. I asked his manager if he was okay, and that’s when the fun started.
Paul is a transgender man who suffers from severe depression as NO ONE at the company talks about his gender change accomplishment!!!!
Personally, I do not care. Paul looks like a bearded guy who is a bit overweight. If he didn’t scream at transphobia, no one would have figured it out!
Paul went on short-term disability… then he quit… oh, WAIT… we learned he applied for long-term disability, but his working time was a bit too short, and he didn’t qualify…
According to SSA, you need 40 credits or 10 years of work to qualify. Depression qualifies, but Paul worked 5 years at best. He told our SSA representative that he didn’t qualify because of Trump.
DEI candidates we didn’t hire
Today, for all interviews, we have 2 interviewers in a room with cameras, and candidates are informed that the interview is recorded for compliance purposes.
A common one is an overexciting resume with all our job requirements crossed and terrific degrees in our field. But, most candidates’ skills and experience do not match their over-exciting resumes.
Failed Interviews
In one of the last interviews, the candidate reminded us that checking her social media or calling her previous employers without written permission was illegal.
It smelled red-flagish upfront, and I was right; she couldn’t answer any technical questions and was completely clueless.
I notified her that we were looking for someone more technical. She cried at sexism and anti-feminism.
The next day, our HR received a call from an attorney regarding the insulting interview her client had with the company. After listening to part of the meeting, he apologized for the inconvenience.
Some candidates ask not to be recorded, and after we explain it is our compliance policy, they leave… wonder why, lol
We had one who started with an understanding that she would not get the job because she was gay and big. She also specified that her therapist says she is a 10. WHO CARES?
A few minutes into the interview, she asked for $90 per hour ( $172,800 annually) and 6 weeks of PTO. For an entry-level position, it’s a bit much, lol
I told her it was way above my budget to be replied I needed to be more friendly to the LGBTQA+++ community.
Another one is Muslim and asked not to work but to be paid on Fridays as it’s his prayer day and to have time paid for his five daily prayers.
I lived many years in the Middle East, and the five prayers are Fajr (break of dawn), Dhuhr (after the sun’s zenith), Asr (the sun is halfway down from noon to sunset), Maghrib (just after sunset), and Isha (when complete darkness has arrived).
My hiring manager said, don’t worry, we will not make you work from sunrise to complete darkness, and you can work on Sundays to be replied… can’t do that, it’s the weekend. Guess why he was no longer interested in the position…
Am I DEI compliant?
We do not have several DEI programs, so let me check who I have working with me:
- We have a very successful manager. He is gay, born in Mexico, and married to a schoolteacher.
- A young woman from Asia who is going to become a manager very soon.
- Four perfectly white individuals report to the manager above.
- Five employees from Central America.
- One that changed his birth name as it was too Jewish for when he was in school and college!
- One is an African American young woman. I just promoted her to Director, not because she deserved it but because she earned it.
- A white guy whose nickname is Speeder Man (Not Spiderman) is in a wheelchair. The family joke is that one day, he will run over someone.
- A white guy who should have retired a long time ago but who is having too much fun with The Gang!
- …
Do I need to continue? My employees range from White Blonde Norwegians to Congolese Blacks, while I am of mixed races.
I call them THE GANG. They all work together awesomely, support each other, and are friends. No one cares about skin color, sexuality, and ethnical or religious background.
We don’t need lectures about DEI initiatives or very expensive multiple DEI trainings.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion, we just do it! Well, with a caveat, My Gang absolutely refuses to hire trans individuals; Our gay manager is the most vehemently against it… Maybe, one day.
