Ancestors

Written by Ben Ramsey on 2025-01-31 at 16:37

DEI programs solve a systemic problem, and there is overwhelming evidence the problem is systemic.

For white people, this presents 2 main problems:

1. Admitting to themselves they are part of a system that is inherently racist.

2. Job competition is higher because DEI programs actively work against the system, allowing more qualified candidates to be considered for roles.

Both of these make white people angry. (1/3)

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Written by Ben Ramsey on 2025-01-31 at 16:37

Saying the system is racist feels like a personal attack on folks who don’t consider themselves racist.

They convince themselves the candidates sourced through DEI programs are less qualified and hired only because they are “diverse.”

So they differentiate the old system as “merit-based,” even though it’s definitely not, because when they’re hired under it, it must be due to their own merit/worth that they were hired and not because the system favored hiring white men. (2/3)

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Written by Ben Ramsey on 2025-01-31 at 16:37

The fact is, DEI programs turn the system into a more merit-based one and open up a wider pool of talent than traditional systems allow for.

If you want to hire the best people for the job, why would you use a system that doesn’t source the best candidates? (3/3)

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Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:03

@ramsey

It's even more challenging than this.

Discrimination over time reduces employability, or experience can be highly correlated with opportunity, not ability.

So even if you judge everyone only on their experiences, you are still not doing the E equity, in #DEI

Here are some examples 1/n

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Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:04

@ramsey No more tick boxes…

I have lost count of the number of times I have had BME staff describe to me how they have watched White colleagues – whom they had welcomed, inducted, supported and helped to train – get promoted over them again and again. 2/n

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Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:04

@ramsey I have lost count of the number of time I’ve been told how “stretch opportunities” (such as acting up, secondments, and involvement in significant projects) which are the key to career progression have been filled by a tap on the shoulder followed by promotion. #SideBySide

https://mdxminds.com/2021/09/16/no-more-tick-boxes/

Found via nottheonlyone.org as one of 10,300+ #DEI #Diversity, #Equity and #Inclusion items. 3/n

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Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:09

@ramsey

We are not all playing the same game of snakes and ladders. Some have more ladders and others have more snakes. 4/n

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Toot

Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:10

@ramsey

and lack of opportunities over time reduces employability. 5/n

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Descendants

Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:11

@ramsey

And the antidote to discrimination is to give people from marginalised groups more opportunities to make up for the ones they have lost. 5/n

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Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:13

@ramsey

I'll be giving this talk at #FluConf - "Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the Open Source Community" that explains it in more detail.

https://fluconf.online/sessions/improving-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-open-source-community/

[#]DEI #DiversityEquityInclusion #EDI #EquityDiversityInclusion

6/n

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Written by Rowland Mosbergen on 2025-01-31 at 19:14

@ramsey the link to the more accessible presentation is here https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQJh_sFXRmzN_Z9QBSomgwdlaFwzuffxtCDtRnejoJyUFbJJOEbEKs2W-xcM4hnH0SOhegYtJ97LrqC/pub

and the link to the less accessible presentation is here https://figshare.com/articles/presentation/Improving_Diversity_and_Inclusion_in_the_Open_Source_Community/28281392

7/7

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