# A genuine question about Kamala Harris’s “DEI hire” status **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [July 30, 2024, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003 "2024-07-30T11:11:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/81 "2024-08-01T15:19:19Z")
> [@squidfood](#): > > Frequently (when several candidates are strong) the tiebreakers are intangibles/socials (“in this 30min interview, did I get the sense that I would enjoy working with this person?”). DEI training _did_ open my eyes to watching out for bias when making these assessments, and at my org hiring committees spend more time discussing “did we actually like the substance of their answer, or did we just like the way they delivered it?” and those conversations have affected the decisions - I think our decisions have been stronger for it in general. Good point. It’s not unreasonable to consider things like “Would I enjoy working with this person?” or “Would I get along well with this person?” when hiring, but that could easily shade into “Is this person like me?” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/82 "2024-08-01T15:47:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It’s not unreasonable to consider things like “Would I enjoy working with this person?” or “Would I get along well with this person?” when hiring, but that could easily shade into “Is this person like me?” Exactly. And the whole point of DEI training is not to substitute the other way, which is the default thought process for about half of humanity: Using “Is this person like me?” as a proxy for “Is this a person I would enjoy being around?” Those sorts of people will always prefer a monoculture even if they don’t recognize that fact about themselves. DEI is all about recognizing the non-zero amount of preference for monoculture in (almost) all of us, and the massive preference for monoculture in about half of us. And then actively looking for, seeing, recognizing, and consciously discarding that default personal behavior in ourselves _before_ it becomes organizational behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/83 "2024-08-01T16:35:26Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > “DEI hire” is a bullshit right-wing fantasy term. > **[Remarks Announcing the Intention To Nominate Sandra Day O'Connor To Be an...](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-announcing-intention-nominate-sandra-day-oconnor-be-associate-justice)** > > Remarks Announcing the Intention To Nominate Sandra Day O'Connor To Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/84 "2024-08-03T00:37:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > It’s not limited to that, though. You could fill a room entirely with white people (or people of any other race - or all men, or all women,) and you could still plausibly cover every political view from far-left to far-right. Besides the points that other posters have made in response to this, about why DEI is more than just “covering views”, there’s the important issue of what Biden himself said in the above quote: > [@](#): > > “If I’m elected President, my cabinet and my administration will look like the country, and **I commit that I will in fact pick a woman to be Vice President.**" There’s a strong case to be made that plain old demographic representation matters a lot in national governance, even more than it does in business, media, etc. We don’t want our leaders to be a demographic “aristocracy class”, cut off from the experiences and needs of huge numbers of ordinary Americans because they simply have no knowledge of what our lives are like. Of course, that “aristocracy class” does exist in our government, in the form of a socioeconomic elite more than (although by no means to the exclusion of) gender or racial elites. The vast majority of elected national leaders, and even their most influential unelected appointees, are far, far wealthier than the average American. And that hurts us as a society. It’s not good to have an American government that socioeconomically looks so different from America, and it would be even worse to push our government even further into its elite bubble by ignoring the importance of racial, gender, etc. diversity representation in leadership. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/85 "2024-08-03T12:17:51Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > To my mind, a so-called “DEI hire” is someone hired specifically to fill a demographic quota irrespective of qualifications. I’m not sure. I’d figure an opponent of DEI would jab an accusatory finger at the following: “Tell me about Candidate #1.” “Graduated first in his class at Harvard.” “Okay, and Candidate #2?” “Graduated ninth in his class at Harvard.” “Candidate #3?” “Graduated dead _last_ in his class.” “…at Harvard?” “No.” “At a college I’ve heard of?” “No.” “Candidate #4?” “Flunked out of college.” “Talk to me about ethnicity.” “For all four?” “No, just the first three.” “One of them would fill a demographic quota.” “Hire that one.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/86 "2024-08-03T17:30:32Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Of course, that “aristocracy class” does exist in our government, in the form of a socioeconomic elite more than (although by no means to the exclusion of) gender or racial elites. The vast majority of elected national leaders, and even their most influential unelected appointees, are far, far wealthier than the average American. And that hurts us as a society. > > It’s not good to have an American government that socioeconomically looks so different from America, and it would be even worse to push our government even further into its elite bubble by ignoring the importance of racial, gender, etc. diversity representation in leadership. But can one make a blip in American politics without throwing money around and schmoozing with “aristocrats” and elites? (“Ethnic” candidates can do that too, of course, it’s just much more difficult.) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/87 "2024-08-03T18:01:55Z")
I read somewhere amongst the whiny Internet trolls that DEI stands for “Didn’t Earn It.”. Never mind that most if not all top level hires from minority backgrounds most certainly did earn their positions. You don’t reach those heights without working your ass off, and it’s still harder to advance in society for women and people of color. Yeah, Maga troll, if it weren’t for DEI policies, it would’ve been YOU running for president. Get over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/88 "2024-08-03T18:02:23Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > To my mind, a so-called “DEI hire” is someone hired specifically to fill a demographic quota irrespective of qualifications. > > I’m not sure. I’d figure an opponent of DEI would jab an accusatory finger at the following: > > “Tell me about Candidate #1.” > “Graduated first in his class at Harvard.” > “Okay, and Candidate #2?” > “Graduated ninth in his class at Harvard.” > “Candidate #3?” > “Graduated dead _last_ in his class.” > “…at Harvard?” > “No.” > “At a college I’ve heard of?” > “No.” > “Candidate #4?” > “Flunked out of college.” > “Talk to me about ethnicity.” > “For all four?” > “No, just the first three.” > “One of them would fill a demographic quota.” > “Hire that one.” Actually, the DEI trainers I know would jab a finger too at that too. That is not DEI. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/89 "2024-08-03T18:36:32Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > it’s still harder to advance in society for women and people of color. exactly, they have to be _more_ qualified let alone “didn’t earn it” ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003/90 "2024-08-03T23:37:28Z")
“If you think the woman of color got where she is based only on her race and gender, and the guy whose daddy gave him $400 million pulled himself up by his bootstraps, you might be an idiot.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genuine-question-about-kamala-harris-s-dei-hire-status/1005003.md?page=4)