National Science Foundation (NSF) had offered $1.5 million to address structural vulnerabilities in Python and the Python Package Index (PyPI), but the Foundation quickly became dispirited with the terms of the grant it would have to follow.
“These terms included affirming the statement that we ‘do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion], or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws,’” Crary noted. “This restriction would apply not only to the security work directly funded by the grant, but to any and all activity of the PSF as a whole.”
I get that hiring practices should not discriminate, but in practice, what I have seen is the opposite of meritocracy. My company had many DEI hires, and they were the first to go when the money got tight.
Maybe they were the first to go because your company didn’t want them around no matter how skilled they might. It seems odd that all of them would be let go. That implies that your company decided to only hire incompetent people because of the color of their skin and refused to hire any minorities that were competent.
I feel like you may not understand what DEI actually is. What, precisely, do you think a “DEI hire” is?
“DEI hire” has a different definition depending on whether you’re talking about design or implementation.
Design: Non-discriminatory hiring practices where race, gender, age, religion and disabilities are overlooked. You get hired purely on your ability to do the job. Appropriate disability supports are given if required.
Implementation: Cheap foreign labour obscured by marketing spin and a calendar of wokewashing. Applicants are hired based on a quota that in no way reflects the talent pool.
Neither of those are DEI.
Also the “Implementation” part just sounds like what a really shitty company wound do, primarily trying to monetise on “DEI” … wtf.
I see his fully fleshed explanation, but I don’t see a counter? Not that I have any strong opinion, just curious what DEI actually means.
DEI isn’t intended to be “colorblind”, it explicitly suggests that employers give consideration to applicants from disparaged demographics, who may have otherwise been ignored during the application process. It doesn’t, however, imply hiring quotas; there is no such thing as “a DEI hire”.
Many people seem to confuse DEI for Affirmative Action, as evidenced above. This article explains the differences pretty succinctly: https://natlawreview.com/article/dei-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-v-affirmative-action-they-are-not-same
What meritocracy? A bunch of white dudes born into privilege that allows them the opportunities that the average person doesn’t have?