8 ms·

The Impact of Chief Diversity Officers on Diverse Faculty Hiring

72 points by undefined1 6y ago

corty 6y ago
The intended impact of hiring a CxO is a press release about how important 'x' is and how great they are for recognizing that, whatever fashionable new thing 'x' might be. Anything more is bonus.
- LegitShady 6y ago
  I think that's only true if you don't understand the development of power blocks between groups of people. Empowering someone to define policy regarding hiring gives them a lot of leverage over other people and groups, and it builds power blocks as members of each subclass of identity politics wants access to that power. The press release is the least impactful long term consequence of the decision.
  - tomatotomato37 6y ago
    That's only true if the position is actually empowered. Titles are cheap, the Chief of Diversity may just be a PR rep in the same way that janitor is a "President of Custodial Duties."
    - bluGill 6y ago
      That isn't completely true. Titles sometimes have legal implications. If a company is sued the testimony of "just and employee" has a different value from the Chief Diversity Officer. Even a low level HR employee (is someone who should have done something about the situation that brought this to court) might be able to sneak by on company policy not allowing the right action. However the Chief Diversity officer will take the fall. This taking the fall might or might not be enough to protect the CEO (who also should have done something)
COGlory 6y ago
>We are unable to find significant statistical evidence that preexisting growth in diversity for underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups is affected by the hiring of an executive level diversity officer for new tenure and non-tenure track hires, faculty hired with tenure, or for university administrator hires. This is certainly no surprise to anyone. The real question is - is this because most college administration jobs are just bureaucratic rent seeking, and really don't do anything to begin with, or is it because trying to hire diversity is difficult because there is a low supply of diverse candidates who meet requirements?
- lucozade 6y ago
  > just bureaucratic rent seeking, and really don't do anything to begin with, *or* is it because trying to hire diversity is difficult At the risk of appearing trite, that *or* is very probably inclusive.
  - COGlory 6y ago
    I don't understand what you mean by this comment. Could you clarify it?
    - alexpetralia 6y ago
      It's not an exclusive-or (exactly one is true), but rather an inclusive-or (at least one is true, potentially both).
- ARandomerDude 6y ago
  Third option: universities are already seeking to be as diverse as possible, so adding extra C-level pressure doesn't move the meter. Honestly, I think university culture is too diversity/intersectionality/critical race theory etc. focused at the expense of other goals. So it wouldn't surprise me if additional diversity is hard to achieve.
  - CobrastanJorji 6y ago
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Some large nonprofit arts organizations (orchestras, theatres, etc.) have privately expressed that the hiring of a "chief diversity officer" has simply become a necessary cost for organizations. Even if you have already been doing outreach for years or decades to attract a more diverse audience, activists will hold it against you that you do not have a formal, salaried position dedicated specifically and solely to this aim.
- remarkEon 6y ago
  Absolutely, but it's not just nonprofits. It's become a competitive barrier to entry exercise throughout industry. Only the big, established players can afford to do this, and it functions as a sort of tax.
  - namdnay 6y ago
    I don't think small organisations would be criticised for not having this type of position though.
    - BitwiseFool 6y ago
      I think it depends on how much attention the smaller organization gets. I can totally see a CDO being a de-facto requirement for Bay Area startups due to all the pressure from the politics in the area. It's also possible a small to mid size organization gets into some imbroglio on Twitter and realizes they need a CDO to try and stop the bad PR.
  - naturalpb 6y ago
    “Tax” is a great model on which to view the situation! I also think of these leadership positions, critical race theory / anti-racism / unconscious bias trainings, and diversity initiatives as a sort of insurance policy against social media-driven outrage. A large organization pays the "premium" to prevent a possible large loss of brand reputation. As you stated, this functions to benefit the large organizations that can afford the premiums while smaller organizations will go unprotected and pay the costs of the outrage that will be deflected their way.
gsich 6y ago
No surprise there.
jxramos 6y ago
Wow are my eyes deceiving me, but did they just blindly link to anything hit on the web that links back to them? Just from the titles it doesn't look like the backlinks hold too flattering a view on their work? This is pretty bold and catching me off balance, I always interpreted "mentioned in the news" sections as curated and tailored to maximize the positive impressions of a place. > # Mentioned in the News > * Colleges Are Hiring More Diversity Officers Than Ever - Here's How Racial Resentment Could Be ... JULY 13, 2020 SOURCE: THE DAILY CALLER > Surprise: Diversity officials pull down big salaries with little effect > SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 > SOURCE: THE COLLEGE FIX
- itsdrewmiller 6y ago
  There is a pretty good chance that is automated, and there isn't a ton of mainstream excitement over a paper that fails to reject the null hypothesis. (I'm glad they published though! Keep those negative results papers coming!)
  - jxramos 6y ago
    that's a good point, nothing inherently wrong about negative results papers, gotta follow the truth where it leads.
slg 6y ago
I think this makes sense when you consider what hiring a CDO signals. Organizations that don't care about diversity aren't going to hire a CDO and it is likely not going to be anyone's first step into valuing diversity. It instead is a signal of a commitment that already exists within the organizations and therefore isn't going to generate much change. The places that could actually benefit from hiring a CDO don't do it because they likely already have an institutional apathy for the work that a CDO would do.
- bluGill 6y ago
  Organizations that don't care will hire a CDO and put him (sexism intentional, though it could be her and still fit) off to the side to be a figure head for the non-existent efforts. If it gets the activists off their back it might be seen as worth a high salary.
BurningFrog 6y ago
Is anyone tracking what percentage of college employees does work related to actual education? I assume it's in steep decline the last few decades.
prof-dr-ir 6y ago
Almost all the academics I know already share the desire for more diversity, are aware of pitfalls like unconscious bias, and are completely ready to hire people from more diverse background... only to find that the overwhelming majority of the applicants are run-of-the-mill (say, "white male") candidates. :( One could force up those candidates that would add to a department's diversity, even if there is no indication of prior adverse circumstances. This is however considered undesirable - it might not be fair and also be bad for the candidate's reputation in the long run. Academic hiring can be great fun but in the end it is already a completely ill-defined optimization problem. I do not see how a CDO could be a valuable addition to the process.
- commandlinefan 6y ago
  > the overwhelming majority of the applicants are run-of-the-mill (say, "white male") See, people keep saying this, but when I was in school (in the U.S.) - especially when I was in grad school in the mid 00's - I was the lone white male in a sea of Indians. My teachers were Indian. The TA's were Indian. My classmates were Indian. There was one class where there were two Americans, including me - and the other one was born to Indian immigrants. And today, all my co-workers are Indian.
  - prof-dr-ir 6y ago
    Sounds like the CDO might have misread their job description. :) I should not have said "white male", in particular because in my field there are also a significant number of (excellent) Chinese and Indian researchers. Although we should not forget about the many other underrepresented groups, the most visible diversity issue for us is the gender asymmetry.
  - curioushacking 6y ago
    I happen to be a white male from the US and during my PhD I was my Advisor's only native English speaker. Also, at most of my jobs, I've been either the only or one of two native English speakers. While I don't have the numbers, it would not surprise me that for at least CS/Software and likely other many other professions white male is by no means the run-of-the-mill applicant.
one2know 6y ago
CDO's are democrat party political officers who are charged with keeping corporations under the control of the leftist democrat party. That doesn't necessarily mean they will meet minority quotas for executives because racial diversity is not the true goal. Party control is the true goal, and that is why CDO exists and has power to veto new hires who might be a threat.
LatteLazy 6y ago
I've had to sit through diversity training and then sit at lunch with a team of older guys and gently try to undo the damage the training did in their opinions of diverse people. I honestly think these programs are actively counterproductive in the majority of cases.

72 points by undefined1 6y ago

The intended impact of hiring a CxO is a press release about how important 'x' is and how great they are for recognizing that, whatever fashionable new thing 'x' might be. Anything more is bonus.

LegitShady 6y ago
I think that's only true if you don't understand the development of power blocks between groups of people. Empowering someone to define policy regarding hiring gives them a lot of leverage over other people and groups, and it builds power blocks as members of each subclass of identity politics wants access to that power. The press release is the least impactful long term consequence of the decision.
- tomatotomato37 6y ago
  That's only true if the position is actually empowered. Titles are cheap, the Chief of Diversity may just be a PR rep in the same way that janitor is a "President of Custodial Duties."
  - bluGill 6y ago
    That isn't completely true. Titles sometimes have legal implications. If a company is sued the testimony of "just and employee" has a different value from the Chief Diversity Officer. Even a low level HR employee (is someone who should have done something about the situation that brought this to court) might be able to sneak by on company policy not allowing the right action. However the Chief Diversity officer will take the fall. This taking the fall might or might not be enough to protect the CEO (who also should have done something)

COGlory 6y ago

>We are unable to find significant statistical evidence that preexisting growth in diversity for underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups is affected by the hiring of an executive level diversity officer for new tenure and non-tenure track hires, faculty hired with tenure, or for university administrator hires. This is certainly no surprise to anyone. The real question is - is this because most college administration jobs are just bureaucratic rent seeking, and really don't do anything to begin with, or is it because trying to hire diversity is difficult because there is a low supply of diverse candidates who meet requirements?

lucozade 6y ago
> just bureaucratic rent seeking, and really don't do anything to begin with, *or* is it because trying to hire diversity is difficult At the risk of appearing trite, that *or* is very probably inclusive.
- COGlory 6y ago
  I don't understand what you mean by this comment. Could you clarify it?
  - alexpetralia 6y ago
    It's not an exclusive-or (exactly one is true), but rather an inclusive-or (at least one is true, potentially both).
ARandomerDude 6y ago
Third option: universities are already seeking to be as diverse as possible, so adding extra C-level pressure doesn't move the meter. Honestly, I think university culture is too diversity/intersectionality/critical race theory etc. focused at the expense of other goals. So it wouldn't surprise me if additional diversity is hard to achieve.
- CobrastanJorji 6y ago

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

Some large nonprofit arts organizations (orchestras, theatres, etc.) have privately expressed that the hiring of a "chief diversity officer" has simply become a necessary cost for organizations. Even if you have already been doing outreach for years or decades to attract a more diverse audience, activists will hold it against you that you do not have a formal, salaried position dedicated specifically and solely to this aim.

remarkEon 6y ago
Absolutely, but it's not just nonprofits. It's become a competitive barrier to entry exercise throughout industry. Only the big, established players can afford to do this, and it functions as a sort of tax.
- namdnay 6y ago
  I don't think small organisations would be criticised for not having this type of position though.
  - BitwiseFool 6y ago
    I think it depends on how much attention the smaller organization gets. I can totally see a CDO being a de-facto requirement for Bay Area startups due to all the pressure from the politics in the area. It's also possible a small to mid size organization gets into some imbroglio on Twitter and realizes they need a CDO to try and stop the bad PR.
- naturalpb 6y ago
  “Tax” is a great model on which to view the situation! I also think of these leadership positions, critical race theory / anti-racism / unconscious bias trainings, and diversity initiatives as a sort of insurance policy against social media-driven outrage. A large organization pays the "premium" to prevent a possible large loss of brand reputation. As you stated, this functions to benefit the large organizations that can afford the premiums while smaller organizations will go unprotected and pay the costs of the outrage that will be deflected their way.

gsich 6y ago

No surprise there.

jxramos 6y ago

Wow are my eyes deceiving me, but did they just blindly link to anything hit on the web that links back to them? Just from the titles it doesn't look like the backlinks hold too flattering a view on their work? This is pretty bold and catching me off balance, I always interpreted "mentioned in the news" sections as curated and tailored to maximize the positive impressions of a place. > # Mentioned in the News > * Colleges Are Hiring More Diversity Officers Than Ever - Here's How Racial Resentment Could Be ... JULY 13, 2020 SOURCE: THE DAILY CALLER > Surprise: Diversity officials pull down big salaries with little effect > SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 > SOURCE: THE COLLEGE FIX

itsdrewmiller 6y ago
There is a pretty good chance that is automated, and there isn't a ton of mainstream excitement over a paper that fails to reject the null hypothesis. (I'm glad they published though! Keep those negative results papers coming!)
- jxramos 6y ago
  that's a good point, nothing inherently wrong about negative results papers, gotta follow the truth where it leads.

slg 6y ago

I think this makes sense when you consider what hiring a CDO signals. Organizations that don't care about diversity aren't going to hire a CDO and it is likely not going to be anyone's first step into valuing diversity. It instead is a signal of a commitment that already exists within the organizations and therefore isn't going to generate much change. The places that could actually benefit from hiring a CDO don't do it because they likely already have an institutional apathy for the work that a CDO would do.

bluGill 6y ago
Organizations that don't care will hire a CDO and put him (sexism intentional, though it could be her and still fit) off to the side to be a figure head for the non-existent efforts. If it gets the activists off their back it might be seen as worth a high salary.

BurningFrog 6y ago

Is anyone tracking what percentage of college employees does work related to actual education? I assume it's in steep decline the last few decades.

prof-dr-ir 6y ago

Almost all the academics I know already share the desire for more diversity, are aware of pitfalls like unconscious bias, and are completely ready to hire people from more diverse background... only to find that the overwhelming majority of the applicants are run-of-the-mill (say, "white male") candidates. :( One could force up those candidates that would add to a department's diversity, even if there is no indication of prior adverse circumstances. This is however considered undesirable - it might not be fair and also be bad for the candidate's reputation in the long run. Academic hiring can be great fun but in the end it is already a completely ill-defined optimization problem. I do not see how a CDO could be a valuable addition to the process.

commandlinefan 6y ago
> the overwhelming majority of the applicants are run-of-the-mill (say, "white male") See, people keep saying this, but when I was in school (in the U.S.) - especially when I was in grad school in the mid 00's - I was the lone white male in a sea of Indians. My teachers were Indian. The TA's were Indian. My classmates were Indian. There was one class where there were two Americans, including me - and the other one was born to Indian immigrants. And today, all my co-workers are Indian.
- prof-dr-ir 6y ago
  Sounds like the CDO might have misread their job description. :) I should not have said "white male", in particular because in my field there are also a significant number of (excellent) Chinese and Indian researchers. Although we should not forget about the many other underrepresented groups, the most visible diversity issue for us is the gender asymmetry.
- curioushacking 6y ago
  I happen to be a white male from the US and during my PhD I was my Advisor's only native English speaker. Also, at most of my jobs, I've been either the only or one of two native English speakers. While I don't have the numbers, it would not surprise me that for at least CS/Software and likely other many other professions white male is by no means the run-of-the-mill applicant.

one2know 6y ago

CDO's are democrat party political officers who are charged with keeping corporations under the control of the leftist democrat party. That doesn't necessarily mean they will meet minority quotas for executives because racial diversity is not the true goal. Party control is the true goal, and that is why CDO exists and has power to veto new hires who might be a threat.

LatteLazy 6y ago

I've had to sit through diversity training and then sit at lunch with a team of older guys and gently try to undo the damage the training did in their opinions of diverse people. I honestly think these programs are actively counterproductive in the majority of cases.