Just amazing that this should even have to be said. But I'm an academic, and here we are. What's particularly bad about this approach - which is fast becoming

Just amazing that this should even have to be said. But I'm an academic, and here we are. What's particularly bad about this approach - which is fast becoming endemic - is that it effectively treats science as a source of perks for scientists. No! We fund science because it benefits all humans. If the choice is "allocate cancer research money to be equal between men/women/ethnic groups of your choice" and "allocate money to maximize the chance of curing cancer", that should be a no-brainer! To be clear, I believe that there are things that could be done to improve the participation of minorities in science which would also improve science. But positive discrimination is unlikely to be one of them, and certainly ought not to be the first port of call. And yeah, as a white male, I also obviously dislike the idea that it is OK for me to be discriminated against. People are funny that way.