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"how many meetings are composed of a caucasian woman, a black man, and an asian (?) man" I've never worked anywhere that this would be unusual at all. It's tru
by carbon8 17y ago
"how many meetings are composed of a caucasian woman, a black man, and an asian (?) man"
I've never worked anywhere that this would be unusual at all. It's true that manufactured diversity is used in communications a lot, but workplaces tend to be pretty ethnically heterogeneous as long as they aren't in monocultural regions.
- CWuestefeld 17y agoYes, my workplace has representatives of many races and cultures as well. Heck, it's owned and run by an asian woman (who is darned good, by the way). Really, it comes down to statistical sampling. For the canonical marketing slick, you must have a woman, a caucasian (might be that woman), a black person, and an asian and/or hispanic (probably) man. If you take any random set of people from your organization, what are the chances that you're going to get that mix of representation? The sample size is so small that it's extremely unlikely that any random sample is going to bring in such a broad mix, no matter how broad the total population is. Thus, it's obviously contrived -- and more to the point, engineered to pander to "politically correct" sensitivities.
- bmj 17y agoYes, my workplace has representatives of many races and cultures as well. Heck, it's owned and run by an asian woman (who is darned good, by the way). Was it really necessary to add the parenthetical comment? Is there anyone at HN that would judge a person's abilities by their gender and ethnic background?
- CWuestefeld 17y agoWhy would you think that the motivation for my parenthetical was the fact that she's asian and/or female? I'm actually defending against preconceptions of corporate executives, not of women or asians. I'm in the habit of making such comments because of what I see as a fairly pervasive anti-corporate prejudiced across our society. It appears to me that many, even most, people assume that corporate executives are money-grubbing scum who care not a whit for their customers, employees, or society at large. I'm trying to say this this is not the case with my employer: she's socially conscious, sensitive to the needs of employees, and tries to do the right thing in business. The comment may not have been necessary -- that was why it was in parentheses -- but I saw a hint of an implication that my workplace was overly homogeneous, a "good ole boys' club". If such a slight was unintended, I apologize.
- bmj 17y agoIn a sense, your motivation is beside the point--we only have your written word, and the comment can be read as some sort of qualifier (since your boss is a female and an Asian). I'm not insulted, or even upset--I just thought it was odd comment. And, FWIW, I agree with your parent comment.
- mediaman 17y agoNot sure this is worthy of complaining about. If OP has said, "but she's darned good" then that would be clear that the OP believed there was a conception that she would be not good because she was female and/or Asian. But that's not what he said; he said "who is darned good". I don't see giving someone a compliment without a qualifier as being offensive. Can I not say that my black boss is a great manager to work for, or my Indian business partner is really smart?
- clistctrl 17y agowould you accept an asian women, and then caucasian/black men?