Microsoft Says Bye-Bye DEI, Joins Growing List Of Corporations Dismantling Diversity Teams

2 years ago by Optional to c/technology

In a surprising yet increasingly common move, Microsoft has quietly dismantled its team dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).  The decision, communicated via email to the affected employees on July 1, cited “changing business needs” as the reason for the layoffs. While the exact number of employees impacted remains unclear, the team’s lead didn’t … Continued

cross-posted from: https://yall.theatl.social/post/3229309

From the Atlanta Daily World:

In a surprising yet increasingly common move, Microsoft has quietly dismantled its team dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).  The decision, communicated via email to the affected employees on July 1, cited “changing business needs” as the reason for the layoffs. While the exact number of employees impacted remains unclear, the team’s lead didn’t … Continued

The post Microsoft Says Bye-Bye DEI, Joins Growing List Of Corporations Dismantling Diversity Teams appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

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schizo 183 points 2 years ago

Everything a corporation does that's not outright trying to fuck you out of your time or money is 100% a scam they're trying to pull to convince you they care.

I really wish people would stop falling for it, because, well, there's never going to be real progress made unless there's the force of law behind things like DEI.

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bizarroland 44 points 2 years ago

I mean the entire purpose of a dei group in a company is to make sure that the company isn't doing things that will get them fucking sued into the ground, like choosing to only hire young white males for instance.

If they want to disband this group fine, just that's going to be exhibit A in all of the lawsuits.

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Diplomjodler3 36 points 2 years ago

You mean the lawsuits that will be tossed out by the totally not corrupt upstanding officials at the "Supreme" Court?

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SeaJ 11 points 2 years ago

An assessment test I did for a job recently was essentially just an SAT and IQ test. None of it had to do with the position but it was a quick way for them to say "no foreigners."

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glowie 28 points 2 years ago

If they brag about DEI on marketing pages... That's all the initiative is for. Virtue signalling for sales.

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DinosaurSr 3 points 2 years ago

Y'all need to just chill out and have a Pepsi

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Imgonnatrythis 24 points 2 years ago

I dunno. I'm a believer that there is real benefit to diverse teams and there is some evidence in support of this. Seems like a diverse team could really help a company figure out how to keep fucking the money out of you harder.

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TheOneCurly 16 points 2 years ago

Doing good work takes time to make money, execs need those quarterly bonuses right now. Much easier to do a bunch of layoffs and get that line up now.

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namingthingsiseasy 12 points 2 years ago

I dunno. I’m a believer that there is real benefit to diverse teams and there is some evidence in support of this.

You're 100% right! But good luck convincing the bean counters.

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Cryophilia 4 points 2 years ago

DEI programs don't really help diversity, in my experience. They just send emails and have social gatherings and make committees about initiatives about programs about metrics about committees about...

A true DEI program would focus on the grassroots level. Granular. They'd have a rep in every location, they'd have massive coordination with hiring managers and HR, they'd be recruiting volunteers and asking for feedback.

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scarabic 20 points 2 years ago

The company I work for is tireless about DEI and at least the CEO is personally a big believer. I think the instant he goes, though, the entire thing goes. We have hundreds of people working on it. And they have produced more backlash against DEI than real progress on it. So yeah, there are true believers out there, but the system as a whole doesn’t give a fuck, never did, and there’s never going to come a time when we all turn some corner and want more, more, more DEI staff at work. In my humble opinion the movement is dead already and will be remembered as an artifact of the last decade or so. The actual problem itself will continue to improve, generationally, just as it has done for a hundred years.

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wagoner 17 points 2 years ago

That generational improvement is not the natural order of the universe. It's the result of individuals putting themselves in harms way to push for change. It's hard-fought legislation moving the cause forward. It's constitutional amendments. It's legal cases won against the odds. It's corporations jumping on the bandwagon not wanting to be seen to oppose respectable society.

But those who have always fought against the process are racking up wins. That generational change you've observed that looked inevitable is under severe threat. You cannot count on it happening by itself.

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Cryophilia 5 points 2 years ago

And they have produced more backlash against DEI than real progress on it.

That's the thing...it doesn't actually work. It doesn't help anything. It's just virtue signaling. I understand, hypothetically, how a DEI program could help make a company's culture more inclusive, but the vast majority of them just add more buzzwords and red tape and performative resume enhancers.

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TimeSquirrel 13 points 2 years ago

Well yeah. The point of a corp is to make a profit. By any means necessary. They are even legally compelled to do so. They are not here to serve us. They are here to take your money. Sometimes even backing you into a corner to force you to do it.

I just got done watching Fallout and I fully believe our corporations would do the same as the ones in the series given the chance.

Edit: after some research and the person below me informing me, I was mistaken about the legal requirement.

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schizo 26 points 2 years ago

Minor niggle: they're legally compelled to work in the best interests of the shareholders which is usually but not always seeking profit at all costs.

But, in general, I don't disagree, I merely was mentioning that people keep getting suckered by pretty words and meaningless promises of change and then not bothering to make it have actual legal requirements behind it.

The mistake is looking at a CEO going Trust Me Bro, and trusting them. See: frog and scorpion story.

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conciselyverbose 12 points 2 years ago

They are not legally compelled to do so. That's a nonsense myth, even for publicly traded companies.

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