WotC WotC is hiring Senior Manager for Diversity, equity and inclusion.

[Hussar]

Not exactly no. But similar. You want a criteria to be considered for a different job that’s a heck of a lot worse indicator about performance than a relevant exam would be while having said criteria exclude nearly every straight white male. It’s actually 10x worse than the firefighter exam example.

And, yet, despite that, 80% of US firefighters are white and 95% are male.

Firefighters | Data USA

Firefighters are most often employed by the Justice, public order, & safety activities industry. The average yearly wage for Firefighters was $76,498 in 2021.

datausa.io

Funny how all those disadvantages white males have translate to real world percentages.

 

[MGibster]

Just like firefighters used to take exams to become one - that was deemed illegal due to the disparate impact it causes.

I think some firefighters and police officers still take exams. It's wasn't the concept of the exam that was called into question just that the particular exams they used had an adverse impact on minority applicants.

 

[FrogReaver]

I think some firefighters and police officers still take exams. It's wasn't the concept of the exam that was called into question just that the particular exams they used had an adverse impact on minority applicants.

I’m sure some do. My understanding is the departments in those lawsuits did away with the exam. Maybe I am wrong though?

 

[MGibster]

Except you cannot prove or even strongly argue for disparate impact when one person is hired, there is no public announcement of specific criteria, and a wide range of candidates have roughly the same qualifications on paper.

There doesn't have to be a public announcement of specific criteria. But, yeah, you literally can't prove disparate impact when you hire just one person for a position that's never existed before.

And yes, personal experience is relevant to hiring.

Work experience is more relevant. Having been discriminated against in the past doesn't make one more likely to be better qualified for the HR DEI manager position.

 

[Wishbone]

Work experience is more relevant. Having been discriminated against in the past doesn't make one more likely to be better qualified for the HR DEI manager position.

But it's not a stretch to see how that personal experience would be applicable in the workplace, or even be a motivation for someone entering in the field in the first place.

For example, I know people who did more than anyone in HR to help employees and interns without having any official role in HR because they had a common background that allowed others to trust them with painful experiences and for them to provide advice on how best to talk through the situation. Emotional intelligence is a skill, and sympathy is not the same as empathy.

Phrase it in an interview like, "Here's my work experience navigating through a time a coworkers was being insensitive to me or others in the workplace, and here's how I addressed it. I care about topics of diversity, inclusion, and equity greatly because of [x], [y], and [z] personal experiences, which taught me the value of fostering a community where all people of diverse background feel safe to contribute to the mission of WotC and bring their full selves to work."

 

[MGibster]

For example, I know people who did more than anyone in HR to help employees and interns without having any official role in HR because they had a common background that allowed others to trust them with painful experiences and for them to provide advice on how best to talk through the situation. Emotional intelligence is a skill, and sympathy is not the same as empathy.

I'll be the first to say that it's division managers and coworkers in your department that make all the difference in the world and not HR. I love my job, but my department is not the driving force behind the culture of my company. I'm very fortunate to work for a good company that actually gives a damn about their employees (for the most part), but there's nothing I could do if senior management decided they just wanted to be naughty word.

Phrase it in an interview like, "Here's my work experience navigating through a time a coworkers was being insensitive to me or others in the workplace, and here's how I addressed it. I care about topics of diversity, inclusion, and equity greatly because of [x], [y], and [z] personal experiences, which taught me the value of fostering a community where all people of diverse background feel safe to contribute to the mission of WotC and bring their full selves to work."

I'm looking for concrete examples to show me why a candidate can meet the minimum qualifications for the position. The fact that this candidate was treated with insensitivity by a coworker doesn't tell me they're qualified for the position. The fact that this candidate values a community where all people feel safe to contribute does not tell me they're qualified for this position. But, how they handled the situation at work does give me an idea of whether or not they're qualified for the position. And I'm always happy to take actual work experience that directly relates to the minimum job qualifications into consideration.

 

[Wishbone]

I'm looking for concrete examples to show me why a candidate can meet the minimum qualifications for the position. The fact that this candidate was treated with insensitivity by a coworker doesn't tell me they're qualified for the position. The fact that this candidate values a community where all people feel safe to contribute does not tell me they're qualified for this position. But, how they handled the situation at work does give me an idea of whether or not they're qualified for the position. And I'm always happy to take actual work experience that directly relates to the minimum job qualifications into consideration.

That's why I included the part about how they would have addressed the coworker's insensitivity...

The job explicitly says they value those exact things and a candidate demonstrates they are suitable for this position practicing conflict resolution and inclusion through practical lived experience.

From the job listing:

• "Deliver learning experiences to develop leaders, managers and employees in an equitable fashion that builds a more inclusive environment."
• "Create and moderate safe spaces for honest and practical dialogue around DE&I while challenging conventional wisdom."
• "Research, design, and implement best-in-class industry DE&I practices to support an inclusive environment, where employees bring their full selves to work."
• "Ability to handle complex DE&I issues with discretion, self-awareness and sound judgment to assist successful conflict resolution across all levels of the organization."

 

[MGibster]

That's why I included the part about how they would have addressed the coworker's insensitivity...

And I agreed with you that their work experience was relevant. So I don't get what the rest of this post is about.

The job explicitly says they value those exact things and a candidate demonstrates they are suitable for this position practicing conflict resolution and inclusion through practical lived experience.

Experiencing discrimination or insensitive coworkers does not qualify a candidate for the position. What matters is their experience practicing conflict resolution and inclusion through their work experience. And we can go ahead and include volunteering as work experience.

 

[Wishbone]

And I agreed with you that their work experience was relevant. So I don't get what the rest of this post is about.

Because you responded without acknowledging that I already included that in the example, and then cited several things as not important that are specifically called out in the job listing as part of the desired qualifications and expectations for the role. It's very easy to draw connections about how handling these situations in your personal and professional life does prepare you, especially when WotC is explicitly trying to create a space "where employees bring their full selves to work," which doesn't just include volunteer or work experience.

 

[MGibster]

It's very easy to draw connections about how handling these situations in your personal and professional life does prepare you, especially when WotC is explicitly trying to create a space "where employees bring their full selves to work," which doesn't just include volunteer or work experience.

Fair enough. You've explained yourself and I've explained myself, and it doesn't look like we're going to reach in a consensus. It happens.