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Comment by random_user456 | Hacker News Reader

Why do companies hire all these diversity administration in the first place? It burns epic amounts of money, and sows discontent, when there message and answer to everything is we need more diversity for all leadership and tech positions,(aka quotas of people with subpar skillsets). Instead of merely hiring on skill.

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The thing is that people aren't hired based solely on skill. There is some degree of bias that needs to be addressed.

This bias goes well beyond racial and gender diversity. Why are these the only types of diversity that are ever discussed.

And pls don’t misunderstand this argument, but could the same argument not be used for say diversity of skill? Like how come a company can reject me due to lack of skill?

> And pls don’t misunderstand this argument, but could the same argument not be used for say diversity of skill? Like how come a company can reject me due to lack of skill?

The argument is that it's unfair and harmful to the individual, your company, and society to not hire someone because their skin is too dark. Do you think that's true of not hiring someone who isn't qualified?

> society to not hire someone because their skin is too dark.

In SV, I can't imagine this being that common. However let's take an example. There's an interview for a position and the interviewer is a white American. Two applicants of equal skill apply. One of them is African American who's attended the same high school as the interviewer. The other one is a recent emigrant from Russia who is skilled technically however his "cultural awareness" might be lacking. Who is more likely to get hired? This is a rhetorical question. I actually don't know.

You're changing the subject. Let's stick to your first question for now. You were asking whether the arguments for diversity of race and gender could be applied to diversity of skill.

Does the argument I gave for diversity of race apply to diversity of skill? If not, do you think I gave a non-standard argument for diversity of race?

I'm not actually, I'm pointing out a type of diversity that the commonly accepted notion of diversity doesn't quite capture.

Yet when I press you on your concrete example of diversity of skill, you immediately move on to a different example without responding to what I said.

Is this sarcasm?

It's an argument ad absurdum.

  Why are these the only types of diversity that are ever discussed.

Because those "biases" (discriminations) are currently what the law deems illegal.

Radical activists bullying everybody else is why. Good to hear Google are being rational about it.

> aka quotas of people with subpar skillsets

That is not the goal, nor the result of these efforts.

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