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Stop Tokenizing Hires
True diversity in the workplace or continuance of tokenism?
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I think one of the things I’m tired of seeing are articles explaining why and how you should consider diversity within your organization. The pieces do a fantastic job of explaining its importance, but I think everyone understands reasoning at this point; Whether or not they choose to pretend not to is a discussion within itself. So instead, I think we should tackle this issue from a different angle.
If your idea of diversity in the workplace is hiring a black person or a person of color to fill a quota, please don’t hire me or those like me. I know you’re wondering,” Why did she separate black people from person of color?” Well, in many ways, organizations have often treated them as though they were synonymous. They are not. I am a black person who is also a person of color. Yes, those identities are separate because the inequalities I face aren’t parallel to someone who is Asian, Latinx, etc. Can they be similar? Absolutely, but they are the same because we not monolithic. The thought that beings would fill the void of a company based on color alone showcases how out of touch, and unprepared the company is for workplace diversification. Though you may be able to hire those people of color, you will not have the…