Do you have a question you’ve always wanted to ask a white guy? Well, here’s your chance. Click here to submit your questions now!
Mr. D. Whitman, friend to the Caucus of Color and resident white guy, pays us a visit once a week to let us know what’s on the mind of White
America.
Since some of you won’t believe it until you hear it from the “White man,” he answers questions from you the readers. Don’t ask me, ask D. “White” man!
So, here’s this week’s question from one of our readers:
Dear Whitman,I recently overhead a conversation between our HR director, an African-American woman, and a hiring manager, a white woman. The HR director commented that she saw her success directly tied to hiring as many “women of color as possible” to which the hiring manager responded “my goal is to hire as many people of quality as possible.” How would you respond especially in light of the fact that our past is full of double standards. Are you suggesting we address our past injustices by creating new ones? How would you have responded to the hiring manager?
Signed,Nosy in NYC
ANSWER:Dear Nosy,I don’t think that “women of color” and “people of quality” are exclusive terms. I know many high-quality women of color.
The goal of any hiring strategy should be to find a representative slate of the best quality people. However, given that talent is distributed equally and bidirectional communication links employees to markets, there are many business reasons to balance a non-representative work force by setting appropriate goals.
Since I’m not privy to the HR director’s goals, I can’t comment on her intention. It seems to me, however, that regardless of the HR director’s intention, the hiring manager may have been insubordinate.
Signed,
D. Whitman
PS – Stop eavesdropping on employees’ conversations. That will get you fired faster than showing up to work at 10:30am every day for 2 weeks! 
