Council took the DEI contract off the table at the last meeting. A decision on this contract was continued to a future meeting. Hopefully this means the notion of spending well over $100,000 of taxpayer money on one of these ineffectual and divisive programs is gone for good.
Naperville already has a well paid DEI director. It’s fair for taxpayers to ask why she can’t give a lecture on equity as part of her job if such a program is really needed (which is doubtful). The fact the Naperville even has a DEI director is itself very progressive and goes far beyond what other cities of Naperville are doing on “inclusion”. Now a big expensive program too?
Naperville has great employees. Its commissions have a diverse make up. It’s offensive and simply false to suggest that the City needs a program on equity. Review of articles on such programs shows the value of such programs is not only minimal, the programs can be harmful and fray relationships amongst employees.
Here’s an idea: just be nice and respectful to everyone. By and large, the people at City Hall already are.
Do we really need a $115,000 lecture to understand this?
No we don’t need the DEI contract. Stop the Boondoggling now!
DEI is at total waste of OUR money as is a six figure Director for same!
Many in Naperville don’t agree with you.
There are many who have claimed Naperville’s DEI program is a waste of money, a boondoggle, divisive, etc.
The whole point in hiring an independent outside consultant to review this program is to get an professional assessment of this program’s effectiveness and to determine if any problems with implementation exist as well as suggestions on how to improve the program.
Consultant audits of government programs are common. They provide independent expert documentation that can be used by the city to defend itself against discrimination claims or lawsuits. They provide guidance on the currently accepted standards of practice for the program in question. Implementing current standards of practice again provide legal protections for the city. Finally, these consultant reports can provide the public with confidence a program is working and not wasting public funds.
The people claiming that Naperville’s DEI program is not achieving its intended goals and is a waste of city resources should welcome such an independent expert review since if they are correct then this audit would prove their claims.
“Causes begin as a movement, become a business, and eventually degenerate into a racket.” Eric Hoffer
So are you claiming that abolition, suffrage, desegregation, civil rights, etc are all just rackets?
So, just reading your responses, you’re an apologist for the Left.
In YOUR mind, DEI is the equivalent of abolition, suffrage, desegregation, et al? It’s all one big glorious liberation from the tyrannical oppressors! Wink, wink! Got it.
Your post was the quote:
“Causes begin as a movement, become a business, and eventually degenerate into a racket.” Eric Hoffer
My reply points out that abolition, suffrage, desegregation, civil rights, etc all began as movements. So by your quote that makes them now rackets.
I know this is some high level think for you, but try to keep up.
I’d like you to cite your articles mentioned. The research I’ve read is that a one off DEI training doesnt work but a longer term systematic approach is effective and beneficial.
https://www.reworked.co/employee-experience/most-dei-training-doesnt-work-heres-how-to-tie-training-to-impact/
Many articles show how “Implicit Bias” is a boondoggle.
Here’s a recent large one showing DEI is a mess that makes things worse. DEI is code for race and sex essentialism. Its failure is self-evident. What it is, is an HR racket.
National Post
Published Feb 13, 2024
There’s no evidence that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives reduce prejudice, and they may even increase it, says a Canadian professor who reviewed decades of research for a new report.
“Proponents of DEI instruction make the bold claim that ‘it works.’ That is, they claim that it’s effective in changing behaviour toward the positive. That claim is not supported by the empirical evidence,” the study’s author, Laurier professor David Haskell, said in a press release announcing his findings. “There’s clear empirical evidence that certain aspects of DEI instruction lead to greater prejudice and even harm.”
Equally concerning for Haskell has been the widespread adoption of DEI initiatives without a robust examination of its efficacy in workplaces.
“DEI instruction is now aggressively entrenched at all levels of our educational system from kindergarten up to university,” Haskell told National Post in an email on Tuesday. “Core concepts of the instruction such as ‘white privilege’ and ‘implicit bias’ are promoted as verified truths. But the research shows that these concepts are not rooted in solid, empirical evidence. Ironically, the public organizations we have charged with providing factual knowledge are, on this front, doing the opposite.”
In a report published by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, Haskell reviewed seven studies from leading scientific journals, including some meta-analyses that looked at hundreds of experiments.
Despite claims from DEI proponents that such instruction leads to better outcomes and greater understanding, the Laurier academic’s literature review found evidence suggesting otherwise. One study Haskell highlighted, conducted by University of Toronto researchers, found campaigns designed to “exert strong pressure on people to be non-prejudiced backfired, yielding heightened levels of bigotry.”
You are aware that the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy focuses on Canadian youth education and is less then a year old. And that professor David Haskell’s area a expertise is youth religious engagement. Basically his career and work is focused on getting young people to re-engage with religion.
Sorry but an opinion piece by a person who has no expertise on the issue and makes statements about the “lack of proof”, “evidence suggesting” and “may do more harm then good” are not declarative conclusions making him not a credible source. In fact these very things were once claimed by many US manufactures about Deming and statistical quality control.
Finally, if you actually read the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy report by Haskell you will find he does not provide any data from any peer reviewed studies that concludes DEI does not work. In fact all of these studies were actually focused on ways to improve DEI program and do not conclude DEI programs are pointless.
It is worth noting that Haskell’s report starts out by telling an antidotal story about a man the killed himself supposedly as a result of his DEI training. Any report that starts in this way is clearly broadcasting the nature of its conclusion
And now we go to Baghdad Bob for the regime response.
As for what you are doing, you are trying to defend DEI in a backhanded way (or, of course, you actually believe it) by giving it the moral equivalence to movements that have zero to do with what DEI is all about.
Regarding, Hoffer’s quote, it stands. Affirmative action/race-hustling, disparate impact falsehoods, the HR explosion, “harassment” police, Title IX distortions, DEI – useless, parasitic bureaucrats advancing left-wing dogma. Rackets.
The thing is you know all this is true, but for you it’s all “Our side: Good!, Your side: Bad.” If you had legitimate points, this would be worth a dialogue, but as it is, it’ll just by some syllogistic nonsense in order to get the last word. Good to know, like a barnacle, a leftist apologist has attached himself to this website so “his side” can get the last word on everything. Oh joy.
First this is not about conservative or liberal. I have worked with both political parties on various issues over the years an will continue to support the position I believe in regardless of which party shares my position on the issue.
Calling issues conservative or liberal is just another divisive political ploy intended to make the discuss less about the issue and more about political party affiliations. Such divisive behavior does nothing to resolve difference and help find the common ground need to make progress on an issue.
Second, as to DEI, there is no peer reviewed study that has concluded these programs do not work. Yes, bad implementation will yield bad results, but this is true of any program (like the history of the Deming model and statistical quality control I previous mentioned). Yes, there is a learning curve with any new program to find the best standards of practice which will result in consistent positive results. But none of this means DEI programs are bad and you have not provide any documentation or data to prove otherwise.
The fact that you equate Affirmative Action with “race-hustling” (a white supremacist term) speaks volumes about your position on any program that tries to fix the inequities that exist in society today be they primary, secondary or tertiary systematic prejudices in nature.
Finally, the existence of systematic or institutional biases in society today are undeniable. There are hundreds of peer reviewed studies that clearly document the existence of this inequalities. Anyone that insists they do not exist is clearly living life with their head in the sand.
It’s a study that does nothing more than search for a problem that justifies it’s existence. The answer creating the question. What are the chances that “social science” that is getting to paid to find out if paying for their services is a good idea will do anything than shout the blue-chip praises of self-validation? None. This is an indescribably bad idea, a waste of tax money that will do nothing but create the very problem it looks for- now we will have a class of Napervillian who embraces “the systemic racism” that we have all been painted as, so that we have something to fix. And to enrich the agenda-preaching haters behind this.
Again, independent program reviews are the norm not the exception. They are used regularly by corporations, charities, government bodies, etc to evaluate a programs and determine what if any changes need to be made to improve the program.
Trying to marginalize the practice of hiring experts as consultants to review programs by referring to them as “a study that does nothing more than search for a problem that justifies it’s existence” fails to explain the many successful programs used by organization today that were developed by such consultant reviews ( the statistical quality control programs of every business today is the direct result of Deming’s work as just such an expert providing these very type of consultant reviews).
Again only a person with blinders on can ignore the hundreds of peer reviewed studies done over the last half century that clearly document the existence of social inequalities (“systematic racism”). In fact referring to any resident of our city that supports addressing these issues as “a class of Napervillian” is not only and example of how systematic inequalities are created but how an agenda preaching hatred is also created.
DEI is here to stay. Not going anywhere.
Watering the Tree of Liberty with the tears of DEI Justice Warrior Super-Friends is also here to stay. Polio and leprosy are equally stubborn unwelcome guests. And are best handled the same way- vaccinate!
First there is not vaccine for leprosy. Yes people given a single dose of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin has been found to reduce the chance of contracting Leprosy by 50% but it is not a vaccine against leprosy, it is a vaccine develop to prevent infection by tuberculosis.
Second nothing you posted has provided any grounds for a rational discussion of the issue.
Finally, your posts are all about name calling and marginalizing others, typical behavior for people that can not rationally defend their beliefs.
Spot on Jim. The anonymous poster is hiding behind that fake name so they can attack others. I find it interesting how it the typical folks who are against DEI and can’t defend their stance.