Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, equality was based on merit. That standard was replaced by quotas, which are based on nothing but numbers and percentages. True equity, true inclusivity, is having two or more people equally qualified for something who are diverse in their manner of thought and reasoning.
True diversity cannot be based solely on skin color. Although the left would have you believe otherwise, it is entirely possible for people of different races to be alike in almost every way except the color of their skin. So true diversity should be based on other intangibles and can’t be determined by skin color alone.
I would argue that a company, college, or any entity could be made up of only one race and could be extremely diverse. The manner in which they approach aspects of what is necessary would determine that. Likewise, a company that is driven by quotas that require certain percentages of ethnic diversity may not be diverse at all in their manner of thinking or the way they approach what is required for the job. If the only diversity is skin color, nothing is accomplished, and nobody wins.
This idea is so elementary you would think that hiring processes for companies and college admissions would not only have adapted these for their betterment but would also have had ready explanations for the radicals who questioned them.
Some companies refuse to stay on task and hire based on merit, instead choosing to use discriminatory quotas for the sake of faux diversity.
James O’Keefe, formerly with Project Veritas and now with O’Keefe Media Group, released a video earlier this week of IBM CEO Arvind Krishna threatening to fire people or take away their bonuses if they don’t discriminate by hiring based on quotas.
On hiring Hispanics, Krishna had this to say: “You got to move both forward by a percentage that leads to a plus on your bonus, and by the way, if you lose, you lose part of your bonus.”
With respect to hiring Asians: “Asians are not an underrepresented minority in tech in America…I’m not going to finesse this, for blacks we should try to get towards 13 percent.”
BREAKING LEAKED VIDEO: CEO of IBM @ArvindKrishna admits to using coercion to fire people and take away their bonuses unless they discriminate in the hiring process.
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) December 12, 2023
“You got to move both forward by a percentage that leads to a plus on your bonus," Krishna said about hiring… pic.twitter.com/UUK26HX8IP
According to Krishna, he will fire employees or strip their bonuses if they hire too many Asians and not enough blacks and Hispanics. Also in the video, Paul Cormier, the chairman of Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM, says that Red Hat has terminated people because they weren’t willing to engage in racial discrimination through hiring and promotion.
Since the video was leaked, a federal civil rights complaint has been filed against IBM by Gene P. Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of the America First Legal Foundation:
December 12, 2023
Timothy Riera, Director (acting)
Jeffrey Burstein, Regional Attorney
New York District Office
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
33 Whitehall Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Investigation Request: International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”)
Dear Mr. Riera and Mr. Burstein:
America First Legal Foundation (“AFL”) is a national nonprofit organization working to protect the rule of law, due process, and equal protection for all Americans. We write pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1601.6(a) seeking issuance of a Commissioner’s charge for an inquiry into individual or systemic discrimination by International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”). IBM is a publicly traded corporation headquartered at 1 New Orchard Road, Armonk, NY 10504.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits IBM from discriminating against an employee or an applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; to limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in admission to or employment in any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training. However, the evidence is that IBM is knowingly, intentionally, and systematically engaging in such unlawful employment practices.
On December 11, 2023, a tape of IBM Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman Arvind Krishna was released on X. In the video, Krishna promises to fire, demote, or deny bonuses to corporate executives who either fail to meet the corporation’s racial and national origin hiring quotas or who hire too many Asian individuals. Also, Paul Cormier, the chairman of IBM subsidiary Red Hat, admits employees who failed to meet or comply with the corporation’s unlawful racial and national origin quotas were terminated.
A Commissioner’s charge is particularly appropriate here because there is ample reason to believe that IBM has knowingly and intentionally violated federal law and intends to continue doing so. Krishna, Cormier, and others in management have embedded immoral and unlawful employment practices into the corporation’s culture. For example, IBM’s 2022 ESG report acknowledges that ‘A modifier for diversity results is included in the annual incentive program for our executives globally and is based on improvement in executive representation for women globally and U.S. underrepresented minority (URM) groups (specifically Black and Hispanic) for our executives in the U.S.’
Discrimination based on immutable characteristics such as race, color, national origin, or sex ‘generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone.’ More broadly, IBM’s employment practices foment contention and resentment–they are ‘odious and destructive.’ It truly ‘is a sordid business, this divvying us up’ by race or sex.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
/s/ Gene P. Hamilton
Gene P. Hamilton
America First Legal Foundation
Of course, DEI hiring practices are being used by more companies than IBM. It’s another example of how when the left pushes diversity, equity, and inclusion, what manifests is bigotry, inequity, and exclusion.
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