A controversy overdiversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)has surfaced within theOregon Department of Forestry, after an official was placed on administrative leave for his hiring choices.
Megan Donecker, the former DEI strategy officer within the department, had filed a formal complaint against her boss Mike Shaw.
She accused him of looking beyond gender and identity while hiring and choosing candidates that were most qualified for the job.
HighlightsMike Shaw was placed on administrative leave for allegedly favoring qualifications over gender identity while hiring.Megan Donecker, a DEI expert, filed a formal complaint about him while working with the Oregon Department of Forestry.“It is bad for women at Forestry,” she said. “It is even worse if you are queer.”She said six queer employees did not feel safe or comfortable being out at their workplace.
“It is bad for women at Forestry,” Megan toldOregon Live. “It is even worseif you are queer.”
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Megan Donecker claimed her boss Mike Shaw favored qualifications over gender and identity during the hiring process
Image credits:Megan Donecker
Mike was placed on administrative leave on August 6 after the DEI expert filed the formal complaint. Until then, he was the department’s second-in-command under State Forester Cal Mukumoto.
Megan, who has since left the department, argued that herbossesundermined her diversity and inclusion efforts while she was there. She also said Mike wanted to take a slow approach to implementing their DEI initiatives.
“We don’t go 60 (mph) out of the gate or we’re gonnacrash the car,” she quoted Mike telling her during a meeting in March.
She also compared the department’s overall culture to a “boy’s club” and said six of thequeer employeesdidn’t feel “safe or comfortable being out,” let alone talking about their partners at work.
Mike used to be the second-in-command at the department until he was placed on administrative leave on August 6
Image credits:Oregon Forest Resources Institute
“I cannot emphasize enough how far back this is going to set myself and the work that I am trying to do,” she said in her complaint.
Cal said one of the female employees “puts in a really good lunch order and then kind of chuckled, and everyone kind of chuckled,” Megan recalled.
“No one batted an eye,” she added.
Megan quit her job in March after the fallout with herbossesand now works as an equity trainer and education coordinator at the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care. She is also a mother to heradoptednine-year-old child, whom she is raising with her wife Jai.
The internet had mixed reactions to the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) controversy
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