The Olympia, Washington, Olympian has a revealingly confused, or contradictory, editorial on the necessity of affirmative action in hiring by state government agencies. Quoting a recently released report on diversity with state agencies, the editorial laments the “miserable percentages” of minorities in some agencies that have fallen “woefully short” and applauds the “top performers” in hiring minorities and concludes portentously that the “minority hiring gap between the top- performing agencies and those at the bottom simply must be closed.”
One might think that the overwhelming passage of I-200, which bars the state from considering race in hiring and college admissions, would pose something of an obstacle on the road to ensuring that every college and every agency must be “a reflection of society.” But apparently it is not.
Rob Fukai, director of the Department of General Administration, correctly notes that Initiative 200 has not quelled affirmative action momentum in state government hiring.
I-200 is the voter-approved measure that prohibited discrimination or the granting of preferential treatment based on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin.
“The overall diversity in state government has not declined,” Fukai said.
Query: Does this mean that the state and its agencies are blatantly ignoring the law, or that hiring without regard to race does not mean that the sky will fall on diversity?
