Many defense contractors have rushed into this because of federal contracts giving preference to companies who do it. They do it in the hope of getting the contracts, and it is easier and cheaper to socially engineer the workforce than build a better jet or cheaper missile.
So you don’t just watch a diversity and “respect” lesson once a year. You have to sit through quarterly sessions with a lecturer on “Unconscious Bias” say all men are sexist, all heterosexuals are -phobic, all whites are racist. You’re asked your beliefs, and you’re expected to agree with them at the end. Disagree with any statement, and you’re at a minimum criticized, often shamed, sometimes penalized for violations of the “respect” policy. I had an HR rep tell me that contradicting the official views of certain groups was disrespect, that there was no way to express disagreement respectfully.
And I understand the insanity of the LBGT mandates in these classes. My former employer paraded a constant stream of cases to normalize the insanity. A woman’s husband left her for a man, oh, she’s gotten over it. Say it is sad her marriage ended, disrespect, demerit. A guy stands up and gushes about how supportive the company and boss are as he came out to X and Y and Z. That was the whole lecture.
A woman publicly asks for advice on her husband wanting to cheat with men on the side and stay married for the sake of their four children under ten. I said I’d understand staying with a man committing adultery regardless of gender, if not, do you want a referral to a divorce attorney? Someone reported that to HR, they decided my statement was LBGT neutral, but adultery is a judgemental term, demerit.
The company celebrated transgenders and paid for their healthcare, earning a perfect score on the Out and Equal index the feds use for preference in contracts. And when a mentally ill man in a dress sexually harassed women in the bathroom, it was treated as a spat between two women. Only when one SOB was proven by another coworker to actively be interfering with my work did they punish him. Before that, it was all my fault because I disapproved of him being in the bathrooms and didn’t consider him a woman.
This was part of every department meeting, every quarterly meeting, several minutes of every team meeting. I asked the HR rep at what point this constant parade of celebration of adultery constituted sexual harassment to me, a married woman? I was told it COULD NOT BE, because I was part of the privileged (normal) group. I said I found this constantly brought up offensive, as well as the company tying raises and bonuses to ideological conforming. They said it was respect.
I said it was disrespectful of my views, and finally mentioned faith. “You could just be saying that to get out of the next seminar you have to take if you want to keep your job!” My manager was able to vouch, yes, I have paid more in private religious school tuition for my children than my mortgage, but no, I didn’t proselytize at work. Another demerit and lecture series, each more outrageous than the last. Each more openly biased against whites, men, heterosexuals, until they finally outright bashed Christians as part of the problem.
My manager wasn’t surprised when I quit, only surprised I took a pay cut to leave. But when they’d essentially cut my pay and were demanding extra weekend shifts (and I have children), a pay cut to work in a conservative environment with a flexible schedule was the price I literally paid to work with sane people.
I could have gone to work for any other defense contractor, as a woman with top secret clearance, but ALL of the federal contractors are pushed that way by political pressure and pulled by lure of the money. And employees are pushed to parrot it to keep their jobs and lured with the promise of raises and promotions tied to ideological lockstep.
“...a pay cut to work in a conservative environment with a flexible schedule was the price I literally paid to work with sane people.”
That was one excellent rant! So glad you escaped. I retired from the Army before all of the nonsense of today. I absolutely HATE that We The People have to put aside our moral (let alone religious!) beliefs to cater to these mentally ill nut jobs...who are treated as if they’re NORMAL.
And in the end, WHAT is all of this accomplishing? Not a damn thing. I can tell an employer anything I want, just to keep the peace and my job. All of this mandated CRAP from Mother Government is NOT changing hearts and minds.
In fact, I’d bet it’s doing the exact opposite - but that’s Socialists for you! Constantly entangled in unanticipated consequences...but they FEEL good about themselves while literally STOMPING on the rights of others!
*Rolleyes*