Diversity, Equity and Inclusion The expert has sent his former boss on administrative leave for allegedly prioritizing qualifications over personal identity when hiring new employees, according to a report.
Megan Donaker, who formerly served as DEI strategy officer for the Oregon Forestry Department, complained about the agency’s management, criticizing her boss Mike Shaw for not looking “beyond gender and identity in hiring, only We look for the most qualified candidates for the job.” OregonLive Informed.
Shaw served as the agency’s second-in-command under State Forester Cal Mukumoto until he was placed on administrative leave on August 6 after Donaker filed a formal complaint against him. Daily Mail has reported,
Donaker reportedly first took issue with Shaw when he advocated a cautious approach to DEI, comparing rapid turnaround times to a “snowy road”.
She claimed that Shaw used this metaphor to warn, “Let’s not go 60 (mph) out of the gate, or we’ll crash the car.”
She also reportedly claimed that six gay employees “didn’t feel safe or comfortable” at work because they couldn’t “negotiate around pronouns” and that the department was “not comfortable with boys,” the Daily Mail reports, citing a formal complaint. “Club”. Obtained by OregonLive.
While the Oregon Forestry Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiries, they have responded to recent criticism of their agency, stressing that leadership “takes employee complaints and concerns seriously and, when our When brought to our attention, we ensure they are handled” in accordance with state laws, regulations, policies and human resources best practices. “This includes protecting employees from retaliation.”
State Forester Mukumoto said that “providing a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace is a shared core value and priority of both the Department and the Forestry Board.”
According to the Daily Mail, the pink-haired, tattooed Salem resident has left the department and now works as a DEI consultant. She reportedly describes herself as an “ally of marginalized communities,” the outlet reported.
OregonLive summarized that leadership in the department has a significant impact on the state.
Local journalist Noel Crombie wrote, “The Forestry Department is charged with protecting approximately 16 million acres of public and private forestlands and serves as Oregon’s largest fire department.” “It is overseen by Mukumoto, who answers to the Oregon Board of Forestry, a seven-member citizen board appointed by the governor. Mukumoto, appointed in 2021, manages an agency of approximately 1,400 employees and a biennial budget of approximately $577 million. His salary is $237,288.”
Oregon broadly implemented the DEI initiative in 2020 after political unrest in response to the killing of George Floyd sparked racial justice protests across the country — and more than 100 consecutive nights of rioting in nearby Portland.
But residents have slowly started to retreat. Clackamas County in Oregon announced in January that it would eliminate its approximately $830,000-a-year Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, calling it an “unnecessary expense” that “only fuels friction.”
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