It’s interesting how a life of having doors open to you because of your gender and race makes it impossible to see what it’s like for people who don’t.
I went with a female (pilot, 500 hours) friend looking for a job to an aviation trade show:
- “Sorry, we’re not hiring women, we’ve already filled our diversity quota”
- “Would you prefer a poster or a toy for your child? Apply for a job? No sweetie, you have to be a pilot to work here.”
- “Tell your husband he can apply online”
And that was in a 10 minute period.
If your world of “best candidate gets the job” existed, we’d all be fine. Spend 10 minutes in the shoes of someone of color or the other gender and you’ll know it’s as much of a fantasy as “diversity solves all problems”.
If you exhibit an airplane at a show, spend some time talking to the crowd of general public that comes by. Girls are told at a very young age they can’t be pilots, and without role models, they believe it.
THAT is the reason pushing for women and people of color to apply makes sense. They should be qualified, no doubt, but letting an underrepresented group in the door opens it for everyone else.