Individuals should be treated as individuals and not on the basis of their membership in racial groups, especially by our government. Unfortunately, a new executive order encourages federal agencies to focus on racial group identity rather than the character and qualifications of employees and contractors. It will result in racial quotas in hiring, procuring, and even using artificial intelligence throughout the government.
The executive order\u2019s stated goal is advancing racial equity throughout the federal government. The word \u201cequity\u201d appears 21 times. The order brims with talk about \u201cnew action plans to advance equity,\u201d \u201cextending and strengthening equity-advancing requirements for agencies,\u201d and requires agencies to convene \u201cEquity Teams\u201d charged with ensuring that their agencies are \u201cdelivering equitable outcomes.\u201d
While equity sounds similar to \u201cequality,\u201d the two concepts are quite different. A Biden campaign video narrated by Vice President Kamala Harris\u2002nicely sums up the difference, indicating that the administration uses \u201cequality\u201d to mean that each individual is given the same opportunities. \u201cEquity,\u201d on the other hand, seeks to achieve equal outcomes.
Equity\u2019s demand for equal outcomes means that groups must be represented proportionately to their share of the population. However, no occupation has demographics that perfectly mirror the demographics of the general population. Cambodians are over-represented in the doughnut industry because of a single brave entrepreneur\u2019s successes. Manicurists are disproportionately Vietnamese American due to actress Tippi Hedren\u2019s volunteer work in a refugee camp in the 1970s. As Justice Sandra Day O\u2019Connor famously quipped, \u201cIt is completely unrealistic to assume that unlawful discrimination is the sole cause of people failing to gravitate to jobs and employers in accord with the laws of chance.\u201d
How can proportional representation be achieved in federal employment or contracting? Agencies often will be forced to discriminate against prospective employees or contractors from overrepresented groups to ensure that the numbers come out the right way. Instead of remedying unfair discrimination based on race, color or national origin, a demand for \u201cequity\u201d will actually encourage discrimination.
\u5e7f\u544a
Marty Hierholzer\u2019s story here is illustrative. Hierholzer is a disabled veteran and former naval deep sea diver who sought assistance through the Small Business Administration\u2019s disadvantaged business program. However, Hierholzer was rejected from participating in the program because of his race.
The executive order also requires agencies to use \u201cartificial intelligence and automated systems \u2026 in a manner that advances equity.\u201d Computers cannot have the same kind of racial biases that humans do. Although the federal government can take appropriate measures to ensure that artificial intelligence is not used for intentional discrimination, it would be wrong to require that artificial intelligence be used in a manner that yields proportional demographic results. As with employment and contracting, this obsession with proportionality will lead to discrimination in violation of civil rights laws.
While the executive order avoids requiring racial quotas directly, using indirect methods to engineer particular racial outcomes is also illegal. Racist government officials in the Jim Crow South infamously used grandfather clauses and literacy tests as facially race-neutral methods of achieving racial goals. The courts did not accept these subterfuges, and nor should courts now. Rather than combating racial discrimination, this executive order will require it.
Congress should use its investigative powers to expose discrimination brought about by these equity action plans. Individuals and businesses that face discrimination should challenge unlawful acts motivated by this executive order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n