At work, white people are being told to check their privilege at the door. But a court ruling on Friday indicates there’s still hope for fair treatment in the corporate world, even if you’re not a racial minority.
On April 1, a California court struck down a state law mandating that corporate boards seats be reserved for people of minority groups. The court said quotas violated the state’s constitutional guarantee that everyone is treated equally under the law.
Equal protection isn’t just for minority races. It’s everyone’s right.
Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American on the U.S. Supreme Court, wrote in 1976 in McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. that discriminating against white employees in favor of nonwhite employees is just as wrong and contrary to the Constitution as the reverse. That’s still the law today.
In 2020, California passed a law requiring public companies headquartered in the state to have at least one board member who is a racial minority or LGBTQ+ by the end of 2021, and increase that to two or more “diverse” board members by the end of 2022.
The law was challenged by Judicial Watch, a nonprofit constitutional advocacy group. Judicial Watch is also challenging another California law enacted in 2018 mandating that all public companies reserve nearly half their seats for women. That trial is going on now.
Both lawsuits have attracted national attention because several other states are considering quotas. New York enacted a law in 2020 to study gender diversity on corporate boards, a first step.
In August 2021, the Security and Exchange Commission approved a rule that Nasdaq-listed companies must have at least one female board member and another who identifies as an “underrepresented minority” or LGBTQ+ or explain in writing why they have failed to meet that goal. Judicial Watch and other advocacy groups are challenging the Nasdaq rule in federal court.
The diversity warriors appear willing to trample constitutional rights and ignore the impact on nonminority people — especially white men. As if a worthy goal justifies any means.
When California lawmakers debated the minority quota bill in 2020, they were warned about its unconstitutionality but rammed it through anyway. Legal rights of white people be damned.
Gov. Gavin Newsom defended the minority quota bill, saying, “When we talk about racial justice, we talk about empowerment, we talk about power, and we need to talk about seats at the table.” That’s a rationale for ensuring city councils, state legislatures and other bodies reflect the population.
But a corporate board’s primary job isn’t to divvy up the spoils. It’s to run a company on behalf of shareholders — ensuring cash is managed, the balance sheet remains strong and products are marketed effectively. True, a company has some responsibility to the community, but not as a representative body.
Corporate boards need diversity of skills and experience. The average board chooses one new member a year, at most. Quotas will force them to prioritize race, gender and sexual preference ahead of merit.
The California ruling is important beyond corporate board selection. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, major corporations pledged specific increases in the hiring and promotion of Black executives. Deliberately discriminating against white people to meet those targets violates federal civil rights law and the Constitution. It’s odious and divisive.
Diversity quotas are even roiling professional sports. On March 28, the National Football League announced that teams must hire an offensive assistant coach who’s female or a racial minority. No white guys need apply. What hypocrisy is that? The players are 70% Black, but off the field, merit gives way to diversity.
In the locker room and the boardroom, quotas are a mistake. The boardroom door is swinging open without them. An impressive 72% of all new corporate directors at S&P 500 companies in 2021 were from underrepresented groups. Now, 11% of directors are Black, and 30% are women.
We can achieve inclusion without discriminatory quotas like the one slapped down in California.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and author of “The Next Pandemic,” available at Amazon.com. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
White privilege or any color privilege is just a mind manipulating word by the failures of society to force those who excel into the same self-chosen failed states of the Liberal losers who have no ability to self-govern their own lives, so they don’t ever look bad by comparison. REAL Americans don’t get up each morning with the first thing that comes to mind is “Hey, I think I will just live a mediocre existence today so I don’t embarrass my failed fellow Americans.” When the day arrives when excelling and EARNING a life of self-governing privilege is a bad thing, then then conquest of the socially insane is complete within, soon to be followed by the foreign conquest of our lands and wealth from without, sinking traditional American dreams of excellence down to the lowest human uncommon denominator. Thanks to Biden and the Democrats election theft, we have now all seen the mendacity needed to maintain their proffered social mediocrity at the government level. If allowed to infest and infect the best of the best in our American corporate boards of directors, and Military planners the evil empires of Russian and China who have an appetite to compete with the best of their best will just walk in and take over as the Bernie/Pocahontas socialist conquered American fools cheer them on. Quota’s are for the weak, like quotes are for the weak minded unable to create their own original thoughts.
FOR years i have said, ANY FORM OF quota was illegal, and should also be unconstitutional.. FINALLY A JUDGE in the most libtard ridden state is agreeing with me!
Wait until the Supreme Court gets to rule on this, now that they have a new affirmative action associate on the court
WHICH is why i am FEARFUL of what the left will be able to PUSH ON us now, that they have this UTTER AND TOTAL ACTIVIST thing, on the Scotus..
“California law enacted in 2018 mandating that all public companies reserve nearly half their seats for women.”
Give this some thought:
The Woke Democrat party wants to remove gender from the U.S. in all areas of life.
Then there is no such thing as “sexist”, sexual abuse, sexual discrimination or sexual mandates.
This would be abiding by the Woke Democrat’s own rules!
They want BOTH to be true. WOMEN Don’t exist BUT sex discrimination still does..
The radical left is preying on an artificial fear which they themselves have created to further their own agenda. Using a twisted idea of equity which means FREE FROM bias or favoritism as applied to justice to actually influence the outcome. To say that certain minorities deserve to be in positions by their minority status diminishes the time and effort members of that minority worked hard to achieve the same level being given for no effort. What was unfair in the first place is not rmedied by being unfair in reverse because no one actually wins!
Perversity—the great con.
Perversity,,,,The great bait that they use to lure you in, then try to turn us all in Hunter Biden’s, to serve them like Joe used Hunter to Serve him. The Democrat party has become the Perversity University where the Price of the tuition is total surrender of your innocence to join the ranks of they the guilty and mothers of all American crimes in the new order equity of evil.
It’s obvious this group is not “woke”. If you have a quota in preference for one group, then other group suffers. The racist “nomination” of Jackson is a prime example. Plus she has ZERO integrity and NO morals. She’s a senior gubment “worker”. SWAMP SCUM.