Oregon places senior official on leave for hiring based on merit
Oregon’s Department of Forestry has placed its deputy chief on administrative leave following a complaint that he was hiring the most qualified candidates for positions, Oregon Live reported last week.
The complaint was brought by Megan Donecker, the department’s former DEI officer. Donecker accused Deputy State Forester Mike Shaw of looking “beyond gender and identity in hiring, seeking only candidates most qualified for the job.”
She also complained that Shaw, who felt meetings were growing too large and inefficient, disinvited her and two other employees from regular conferences. Shaw instead allowed Donecker to attend as a “guest speaker,” which she said showed a lack of respect for DEI and sent a signal that diversity and inclusion are “optional” practices.
“I cannot emphasize enough how far back this is going to set myself and the work that I am trying to do,” she wrote in her complaint.
Shaw reportedly tried to signal his support for diversity by telling Donecker that his wife works at the department and he is a “huge fan of women in the workforce.” This was not enough to save Shaw’s career, however, and he was placed on administrative leave in August.
Donecker had also told superiors that six employees who “identify as queer” reported not feeling “safe or comfortable being out at work,” though it is unclear if she blamed this on Shaw. The employees supposedly felt threatened by the fact that they did not feel comfortable talking about their “pronouns” at work.
“It is bad for women at Forestry,” Donecker said in an interview. “It is even worse if you are queer.”
Oregon governor vows to ‘advance DEI’
Four out of six members of the Department of Forestry’s DEI Council are women. According to a DEI Action Plan authored by Donecker, women comprise 30% of the Department of Forestry’s workforce and account for over 35% of its total promotions.
Donecker now describes herself as a “DEI consultant” who serves as “an accomplice to marginalized communities.”
State Forester Cal Mukumoto has said he is “in lockstep” with Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, who has vowed to “advance DEI.”
“[A]s communities continue to look to us for leadership, we have an opportunity to recommit ourselves to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion values and follow the Governor’s lead by placing racial equity first and seeking to understand with a racial justice lens for the advancement of all Oregonians,” Mukumoto said.
