Prioritising minority status over merit mostly ends badly for companies

Perhaps former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was a prototype of woke, gender-fluidity awareness with his “economic girly men” reference? If so, he would be thrilled with Californian law mandating identity diversity quotas for directors of California-based companies from “under-represented community” members, with an emphasis on gender, race and sexual preference.

To aim for equity and fairness is laudable, but when skewed by flaky ideology the results can be ludicrous, as illustrated by Janet Albrechtsen in “California dreamin’? More an identity-quota terror” (7/10). And, although such quotas may provide an “equity roadmap” based on sound principles of woke dogma, they do not guarantee the primary function of institutions: that they perform with competence and results, the purpose for which they are constituted.

An insistence on such quotas can be dangerous, as Victoria’s hotel quarantine disaster arguably shows. The employment of people who met diversity and marginalisation criteria, in positions essential to health and safety, but who were otherwise unqualified, is demonstrably a significant factor in the hotel quarantine shambles.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern East, Vic

Janet Albrechtsen’s dystopian article reminded me of a pertinent episode of the ABC comedy Utopia in which the socially conscious and PC fictitious government agency wants to hold a Greek-themed luncheon at its office, which is soon derailed by disagreement about the racial origins of hummus dip. In the end, about five competing cultural claims are duly acknowledged and thus the original event loses all meaning in the name of inclusion of minorities.

Within the corporate world, the encroaching insidious business practice of mandated diversity quotas is essentially a sexy form of reverse discrimination; the enduring target who shall not be named, of course, being heterosexual white males.

Peter Waterhouse, Craigieburn, Vic

Oh, Victoria

There is no mystery about who chose private security to guard returning travellers in quarantine hotels in Victoria. On March 27, the national cabinet announced the hotel quarantine program. At 3pm that day Daniel Andrews held a press conference stating “police, private security and all of our health team” would be better able to monitor compliance in a much easier way in hotels. Bureaucrats were merely following Andrews’ public statement at the outset, which was to use private security. The buck stops with Andrews and the failure of private security is the reason Victoria has been in strict lockdown with many lives and jobs lost and burgeoning mental health problems.

Jan Kendall, Mt Martha, Vic

With Jim’s Mowing Service leading the charge, many Victorians whose livelihoods have been destroyed are now suing the Victorian government for its draconian lockdown restrictions.

Class action lawsuits have always been around but with the rise of the left-wing victim mentality, with everyone encouraged to have a grievance, they are likely to take a firm hold. How ironic it is that Dan Andrews and his government, the bastion of PC wokeness, is having the tables turned.

John Bell, Heidelberg Heights, Vic

Adam Creighton (“Sweden defied zealots and never met its Waterloo”, 6/10) has much praise for Sweden’s approach to lockdown. He should have looked at Finland instead.

No shutdown of industry or retail. Few personal restrictions. GDP fall second quarter 4.9 per cent (Sweden 8.3 per cent). Deaths (October 6) 345, Sweden 5895.

Finland, with a similar population to Victoria, should be the role model, not Sweden

John Copland, Frankston, Tas