In yet another alarming example of left-wing overreach, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) advocate successfully had her boss suspended for prioritizing merit over identity politics in hiring decisions.
Megan Donecker, former DEI strategy officer for the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), lodged a complaint against Mike Shaw, the department’s second-in-command, accusing him of choosing the most qualified candidates over applicants from marginalized backgrounds, OregonLive reported.
Shaw has since been placed on administrative leave.
According to Fox News, Donecker took issue with Shaw’s commitment to hiring the most qualified candidates for the job, regardless of their gender or identity.
In a world where qualifications should reign supreme, Donecker’s grievance is yet another illustration of the creeping influence of identity politics in our institutions—a trend that is eroding the very foundations of meritocracy. It’s alarming to see a state agency become a battleground for the fight against common sense and professionalism.
Donecker’s complaint stemmed from her assertion that several queer employees felt unsafe at work due to an inability to have “conversations around pronouns,” which she attributed to Shaw’s hiring approach.
She claimed that Shaw’s insistence on looking “beyond gender and identity” created an environment where marginalized voices were silenced.
In her view, hiring should be conducted through an “intersectional lens,” giving preferential treatment to applicants from marginalized backgrounds rather than assessing candidates based solely on their professional qualifications.
Donecker’s complaint implied that Forestry’s focus on qualifications and structured hiring practices allowed a “Good Old Boys Club” mentality to flourish, undermining the agency’s potential to advance DEI principles.
Shaw, who earns a substantial annual salary of $192,000, has been on paid administrative leave since August 6, though the reason for the leave has not been disclosed.
According to Willammette Week:
On Aug. 6, Shaw’s boss, Cal Mukumoto, the state forester, sent DAS director Berri Leslie an email with the subject line “ODF sensitive issue.”
That same day, Mukumoto sent Shaw a letter telling him he was “duty stationed at home on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation regarding alleged misconduct.” While he is on leave, Shaw is cut off from state facilities and equipment.
The alleged misconduct is not specified in Mukumoto’s letter, but DAS included other emails that show a series of emails from a former female Department of Forestry diversity, equity and inclusion official expressing frustration that Shaw had excluded her from what the agency calls “leadership team” meetings.
The official, whose name DAS blacked out, sent one of Shaw’s emails to her to others in the agency. In the email, Shaw told the employee the leadership team was “re-focusing on fiscal responsibility, prioritization of core business, and importantly acknowledging the integrity of a leadership meeting intended for managers.”
The woman pushed back in a Feb. 21 email. “Is DEI not part of the core business of ODF?” she wrote to Shaw and other top ODF officials. “Is the goal not to build it into the basics? My job, as I understand it, is to help operationalize DEI into ODF. I cannot do that if I am not actively in the room where conversations are happening, decisions are being made, and connections are occurring.”
State Forester Cal Mukumoto, Shaw’s superior, issued a statement that prioritized political platitudes over meritocracy, stating, “Providing a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace is a shared core value and priority of both the department and the Board of Forestry.”
While Mukumoto reassured the public that complaints would be handled according to “HR best practices,” it’s clear that ideological concerns have overshadowed the department’s primary mission.
Donecker left the department earlier this year and has since found a new role as an “equity trainer” at the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care. From there, she continues to push her agenda, leaving ODF to handle the fallout of a hiring philosophy that demands qualifications take a backseat to identity.
