The Bad Math Of The Diversity Cheerleaders, WNBA Version
There was a report released -- a report card, rather -- about diversity in the WNBA. The releasing organization was "Tides" which has as its subtitle, "Making waves of change" (which makes me feel a wave of nausea). It's from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida.
The report pretty much mirrors affirmative action: Never mind how well you do; we'll judge you by the color of your skin.
You can read the report here, but below is the executive summary by University of Michigan economist Mark J. Perry, who was kind enough to put it in 140 characters on Twitter:
@Mark_J_Perry
Whites are under-represented 3X, Blacks are over-represented 5X, and Asians are 0%, but WNBA gets A+ for Diversity?
If they care about "diversity," shouldn't they be benching the black ladies for white ladies and Asian ladies who don't play as well but make for one of those nice multi-culti coloring book pictures?
What about the Hispanics? Or the Indians? Either sub-content or native? the Jews? What about the Arabs?
The Former Banker at February 1, 2015 10:13 PM
Jewish women playing basketball. Yes, it's something we're really good at, right after being firemen and oil rig workers.
Amy Alkon at February 1, 2015 10:16 PM
The headline made me think of multi-ethnic babes in miniskirts.
Yes. As someone who was a teacher, I can tell you that many or even most kids think "diversity" and "minority" mean "of color".
I remember once I worked in an inner city school and this white Jewish woman came in and gave a talk, "I used to be poor, like you, I was a minority in my neighborhood," (an obnoxious talk but not the point, well meaning but badly worded). Afterwards one confused girl said, "She used to be black?"
NicoleK at February 2, 2015 1:21 AM
I can tell you that many or even most kids think "diversity" and "minority" mean "of color".
It's not only kids who think that.
dee nile at February 2, 2015 4:54 AM
Anyone with a brain knows that.
MarkD at February 2, 2015 5:44 AM
One funny thing is you get a lot of people rejoicing that America is becoming more diverse, which, globally, means the world is becoming LESS diverse.
NicoleK at February 2, 2015 6:23 AM
What about the Arabs?
I think the burqa might get in the way of the sporting activity.
I R A Darth Aggie at February 2, 2015 6:33 AM
*Diversity!* can be a primary focus when there's no business model, bottom line, or fan base to worry about... which makes the WNBD -- fabrication and ward of the the crony-capitalist NBA -- seem alot like a government bureaucracy.
Lastango at February 2, 2015 12:50 PM
You could work in the oil field Amy. You don't need to be physically strong to work in the dog house as a drilling engineer. But the ADD stuff would probably keep you out. No one wants someone with attention issues controlling tons of equipment on top of a bomb.
Ben at February 2, 2015 2:19 PM
One coworker of mine, many years ago, claimed that she was "ethnic" because she was black. So, did that mean the rest of us were not "ethnic"?
charles at February 2, 2015 5:07 PM
Considering that the WNBA itself is a diversity exercise... its purpose is to let the NBA crow about its "inclusiveness" and keep the government and the SJWs off of its back. The amount that the NBA spends on subsidizing it (the WNBA's attendance is sparse and its TV ratings are nonexistent) is probably worth it to them from a political and legal standpoint.
Cousin Dave at February 3, 2015 8:00 AM
Leave a comment