Top Oregon official placed on leave for allegedly prioritizing ‘qualified’ applicants over ‘gender identity’

A top Oregon State official was placed on administrative leave after a pink-haired, DEI-obsessed subordinate complained that he was making hiring decisions based on qualifications rather than considerations of personal identity, according to a report.

Mike Shaw, who until recently was second in command at the Oregon Department of Forestry, was criticized by Megan Donecker, the department’s former DEI strategy manager, for looking “beyond gender and identity during recruitment, seeking only the most qualified candidates for the position. work,” OregonLive reported.

He was officially placed on administrative leave on August 6 after Doecker filed a formal complaint, according to the Daily Mail.

Shaw first drew Donecker’s ire when he dared to suggest the agency — which has more than 1,400 employees and a biennial budget of more than $577 million — take a measured approach to DEI initiatives, likening diving headlong into it is like driving too fast on “an icy road”.

Doecker claimed Shaw added, “We’re not going 60 (mph) out of the gate or we’ll crash the car.”

She further alleged that six forestry staff who identified as gay did not feel “safe or comfortable” at work because they could not freely have “conversations around pronouns” – blaming the department of operating as a “boys club,” according to the official complaint viewed by OregonLive.

The department has recently faced similar criticism from current and former employees who claim it has failed to live up to its commitment to DEI.

Oregon State Forester Cal Mukumoto, who leads the department, said, “Providing a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace is a core value and priority shared by the department and the Forestry Board. »

Donecker, who has bright pink hair and numerous tattoos, has since left the department and landed a new job as a “DEI consultant,” according to the Daily Mail.

She now describes herself as “an accomplice of marginalized communities”.

Oregon has been at the forefront of implementing broad DEI initiatives following the 2020 killing of George Floyd and subsequent civil unrest, which saw Portland plunged into chaotic and often violent riots for more than of 100 days.

However, enthusiasm for such efforts appears to be waning.

Clackamas County announced in January that it had begun eliminating its $830,000-a-year DEI office, calling it an “unnecessary expense” that “does nothing but foment friction.”