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Am I being sexist/racist/patronising in instituting a 'positive discrimination' policy for my student society (self.SRSDiscussion)

mcwdthrowawayによる前の投稿

I've recently been elected lecture secretary for my uni's architecture student society. The profession has a serious problem in under representation of BME architects and in discriminating against female architects - it's essentially a middle class white dudes (mcwd) game.

Every week of the semester the society invites a working architect/designer. Last year we only had two women guest lecturers and no BME representatives, put off a total of 18 lectures. In previous years I don't remember a single lecture that wasn't a mcwd.

So, I'm now in a position where I can begin to address the representation of women and BME architects to the next generation of designers. From reading 'unpacking the invisible backpack' im aware of the privilege of going to a lecture and seeing someone who looks and speaks like me, a mcwd. I feel that now I have an awareness of privilege and inequality I have a responsibility to work against it.

My question is, then, if I was to book lectures with a preference for getting BME and women speakers for next semester as a) a way to increase visibility of under represented groups and b) highlight privilege and inequality, is it a positive thing or is the 'benevolence' of another mcwd problematic?

Tl:dr as an ally can I use my influence to counteract sexism and racism as I see it, or is 'positive discrimination' still a way of executing privilege.

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[–]BlueberryStout [score hidden] 前

Yes, and that is precisely what you ought to do. By giving underprivileged/underrepresented groups a platform to assert their voice into the world, you are counteracting the institutional forces of racism and sexism.

Positive discrimination is about as stupid a term as reverse racism, however. That is, it doesn't exist.

[–]TheEvilSloth [score hidden] 前

100% this. You're absolutely doing the right thing seeking out people who aren't white men, and thinking of it as 'discrimination' positive or negative is nonsense. It's seeking out talented people whom aren't getting represented for no reason other than prejudice. Redressing that balance is a great idea.

[–]pernodricard [score hidden] 前

Sounds OK to me, provided the primary reason you're booking them is because they will have interesting talks, not because they're female or black. Making a special effort to look for potential speakers who are either or both is not an issue at all. Maybe having an event/day where you deal with those issues specifically could be a good idea, provided you take a step back and let members of the group in question take the lead in it. One of the big problems with minority groups in business is it is significantly more difficult to network compared for members of the dominant group, and if you can provide a forum where female or black architects can meet one another and swap contact information then that's a positive thing. Just don't call it a "networking event" though.