OPINION

One thing I like doing is visiting business websites, particularly those that claim to be inclusive, rainbow-ticked, etc. For example, one particular company that boasts about being inclusive is, according to its website, “Australasia’s largest homegrown tech company”.

The first thing I see is a photo of a bunch of people, presumably employees. What I do notice is all of them are female and brown, except for one white dude and one Asian woman. And they all appear to be Maori (except for the two I’ve mentioned).

Then, after clicking through some photos telling us about how great and responsible they are, I see a photo focused on a Maori woman. Although to be fair, in the background, but not in focus, is a white guy.

Now, I don’t know if the photos are meant to represent this particular company. After all, this particular company claims to have over 7000 employees. But in my opinion it’s a pretty safe bet.

Of course photos are just one thing. Scrolling down to the bottom of the home page under “Work with Us” is a “Rainbow Tick”, which apparently “is a certification mark awarded to companies and businesses who demonstrate diversity and inclusion”. Hmm.

By the way, clicking on the “Rainbow Tick” takes you to a page where it says, “we choose the best person for the job based on their skill and talent rather than their gender or sexuality”. Yeah, sure.

So, you may ask, where are all the white men? I found about two or three and that’s it.

Also where are all the yamakas? Surely they have some Jewish staff that they want to show on their website to show how inclusive they are, right? (Although to be fair I don’t see any hijabs either, although if you look at other websites of businesses that claim inclusivity hijabs are relatively easy to find.) I have yet to see a yarmulke in any website of any business claiming to be inclusive.

As I’ve written previously, those on the autism spectrum have by far the highest rate of unemployment. And I mean by far. So with that in mind I tried searching for words like ‘we support and encourage those who are neurodiverse, offering them opportunities …’ Did I find anything like that. Surprisingly I did! Haha, just kidding.

Of course I’m only being half-serious, well kind of…My point is if you’re going to claim to be inclusive, then be inclusive and don’t just include those on the woke totem pole. Otherwise you’re just another virtue-signalling woke business.

Libertarian and pragmatic anarchist. Has voted National and ACT. May have voted Labour once but too long ago to remember. Favourite saying: “There but for the grace of God go I.”