The war of ideas surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has now reached the aviation industry.
Why is this important: The FAA recently announced plans to hire people with ‘severe intellectual’ and ‘physical’ problems to boost DEI in aviation. There has been a major push for DEI in other sectors of the wider economy, but recently there have been major efforts to ramp up DEI policies within aviation. This has sparked a growing debate over the validity of such a policy.
Keep reading for the latest on what the proponents of DEI in aviation believe the benefits are, and what the opponents have to say about it.
Get Involved: Do you believe that Diversity Equity and Inclusion policies should be adopted throughout the entire aviation industry? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Elon Musk expresses concern over FAA’s focus on DEI
Billionaire Elon Musk has directed his attention to the Federal Aviation Administration’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, stating Monday morning that he “could not believe this is happening.”
Musk, who has spoken out against the DEI movement recently, shared a story on social media that revealed the FAA is seeking to hire people with “severe intellectual” disabilities. Among these disabilities defined by the FAA include those involving hearing, sight, partial or complete paralysis, and epilepsy. “Just had a conversation with some smart people could not believe this is happening,” Musk wrote on X, his social media platform once known as Twitter.
By Asher Notheis | Washington Examiner
Conservatives angry at Airline CEO focusing on DEI policies implying “too many” White men in industry
Recently, a United Airlines CEO states that they are focused on diversity,equity and inclusion. However, conservatives view this as something negative, citing that DEI tends to focus on someone’s racial background rather than their qualifications. However, liberals on the other hand believe that those chosen are just as qualified. The Daily Wire calls it the “DEI rot” in the airline industry. A United Airlines Boeing 777 narrowly avoided disaster after a miscommunication between pilots led to a dangerous situation during takeoff. The incident, kept quiet for over two months, was finally disclosed in February.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed the captain’s call for flaps retraction at 5 degrees was misunderstood by the first officer, who set it at 15 degrees. This error, compounded by the first officer’s lack of experience in the Boeing 777, led to a near catastrophe.
By Asir F | The Independent News
Williams: DEI does not crash planes. Stop using diversity as a scapegoat
Depending on where you are on the political spectrum these days, you are celebrating or lamenting our newly diverse Virginia state legislature.
Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, on Wednesday was sworn in as the first African American speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates — 405 years after both the founding of the longest continuous democratically elected body in the Western Hemisphere and the arrival in Virginia of the first enslaved Black people in what would become the United States. “I see the ghosts of those people who worked here, those Black folks who were enslaved here, whose dignity and humanity was discounted right here in this room,” Scott said. “I see those people, and I know we — not just I — we carry their hopes and dreams and their posterity. I carry it in my heart. I think about all of the people who never got their rights heard by people sitting in this chamber. Thank God the commonwealth has turned the page.”
By Michael Paul Williams | Richmond Times-Dispatch
FAA’s diversity push includes focus on hiring people with ‘severe intellectual’ and ‘psychiatric’ disabilities
The Federal Aviation Administration is actively recruiting workers who suffer “severe intellectual” disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.
“Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring,” the FAA’s website states. “They include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism.” The initiative is part of the FAA’s “Diversity and Inclusion” hiring plan, which claims “diversity is integral to achieving FAA’s mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel across our nation and beyond.”
By Emma Colton | Fox News
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