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Home » News » News » Maine Seeks to Expand “Diversity-Equity-Inclusion” Hiring as DEI Comes Under Criticism Across U.S.
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Maine Seeks to Expand “Diversity-Equity-Inclusion” Hiring as DEI Comes Under Criticism Across U.S.

Seamus OthotBy Seamus OthotDecember 27, 2023Updated:December 27, 20237 Comments3 Mins Read
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The State of Maine has posted a hiring ad for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) coordinator for the procurement division of the Bureau of Business Management, a division responsible for acquiring office supplies and interacting with contractors.

“This critical position ensures Procurement’s commitment to utilizing diverse contractors that are representative of the communities we serve throughout Maine,” says the hiring ad.

The new DEI hire will ensure that the state hires “diverse,” meaning non-white, contractors, and will review every vendor contract to ensure that it adheres to the policy on diversity and inclusion, which the new hire will help to create.

The starting pay for the new DEI position is $59K-$80K, with a slew of benefits, including over forty paid days off in the first year of employment.

The Bureau of Business Management is part of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, which handles budgets and finance.

That department also has a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Specialist, Shiva Darbandi, in the talent management division of its Bureau of Human Resources.

[RELATED: Maine’s “Diversity Specialist” Claimed Libraries Are a Tool of White Supremacy…]

Darbandi is currently working on a PHD on “intangible cultural heritage,” “intergenerational knowledge ” and “diaspora foodways,” according to her government bio.

Maine’s Department of Education (DOE) recently hired Ayesha Hall as the Director of Strategic Partnerships, another DEI position making $80k as a starting salary.

[RELATED: House Speaker Calls for Storming Capitol Over White Supremacist Ideology at Maine Department of Education…]

According to payroll records for 2022, Maine also employed Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Margaret Brownlee at the Dept. of Education; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager Roy King at the Dept. of Corrections; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager Leana Amaez at the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Maine has also established a Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations, which has six employees working for the DEI focused commission.

Maine’s expansion of its DEI program comes as Harvard President Claudine Gay has been heavily criticized for her refusal to explicitly condemn antisemitic harassment on her campus and the discovery that she had plagiarized much of her academic writing.

As president of Harvard, Gay made increasing the school’s DEI programs, a top priority and oversaw an admissions program that discriminated against white and Asian students, a system which was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gay’s DEI programs removed many images and names of white men from prominent places in the school, and pushed students to internalize the ideas of “white privilege,” “male privilege,” and “white fragility.”

As Gay has increasingly become the subject of intense media coverage, some commentators have questioned whether the imbroglio represents a turning point in American institutions’ decades-long obsession with DEI.

According to a report from CNBC, even left-wing tech companies are trimming their DEI departments.

🚨Board Meeting Recap:

We eliminated DEI programs in our schools, put an end to 'drag queen' and other sexually provocative behaviors by teachers and administrators, and reaffirmed our uncompromising support for religious liberty for teachers and students.⁰

Oklahoma schools… pic.twitter.com/eew7U00jic

— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) December 21, 2023

DEI is not just based on CRT and Queer Theory, it is an overt, vile form of historical, collective guilt imposed on children and sold as a way to “right” past wrongs.

Its implementation must end. https://t.co/JbYr9nusGj

— Rhyen Staley (@RhyenStaley) December 21, 2023

It’s happening: “Abe Foxman and David Harris call for an end to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Their stance contrasts with ADL and AJC’s current positions urging universities to better incorporate Jews into the DEI infrastructure.”https://t.co/AahgVovZ5L

— Yoram Hazony (@yhazony) December 24, 2023

JUST IN: DEI Departments, that contribute *no value​* to a company's bottom line, are the first on the chopping block as layoffs begin — with some DEI budgets being slashed by as much as 90%.https://t.co/ySMgBLHKto

— Will Hild (@WillHild) December 27, 2023
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Seamus Othot

Seamus Othot is a reporter for The Maine Wire. He grew up in New Hampshire, and graduated from The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, where he was able to spend his time reading the great works of Western Civilization. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Ken Frost
Ken Frost
2 years ago

97% white and you should feel guilty, uh nope

0
Mike H
Mike H
2 years ago

DEI must die.

0
Mainerebel
Mainerebel
2 years ago

What are the requirements? Where do I apply? I identify as a transitioning purple giraffe of non specific gender. Do you think I qualify?

0
Nathan Pitts
Nathan Pitts
2 years ago

Yeah, we sure get the best possible candidates for any job when we base their hiring on ethnic background, political ideology, gender and skin color. Ability takes a back seat to diversity…..very much to our peril!

0
Carl Mason
Carl Mason
2 years ago

DEI is based on a false premise. My Polish ancestors that lived in Lewiston did not have the same opportunities as the “natives” with Canadian or English background. This type of bias can be found throughout American towns and cities. If they are truly interested in equality, which they are not, they would provide greater opportunity for white ethnics that faced discrimination for years.

DEI is about hiring unqualified people that hate America and hate whites.

0
Robert
Robert
2 years ago

How about force legislation that all hiring be done based upon ABILITY, EDUCATION AND FORMER WORK EXPERIENCE? That will never happen as long as virtue signaling contemptuous democrats control the governorship.

0
Blob Watcher
Blob Watcher
2 years ago

Overt racism, in plain sight.

0
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