In several posts on X, Musk claimed without evidence that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives put airline customers in danger.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk drew a swift rebuke from two of the nation’s best known civil rights organizations Wednesday, after he criticized efforts by United Airlines and Boeing to hire nonwhite pilots and factory workers.
The criticism came after Musk claimed in a series of posts on X that efforts to diversify workforces at those companies have made air travel less safe. He offered no evidence for the claim, and one of his replies directed attention to a post by someone else speculating about the IQ of Black airline employees.
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said Musk’s statements were “abhorrent and pathetic.” He noted that Tesla, where Musk is CEO, is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for alleged abuse of Black employees, including claims of racial slurs and nooses found in the workplace.
“Musk’s company not only refused to investigate complaints or take any steps to end the abuse, it viciously retaliated against employees who complained or opposed the abuse,” Morial said in a statement to NBC News, citing allegations from the suit.
So aside from the comments being a dick move, he’s not just wrong on the his assertion that diversity in and of itself adds to less safe conditions at the airlines.
In fact, the opposite is true. I work in a field where failure investigations are routine. More diversity, especially in environments such as this where safety is paramount, is absolutely necessary to prevent groupthink. This isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact. The Navy and NASA have said as much.
When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks at all. There are no dissenting opinions - this is what leads to accidents.
But of course Elon doesn’t care - he wouldn’t allow the color yellow - for caution - and the backup beeps on things like forklifts at his Tesla plant simply because he “didn’t like” them. He doesn’t give a shit about safety.
So whatever Elon, but maybe you shouldn’t be working in human spaceflight.
I have no study to back this up but I have noticed the same thing. There is a reason why when we are struggling at work that I grab everyone I can. The paper pushers, the specialist engineers, the old timers, the techs, the interns. I want everyone to look at this problem and suggest ideas. It’s a cynical maybe but humans are a resource, and what you do with resources is exploit them.
Groupthink sucks. That’s why you get companies circling the drain for decades. Making the same product over and over again while the rest of the world moves on.