Tattooed, pink-haired DEI trainer gets boss at Oregon forestry service put on leave for hiring based on merit instead of gender identity
A top Oregon state official has been put on administrative leave after a pink-haired, DEI-obsessed subordinate complained he was making hiring decisions based on qualifications instead of personal identity considerations, according to a report.
Mike Shaw, who until recently served as the Oregon Department of Forestry’s second-in-command, was put on blast by Megan Donecker, the department’s former DEI strategy officer, for looking “beyond gender and identity in hiring, seeking only candidates most qualified for the job,” OregonLive reported.
He was formally placed on administrative leave Aug. 6 after Donecker filed a formal complaint, according to the Daily Mail.
Shaw first drew Donecker’s ire when he dared suggest the agency — which has over 1,400 employees and a biennial budget over $577 million — take a measured approach to DEI initiatives, likening plunging into them headlong to driving too fast on “an icy road.”
Donecker claimed Shaw further added, “We don’t go 60 [mph] out of the gate, or we’re gonna crash the car.”
She further alleged six queer-identifying forestry staff members didn’t feel “safe or comfortable” on the job because they couldn’t freely have “conversations around pronouns” — accusing the department of functioning as a “boys club,” according to the formal complaint viewed by OregonLive.
The department has faced similar recent criticism from current and former employees who allege it has fallen short living up to its commitment to DEI.
Oregon State Forester Cal Mukumoto — who heads the department — said, “Providing a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace is a shared core value and priority of both the department and the Board of Forestry.”
Donecker, who has bright pink hair and numerous tattoos, has since left the department and has landed a new job as a “DEI consultant,” according to Daily Mail.
She now reportedly describes herself as “an accomplice to marginalized communities.”
Oregon has been at the forefront of implementing sweeping DEI initiatives following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and subsequent civil unrest, which saw Portland engulfed in chaotic and often violent riots for more than 100 days.
However, the enthusiasm for such efforts appears to be on the decline.
Clackamas County announced in January that it had started to unwind its $830,000-per-year DEI office, calling it an “unnecessary expense” which “only foments friction.”
