Lockheed Martin, biggest U.S. defence contractor, sent execs to diversity training to atone for white male privilege: report
The largest defence contractor in the United States, Lockheed Martin, has forced thousands of its white employees to undergo a training program to make white male employees a more “important part of inclusion efforts.”
According to a report released by the City Journal, the company forced nearly 3,000 employees and executives to attend diversity training, specifically targeting white males. The program was led by the diversity, equity, and inclusion firm “White Men As Full Diversity Partners.”
Lockheed Martin began hosting “Effective Leadership of Inclusive Teams” training, or “ELOIT” training, in 2007, according to the company’s 2018 Global Diversity and Inclusion report.
ELOIT “empowers white men to be full partners in the creation of inclusive work climates by exploring the systemic advantages of white men have and shining a light on some of the barriers women, minorities, and LGBTs face when fitting into a predominately white male society.”
The training program is broken into three phases, the first takes place over a three-and-a-half-day period called the “White Men’s Caucus,” where white men learn to be “be grounded in their culture and to begin to understand their experiences are not the same as others.”
The second phase takes place over a three-and-a-half-day section called “White Men & Allies.” This section aims to help white men and their allies — including white women and people of color — to develop “partnerships across diversity boundaries.” Part three is a day and a half summit that helps white men “build awareness of U.S. white male cultures, its impact on Lockheed Martin and the role of white men in creating an inclusive organization; and help them take specific action.”
Diversity training begins with a “free association” exercise led by “White Men As Full Diversity Partners” trainers. Employees were requested to list words they associate with the term “white men.” The trainers of the program wrote, “old, racist, privileged, anti-women, angry, Aryan Nation, KKK, Founding fathers, guns, and guilty,” among others.
One part of the presentation asked, “What’s in it for white men?” Responses included, “I won’t get replaced by someone who is a better full diversity partner,” “[I will] improve the brand, image, and reputation of white men,” and “have [a] less nagging sense of guilt that I am the problem.”
Consultants defined the problematic aspects of “white male culture” as “rugged individualism,” “a can-do attitude,” “hard work,” and “striving toward success.”
Employees were also asked to repeat 50 “white privilege statements” such as, “My culture teaches me to minimize the perspectives and powers of people of other races” and “I can commit acts of terrorism, violence or crime and not have it attributed to my race.”
Participants were also asked to recite an additional 59 “male privilege statements” and 59 “heterosexual privilege statements.”
White males were also asked to read “I’m tired” statements that were allegedly written by people of color and women, such as, “I’m tired of being Black,” “I’m tired of Black boys/girls being murdered,” and “I’m tired of … the concept that we should be ‘colorblind.’”
City Journal’s Christopher Rufo insisted that the U.S. Senate launch an investigation into the “racist practices” of the company, which receives billions in taxpayer dollars through government contracts each year.
“This is pure neo-racism from a company that receives billions of taxpayer dollars every year,” Rufo said. “I call on the United States Senate to launch an immediate inquiry into the racist practices at Lockheed Martin. We must shut this down before it endangers our national security.”
A spokesperson from Lockheed Martin responded to Rufo’s report, saying that the company consistently evaluates the effectiveness of its training programs.
“Lockheed Martin has robust employee training programs focused on our core values of doing what is right, respecting others, and performing with excellence,” spokesman Trent Perrotto said. “Like many corporations, we employ multiple vendors and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of training programs to ensure they are aligned with our values, applicable laws and regulations, and incorporate employee feedback and best practices.”
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