If Companies Set Up Ethnic Affinity Groups for Employees, Must They Also Set Them Up for Jewish Employees?
From the letter:
We write on behalf of Jewish employees of Microsoft who are also members of the Louis D. Brandeis Center Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (“the Coalition”) to explain why Microsoft’s refusal to establish a Jewish Employee Resource Group (ERG) alongside its existing network of ERGs has resulted in distributing very real professional benefits and advantages on the basis of ethnic or racial identity, while denying these benefits to Jewish and other employees. Providing all employees equal access to professional benefits and opportunities, including Microsoft’s Jewish employees, is the right thing to do and is compelled by various federal and local anti-discrimination statutes. Moreover, by denying Jewish employees the very real advantages that Microsoft claims its ERGs bestow, Microsoft has allowed anti-Semitism to fester at Microsoft.
Microsoft’s refusal to acknowledge its Jewish employees’ right to an ERG seems to stem from a mistaken pigeonholing of Jewish identity as merely “religious,” a category of identity that Microsoft excludes from its ERG program. In fact, Jews are a people with a shared ethnic and ancestral heritage. Irrespective of any shared creed or belief in a deity, Jews share a common lineage, history, culture, and language(s). This is the dictionary definition of ethnicity. Jews who never attend synagogue, observe Jewish holidays, practice Jewish religious rituals, or even believe in the religious tenets of Judaism are still ethnically Jewish, an understanding that is widely supported in academic literature and surveys of Jewish American life.
More importantly here, the law recognizes that Jewish identity isn’t protected from discrimination based merely on its religious character, but also on its shared ethnic and ancestral heritage (including where protections based on race incorporate ethnicity).
Microsoft’s ERGs share common features of ERGs at most Fortune 500 companies. They are employee-led and driven, so that topics of conversation and action come from the employees themselves based on their lived workplace experiences. They connect employees to company leadership, making it easier to collectively communicate broader workplace equity and inclusion concerns to those with the power to do something about them. They allow employees to represent and express themselves on their own terms, both to corporate leadership and to their colleagues. They facilitate corporate charitable giving to organizations that do work in their communities. And they foster networking and career advancement within the company.
In short, Microsoft’s ERGs are a material “term and condition” of employment for Microsoft’s workforce and distribute valuable benefits on the basis of identity.
Jewish Microsoft employees are no less deserving or in need of an ERG than other ethnic groups at Microsoft. Currently, Jewish (and other) Microsoft employees are denied various benefits of Microsoft employment:
- Unlike their Black colleagues in the “Blacks at Microsoft” ERG, Microso
Article from Reason.com
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.
