A controversy over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has surfaced within the Oregon Department of Forestry, after an official was placed on administrative leave for his hiring choices.

Megan Donecker, the former DEI strategy officer within the department, had filed a formal complaint against her boss Mike Shaw.

She accused him of looking beyond gender and identity while hiring and choosing candidates that were most qualified for the job.

“It is bad for women at Forestry,” Megan told Oregon Live. “It is even worse if you are queer.”

Megan Donecker claimed her boss Mike Shaw favored qualifications over gender and identity during the hiring process

Image credits: Megan Donecker

Mike was placed on administrative leave on August 6 after the DEI expert filed the formal complaint. Until then, he was the department’s second-in-command under State Forester Cal Mukumoto.

Megan, who has since left the department, argued that her bosses undermined her diversity and inclusion efforts while she was there. She also said Mike wanted to take a slow approach to implementing their DEI initiatives.

“We don’t go 60 (mph) out of the gate or we’re gonna crash the car,” she quoted Mike telling her during a meeting in March.

She also compared the department’s overall culture to a “boy’s club” and said six of the queer employees didn’t feel “safe or comfortable being out,” let alone talking about their partners at work.

Mike used to be the second-in-command at the department until he was placed on administrative leave on August 6

Image credits: Oregon Forest Resources Institute

“I cannot emphasize enough how far back this is going to set myself and the work that I am trying to do,” she said in her complaint.

While speaking to Oregon Live, the Salem resident mentioned a remark made by the department’s first-in-command Cal during a meeting last year.

Cal said one of the female employees “puts in a really good lunch order and then kind of chuckled, and everyone kind of chuckled,” Megan recalled.

“No one batted an eye,” she added.

Megan quit her job in March after the fallout with her bosses and now works as an equity trainer and education coordinator at the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care. She is also a mother to her adopted nine-year-old child, whom she is raising with her wife Jai.

The internet had mixed reactions to the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) controversy

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