Some time ago, Kyle S. Reyes, CEO of a company called the Silent Partner Marketing, got sick and tired of dealing with prospective employees who were a poor match with his business philosophy. "We get hundreds and hundreds of people reaching out to work for us," he said. "I … realized it was a time suck on my staff and me to be weeding through endless piles of paper trying to find the handful of people who actually want to hustle for a living and would be a great fit for our company. So I've implemented something that is going to give HR managers and the PC Police night sweats. I lovingly refer to it as the Snowflake Test."
The Snowflake Test, as it turns out, was a series of 30 questions designed to gauge an applicant's views on such things as guns, faith, work ethic, morality, patriotism, company benefits, salaries, and similar tangible and intangible subjects.
The test was stunningly effective, even with people who never took it. A blizzard of snowflakes blasted Reyes for his insensitivity and demanded safe spaces from his triggering questions. "I was scolded by a woman on the phone yesterday who told me she wouldn't take the test and 'shame' on me for making people take a test to come work for us," he recalled. "She 'demanded' I remove the test or risk losing out on 'perfect employees' like herself."
Meanwhile, Reyes was besieged by businesses requesting his list of questions so they, too, could implement their own Snowflake Tests.
What was interesting about his list of questions is it contains nothing illegal. Nothing whatever. It does not discriminate on the basis of anything – except attitude. And attitude, almost more than any other quality, can make or break a workplace.
Now let's jump subjects a bit and discuss feminism. In the wake of the left's meltdown over the Kavanaugh proceedings, a stunning backlash is emerging from the #MeToo and "Believe Women" movements: Men don't want to hire, work with, travel with, mingle with, dine with, chat with, network with, or otherwise associate with women in the workplace.
While it's highly commendable so many companies have implemented sexual harassment policies to stem inappropriate behavior, the pendulum is now swinging the other way: innocent men are being accused of inappropriate behavior without cause or evidence. Several readers sent me emails with stories about vindictive female coworkers filing unfounded complaints about male coworkers, who are then fired without being able to defend themselves against the allegations.
"An uncertainty of what constitutes sexual harassment has made some men uncomfortable around female co-workers and wary about how to navigate changing workplace dynamics," diplomatically states an article published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
"One troubling trend," said SHRM CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., "is executives going as far as to not invite female colleagues on trips, to evening networking events or into their inner circles to avoid any situation that could be perceived incorrectly, thus reducing the opportunity for women." Taylor added, "There were men who specifically said 'I will not hire a woman going forward.'"
Critics have mocked Vice President Mike Pence for his personal rule of never being alone with any woman not his wife (an edict also followed by Billy Graham, as I recall), but say what you will, there's sound logic behind it, especially in this climate of feminist activism.
But even this can backfire. Tom Spiggle, an attorney with the Spiggle Law Firm in Arlington, Virginia, observed how some men at work are starting to follow this "Pence rule" practice to reduce the risk of sexual harassment liability, but they may be setting themselves up for a claim of unlawful discrimination.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. At what point will the detriments of having women on the payroll outweigh the benefits?
Don't think for one minute I approve of this development. I'm merely pointing out it's an inevitable "unintended consequence" of the #MeToo and "Believe Women" movements.
Feminists will instantly conclude this workplace trend is a result of good ol' chauvinism by the good ol' boys network. In some cases, it might be. But across America, from Wall Street to Main Street, the quiet, unspoken ripple effect of #MeToo and "Believe Women" will be a greater wariness and less frequent hiring of women. Even sexual harassment policies are viewed as ineffective "because employees interpreted them as protecting irrational or oversensitive women at the expense of men."
Naturally, for legal reasons these businesses can't admit their reluctance to hire women, but this is the new reality. A few men I know personally, who run small mom-and-pop enterprises, won't hire women unless they're related to them. Too risky, they tell me. One complaint and they could lose their livelihood, the company they spent years building up.
Even MSNBC "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski warned the #MeToo movement may be spiraling out of control and could lead to dangerous consequences in the workplace. "I know men who won't hire women now," she said in December 2017. "Right now any woman can say anything, and a man's career is ruined. Now, a lot of women can say things that are true, and [the men's] careers should be ruined. But the problem is that any woman can say anything, and that's it, it's over. Is that how we're running businesses now?"
"If women want to be treated equally to men – as they should – then they must be held to the same standards of accountability," stated columnist Jane Chastain. "They cannot make charges without any supporting evidence against a man with whom they are ideologically opposed, and not be held to accountability."
So I wonder – could employers modify the Snowflake Test for women applicants? They could call it the Feminist Test. It could include questions like:
- If you attended college, what was your major field of study? Minor field?
- What is your preferred source for online news?
- Do you think women should always be believed?
- Do you own pink knitted headwear of any sort?
(Feel free to add your own questions.)
A Feminist Test like this is doubtless illegal. But you know what? Feminists have sowed the wind. Now they're reaping the whirlwind.
Deal with it, cupcakes.