Interesting, because I also here a lot about Gen Y affinity programs and many people have similar complaints. What do you think about such groups that bring similar age groups together to brainstorm ideas, etc.?

I think you are right on. The more I think about affinty groups the more I don't think its the best idea. Sometimes they may feel good and even produce short-term results...but I think they are not a good long-term strategy for what minorities are trying to achieve. What do you think about affinty groups for Parents or Working Mothers, groups that are not organized around race.

I think they have a purpose. It can be very useful to learn strategies, possible courses of action, and try out ideas in a "safe" environment. These same goals can be achieved by having a good mentor or two though, and they don't have to be people of the same gender, race, age or other affinity.

I agree it would be nice to see a group trying to effect actual change (for a change). In order to do that they need to mix with others, not of their group.

I participate in SWE (Society of Women Engineers) myself, and don't consider it a waste of time.

I would not blame members of a group who are trying to effectuate change. I would, however, say that these groups do not serve the purpose of changing things. They serve the purpose of making it easier to know people who have specific things in common with one another. But putting all the powerless people in one room together doesn't equal powerful people; it equals a painful reminder that there has to be another way. Like remembering that the only things people have in common are not race, gender, or age. And bridge building and mentoring from people who are where you want to be but doesn't look like you.

A choice you had no power over (age/gender/race/ethnicity) should not be an important aspect in your professional development.

I think there is a big difference between these sorts of groups in academic settings versus say the formation of these organizations at the professional level. I think institutions that use them as a way to quarantine all of their students of color are misguided at best, but self-selecting by students of color isn't any different than what other folks do, it's just more obvious when black folks do it since no one thinks of them as the norm.

And I say that as someone who has some misgivings about these groups in academic settings when they're foisted on students, rather than bubbling up on their own and being nurtured.

The implicitness of difference in some cases may start and stop with race for some. But people shouldn't feel that because they want to meet the other people in the organization who look like them, that it means they're separating themselves because of race or are otherwise creating an atmosphere of intolerance.

Because there are a long list of historical reasons for why things have escalated to the point where people feel like they need to be in a womens' networking group, a Gen Y networking group or one based on their race, ethnicity or nationality. Chances are, the folks in those groups aren't having kaffeeklatches related to their heritage or taking an opportunity to raise their fists in a collective chant of "It's a Black Thing, You Wouldn't Understand."

Again, that's the difference between a college group and one in the professional world, by and large.

I think that the real issue here is, "otherness" isn't a problem to be solved, a conundrum in and of itself, nor an issue to be sorry for or to apologize about and often times, can give people who are marginalized for one reason or another, an opportunity to develop their skills, network or grow into their careers in a meaningful way. If a business goes through lengths to create such mechanisms, I suspect it's because they've seen this benefit and feel like it's a worthwhile thing to invest in and I don't see any reason to think it's a bad thing, save for a few folks who feelings are hurt because they might not feel like they belong.

Join the club.

I think wishing away unsavory ideas has the effect of giving people who wish not to deal with their own biases, the opportunity to avoid very teachable moments and thus, to pass those biases down to future generations.

Much of what we believe to be true is a function of people who simply haven't read enough about history to understand not just why things are how they are, but why they won't change until we're willing to confront it in meaningful ways and to ensure that future generations are not just aware of what happened, but why it was wrong and why we must do better now.

The changing of the guard today notwithstanding, we're not there yet.

I never said diversity/affinity groups don't have a purpose. However, I contend that they do not in and of themselves resolve deep seated problems with diversity in the classroom and on the job. It is undoubtly a much more complicated situation. Affinity groups are more meaningful if their limitations are realized and if the truly effective methods such as better integration of Gen-y workers or a more realistic environment for female employees.

Seth,

Please don't think that I am saying the groups don't have value. I don't know how I could have survived law school without the friendships that the different affinity groups helped me form, be it based on religion, gender, or race. A women's panel that was held my first year was one of the reasons I didn't quit, and I am very glad for that.

I think that collections of individuals with things in common that aren't shared by the general majority can be a wonderful benefit to an individual. I just dislike when these groups are "high jacked" if you will by schools or employers to avoid doing the hard work of actually integrating their diverse employees.

And, as a final note, I think that good affinity groups are natural. They are groups of people who aren't just female or young, but are females who have similar goals and are at different places in their careers, and so can provide mentorship or leadership roles, or just commiserate on the struggles that they go through. However, any attempt to force this familiarity on the grounds that "hey they are all women" will be a complete failure. I think that it works the same for any other affinity group.

In my life, I have been a member of probably nearly a hundred different groups for one reason or another. I am multi-ethnic. I am a conservative Christian. But don't get me wrong; I am not saying that I am the absolute authority on the topic. I am saying that, of all the groups I have been a member of, the only ones with power were those where the members individually had power, and the most functional realized their limitations and existed to meet the true needs of their members, not to function as some artificial proxy for some over-arching third party goal.

I am also saying that fooling yourself into thinking that solving diversity problems in education or employment is as simple as getting all the diverse people together is ridiculous.

"I think that collections of individuals with things in common that aren't shared by the general majority can be a wonderful benefit to an individual. I just dislike when these groups are "high jacked" if you will by schools or employers to avoid doing the hard work of actually integrating their diverse employees."

BINGO! (this paragraph should be in the article itself)

Also, it shouldnt be the responsibility of bringing about workplace change be thrust upon these groups either. I also think people tend be really dramatic with these groups. For example, based on my college experience, there were plenty of blacks who did not go to black student clubs or events and those that did (like myself) did not limit themselves to those groups either.