Some day, this fixation will end. It is utterly nonsense. Why should a WASP like me be less of a candidate for anything, compared to a box checking, ethnic or racial person "of color". It is morally wrong. Diversity may be a virtue, but is becomes a vice when it leads to discrimination. NEW PARAGRAPH: My wife is from Mexico, and thus my children are bilingual. But their appearance is just as pasty as mine. When applying to private schools, I was tempted to check the box "Hispanic" in the hopes that it would give them a leg up in admissions. The schools are radically attuned to this agenda, and using this as an advantage seemed fair. After all, this is what the schools want, right? NEW PARAGRAPH: In the end, this is what the drive for "diversity" has created. People of proud American heritage trying to fit into an ethnic category to appease the Gods of racial guilt. Just as Elizabeth Warren did. It is wrong, and some day, it will end.

This is a thoughtful piece. Isn't it time to abandon rigid racial categories in hiring, promotion, contracting, admissions, etc.? Millions of Americans have a mixed ancestry but we reward people for checking the right box instead of exploring their skills and character.

This is indeed a somewhat thoughtful piece on the broader topic of diversity and its role on the workplace, and I agree with its main point on our poorly aimed efforts and sometimes questionable motives regarding diversity. However, to include Elizabeth Warren as a mere example of a larger issue misses the point regarding her suitability as a candidate. She is not "at least 1/32 Native American." She is zero percent. It has now been discovered that the touted "documentation" claimed by Chris Child at the New England Genealogical Center does not exist. Therefore, the Globe should not be printing it as a fact. Given the incredibly series of unbelievable statement by Warren ("I didn't do it -- wait, no, I did it to get invited to a luncheon"), the Globe editors should either check this fact, or not print it. To repeat it as truth is at best extremely sloppy editing and at worst a biased effort to help a candidate that the Globe supports escape the consequences of her own dishonesty.

I have no problem affirmative action, I just have a problem with frauds like Warren.

Thanks,Dante Ramos, for reminding your readers that 'twas ever thus. Your name hints that you carry the genes of a ****** or or perhaps a ######. You point out that either of those designations can be used to further your career. That choice, not available a few decades ago,is a sign of some small progress in the struggle for human rights. I recommend to your readers a forgotten novel by Sinclair Lewis named "Kingsblood Royal", the story of a WASP who discovers an "Indian" in the woodpile of his ancestry.

Elizabeth Warren made this a story by not being truthful or forthright when the story broke. President Obama is 50% white. Why doesn't he use that for political gain?

I concur with this comment -- well said.

I'm telling you diversity/affirmative action has ruined this country! And the biggest offender is this goverment. Whites over here,blacks over there, women before men,and all other minority groups go to the front of the line. Forget about qualifications or that you could be the best trained person for the position. This goverment has pigeon-holed everyone, and just look at the results. This country has never been so divided. And if you openly complain in the work place you're branded as mal-content or racist! Soon to be transfered,demoted or fired. Well I'm no racist, but I call it as I see it, diversity/ affirmative action is bs!

The way to stop racial discrimination in this country is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. The same principle applies to gender discrimination, religious discrimination, etc. We need to focus on hard work and performance. Combine this with integrity and we all be the better for it. Why aren't the universities required to be more transparent about their hiring practices and their admissions practices? In any case, Warren's attempt to game the system is such an incredible disappointment. What other "boxes" has she checked......only time will tell

"People of proud American heritage trying to fit into an ethnic category to appease the Gods of racial guilt." NEW PARAGRAPH So tell us all, who are the people of "proud American heritage"? The WASPs told my people that they were dirt when they arrived, like the soil that they farmed for potatoes. No Irish need apply! Do we qualify as "People of proud American heritage" now? Are we "regular Americans" now or is there another test? Who gets to decide who the "real Americans" are? Who has the fixation? NEW PARAGRAPH By the way, my kids are what we used to call "Caucasian" and of Northern European descent, but "pasty" is not a word I'd use to describe their complexion.

Cool new profile photo! And trendy.