Another thing to bear in mind is that people who are not in an underrepresented demographic often perceive affirmative action programs for work or academic programs as advantaging people other than them. (Indeed, that was the underlying motivation behind the 6 Dec 1989 Montreal massacre.) In my experience as a deaf person, as a female person, and as a deaf female person, affirmative action is often an illusion, a fiction we tell ourselves to deny what we are actually doing. The diverse candidates may be shortlisted, but in the final selection, it comes down to "the best candidate" using a rating scheme that is often anchored to unconscious criteria that favour the traditional norm. That said, even being shortlisted is not a sure thing, even with the equity statement. I was told once that I was had been cut from a shortlist because the search committee didn't want to have a rejected "equity" candidate sue for discrimination so better to not look at me in the first place. It says something that despite all this rhetoric about wanting more women in STEM (that dates back at least 40 years), that we are still so far away. Those of you who are not females aspiring to STEM have nothing to worry about.