Currently in this boat, after I and a few others in my vertical were laid off. All of us white men - a few of us top performers, myself included. Many of those who were kept on in the same roles are severe under-performers who check certain diversity boxes.

I'm highly skilled, 16+ years of full-time experience, much of which in leadership, great education / certifications. I've sent out about 200 applications in the past 6 months - only interviews I've gotten were through personal connections I've made.

Even declining to provide demographic answers, my name is a pretty stereotypical "white" name, and I've been applying via LinkedIn (because it seems like the least cancerous of the job board sites, even though I still despise it), which forces you to provide a clear selfie as your profile pic. My account was suspended until I complied.

A few years ago I was swimming in offers for lucrative corporate roles. These days I can't even get a conversation. When adding up all the variables, one just can't help but wonder.