If you work with a database and are asked to alter the table structure to comply in advance for citizenship or gender categorizations it's really important to NOT do it.
"The governor is concerned about all this stuff they want us to update our record keeping so we store both gender AND biological sex."
"We need fields to store the country of origin of people's parents."
If you don't have the power to rebuff this yourself, ask for help. At minimum ask for help online anonymously.
Depending on your job you probably have in the past made compromises. Maybe to keep your job. Maybe to survive. This is a bright line. If you are asked to be the one to update the table don't let it be your fingers typing those changes.
If you can't just say "No I won't do that." Stall, run away, feign incompetence. Just don't let it happen.
I suspect this might be where the rubber hits the road first for us around here.
Nothing has changed. You do not have to do it. It is not even ordained.
Do not help them to build any more of this machine.
I know someone who rebuffed such a request. Boss was apologetic "it's what the higher ups want, oh *I* think it's a lot of nonsense, but I don't want us to be out of step ... blah blah"
It was proposed to them in sheepish way. They said it would be a lot of work, not add anything of value, and most important they would not do it. It didn't come up again.
Fascism can be the work of zealots, but there are also many sheepish middle management helping hands who "don't even believe in this really"
@futurebird this!
Also, if you are being forced to do this, ask for this request/order *on paper* (or at least in writing).
I have been asked, at the eve of my IT career, to do a slightly unethical thing. I refused, but was told I have to do this anyway. I said: fine, but I would like this on paper, including the acknowledgement of my concerns.
It was never spoken of again, and never implemented. I kept my job, never had any grief from the higher ups about it either.
Paper trail is power.
@rysiek @futurebird just don't think the paper trail will stop them from letting you go for some other reason.
@ithoughtisawa2 @futurebird sure. But they can do that regardless of the paper trail.
The paper trail provides you with a CYA policy. If they issue such an unethical directive and then try to blame it on you, you have something to prove you were pushing back against it.
"The more paper, the cleaner the arse", as they used to say in the Soviet Union.