Your logic doesn't hold. You're making assumptions about why minorities are sought after (or rather why Mike thinks they are sought after).
If minorities in the valley are people who are above average, then that would make them more desirable in itself. All else being equal, if you got to pick candidates only by race, and you knew (or thought you knew) that one group was above average, it'd be hard not to let it influence you.
And your argument that one wouldn't need to desire to hire them is flawed, because if being a member of a minority in SV actually makes you more likely to be highly skilled, then that is an easy signal for you to seek out the person. You wouldn't need to, but it's human nature to consciously or subconsciously try to take "shortcuts" in evaluating other people, especially when other knowledge of the person in question is lacking.
Can we at least agree that your point is contrived? I've never heard anyone claim that black people in the Valley are more talented than everyone else, so this is a silly argument.
If minorities in the valley are people who are above average, then that would make them more desirable in itself. All else being equal, if you got to pick candidates only by race, and you knew (or thought you knew) that one group was above average, it'd be hard not to let it influence you.
And your argument that one wouldn't need to desire to hire them is flawed, because if being a member of a minority in SV actually makes you more likely to be highly skilled, then that is an easy signal for you to seek out the person. You wouldn't need to, but it's human nature to consciously or subconsciously try to take "shortcuts" in evaluating other people, especially when other knowledge of the person in question is lacking.