 "US President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons in the Oval Office at the White House. Among the many executive orders he has passed, Trump has issued one titled, Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing. Reuters")
“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.
“This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colourblind and merit based.”
On Monday (January 20), US President Donald Trump in his inaugural speech struck fear into the hearts of many, as he took aim at federal employees who focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). He also passed executive orders , shortly after taking the oath of office, instructing the federal government to remove “all radical gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms”.
Trump followed this up on Tuesday (January 22) by issuing a directive to place employees in any federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices on paid administrative leave, effective immediately.
As DEI faces death in the US, here’s an explainer of what exactly does this term means, what it entails and why Trump’s America is against it.
What is DEI?
DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. In the US, DEI is a policy or set of initiatives designed to make people of various backgrounds feel welcome and ensure they have support to perform to the fullest of their abilities in the workplace.
But what constitutes this concept? Most proponents of DEI state that it is the amalgamation of: Diversity — embracing the differences of everyone, irrespective of their race, age, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.
Equity — treating everyone fairly and providing equal opportunities to all.
Inclusion — respecting everyone’s voice and fostering an environment where people from all backgrounds feel welcome.
Proponents of DEI state that this concept is necessary in all workplaces, private and public and educational institutions to combat bias and ensure that those of underrepresented backgrounds feel comfortable and supported.
As Catalina Colman, former director of HR and inclusion at Built In explained DEI was crucial as it ultimately leads to better ideas and solutions. “From a business standpoint, different perspectives directly influence a product — how it’s made, who it serves, how it functions and so on,” Colman said. “More perspectives make for a better product.”
“The more diverse voices there are in your organisation, the better your outcomes will be, purely from a business standpoint,” she said.
Well-known American consulting firm McKinsey & Company has also highlighted how DEI is beneficial for companies. Their 2019 report revealed that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity within executive teams were 25 per cent more likely than companies in the fourth quartile to have above-average profitability (up from 21 per cent in 2017 and 15 per cent in 2014).
When did US workplaces start implementing DEI?
While DEI programmes in the US may sound like a new phenomenon, it is not. DEI practices have been around for decades — US President Lyndon B Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which required government contractors to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated [fairly] during employment, without regard to their race, creed, colour, or national origin.
Much later, in 2022, US President Biden set up a Chief Diversity Officers Council to oversee the implementation of DEI.
What is Trump’s DEI order and how is he cracking down on it?
Since being on the presidential campaign trail, Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked DEI practices, arguing that they were discriminatory. And on Inauguration Day, in his address, he pledged to “forge a society that is colourblind and merit-based”.
Hours later, he issued an executive order — Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing — banning such efforts in federal hiring. Additionally, he also signed another executive order called “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”, which instructs the federal government to remove “all radical gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms”.
The order also directs the secretaries of state and homeland security to ensure that passports, visas and other official government documents reflect male and female as the only two sexes. Agencies will also be prohibited from promoting gender transition, and prisons will be instructed not to use taxpayer funds for gender transition services.
Following this up, Trump also ordered employees of federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices to be put on paid administrative leave on Tuesday. In a memo, his administration also called for the removal of public websites for DEI offices. It also stated that federal agencies must compile a list of DEI offices and workers and by January 31, agencies must submit “a written plan” for executing lay-offs in DEI offices.
The executive order against DEI also said that the US attorney general submit, within 120 days, recommendations “to encourage the private sector” to end similar diversity efforts.
Trump’s move has been severely criticised by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 7,50,000 workers. The AFGE said that it is unaware of the exact number of employees that would be affected by Trump’s new policies.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley was quoted as saying, “These attacks on DEI are just a smokescreen for firing civil servants, undermining the apolitical civil service, and turning the federal government into an army of yes-men loyal only to the president, not the Constitution.”
The Urban League, a group working to improve the economic and social conditions of Black Americans, also agreed with the AFGE. “This is a state of emergency for our communities,” National Urban League President Marc Morial told NBC News. “The executive orders coming from the White House are a shot across the bow. What they really seek to do is erase 70 years of civil rights progress we have had in this nation.”
In recent times, many private companies have distanced themselves from DEI measures, rolling back initiatives. For instance, McDonalds, last November, ended its senior leadership diversity goals and supplier diversity training. Boeing, too, dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion department and redirected its staff to its human resources department to focus on talent acquisition and employee experience.
Meta , who recently cancelled its fact-checking team , also announced in January that it would end several programmes intended to increase its hiring of diverse candidates.
But why are Trump and his followers anti-DEI?
Trump’s dismantling of DEI policies doesn’t come as a complete surprise. The US president had previously signalled his discontent with DEI programmes during his first term, notably issuing an executive order in 2020 that sought to limit federal DEI training.
Trump’s argument against DEI is based on the rationale that it undermines fairness and equality by prioritising group identity of merit. His executive order termed Biden’s DEI policies as “illegal and immoral,” accusing them of fostering division and discrimination under the guise of inclusion.
The US president further argues that DEI policies have the capability to “violate” important underlying civil rights laws that protect Americans from discrimination. As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move “is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds”, and fulfils a campaign promise made by Trump.
Trump’s critique of DEI policies echoes criticism by other conservatives, who have long raged against these practices. In 2023, outspoken DEI critic Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote in a New York Times opinion piece, “These (DEI programmes) are not neutral programmes to increase demographic diversity; they are political programmes that use taxpayer resources to advance a specific partisan orthodoxy.”
American billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has also decried DEI policies. Last year, in a 4,000’-word post on X, he wrote that DEI is “inherently a racist and illegal movement in its implementation even if it purports to work on behalf of the so-called oppressed”.
Elon Musk , the ‘First Buddy’, also concurs with Ackman on DEI. He wrote, “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it.”
He also added, “DEI, because it discriminates on the basis of race, gender and many other factors, is not merely immoral, it is also illegal.”
It is uncertain if DEI programmes will ultimately be a relic of the past in the US, as Trump promised. It is left to be seen if and how much pushback he receives on DEI. However, for now, it’s time for DEI to die.
With inputs from agencies