With a new administration in the White House and other government positions, the United States faces many new changes, and some challenges as well.
One new change is the end of federal support for DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs.
DEI programs aim to have diverse recruitment, pay equity, inclusive leadership and training for work fields varying in people from different backgrounds.
While many have never previously thought about these programs, they are very important programs that are critical for the reconciliation of events in history.
“DEI was created because marginalized communities have not always had equal opportunities for jobs or felt a sense of belonging in majority-White corporate settings,” CNN senior writer Nicquel Terry Ellis said.
The executive order under president Donald Trump’s administration states that DEI programs are “immoral discrimination programs,” and has since taken action to try to eliminate them. However, they are anything but immoral.
According to writer Raj Hayer, “DEI shouldn’t be a program, it should be part of your DNA.”
“[DEI has] brought attention to inequity and inequality in our workplaces and improved equal access to opportunity,” Hayer said. “Companies serious about DEI go beyond one-time training sessions and hiring quotas, but rather embed DEI principles into policies, hiring, leadership training and their culture.”
The DEI initiative has been working towards a greater goal of equality since the 1960s, but it does not only focus on issues of race, as is commonly misconceived.
“Such initiatives comprise many practices that aim to uplift different marginalized groups in the workplace. For example, a policy that accommodates working parents, such as flexible work hours, could qualify as DEI,” reporter Megan Cerullo said.
As part of the elimination concept to the new executive order, many employed under DEI initiatives have lost their jobs and livelihoods.
“Just days into his second term, President Donald Trump placed federal staff working on [DEI] initiatives on paid leave, with the intent of eventually laying them all off,” public policy professor Shaun Harper said.
Trump has also referred to those hired under the DEI as being unqualified and “DEI hires,” when really they are skilled workers who have been rightfully given opportunities that they should have always been given, no matter their gender, race, religion or situation.
According to the president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education Granberry Russell, DEI bans and defunding has caused the “silencing [of] students’ voices.”
Many colleges and universities have previously offered enrollment to underserved students through DEI programs, and now with the lack of funds, many students may face denied access to the curriculum and education that they want.
