From Inclusion to Erasure: the Dismantling of DEI
In January of 2025, President Trump issued executive orders tasked with ending “illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.” The administration believes the removal of DEI programs in the federal government will protect citizens from diversity equity and inclusion discrimination. Trump has claimed that the previous “radical” DEI programs created by the Biden-Harris administration wasted tax-payers dollars and “revered progress made since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 towards a colorblind and competence-based workplace.”
While some support the changes made by the current administration, others have begun to ask: What is DEI?
What is DEI?
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and is known as tools designed to prevent discrimination and create a safe environment for historically marginalized groups in the workplace. Diversity accounts for differences in gender, religion, race, geography, socioeconomic status, and more. Equity means equal opportunity for all Americans and recognizing the systematic challenges that impede equity for all. Inclusion is about creating a safe space where everyone feels a sense of belonging and value regardless of background or identity.
History of DEI
The Civil Rights Movement forced the federal government to recognize segregation and Jim Crow laws as illegal. As a result of this movement, the federal government outlawed discrimination and segregation through the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Executive Order 11246. These reforms allowed black citizens equal access and protections as their white counterparts.
As time progressed, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies were created to address remaining systematic inequalities that barred underprivileged communities from equal access. These policies expanded upon the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and strengthened its impact. DEI policies have increased minority representation in the workplace, created affirmative action in education, and strengthened anti-discrimination laws.
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter Movement, protests began to raise awareness of racial injustice and ever-present systematic barriers that still harmed marginalized communities. Companies were held accountable for performative DEI policies with little impact and discriminatory hiring practices.
In 2021, Joe Biden passed Executive Order 13985. The purpose of this Executive Order was to compensate for systemic racism that is ingrained into American society and institutions. Under this order, the federal government legally had to provide changes to agencies that created impediments to underprivileged citizens from obtaining equal access. This order protected black, latino, Native Americans, disabled citizens, LGBTQ+, and citizens in rural areas. “https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/equity/”Equity Action Plans in 2023, to address potential barriers that underserved communities may continue to face in accessing and benefitting from the agency’s policies, programs, and activities, including procurement, contracting, and grant opportunities.
The Effect of DEI
DEI programs have created safe and inclusive workspaces, introduced people to new ideas and perspectives, and has become a competitive advantage for companies to retain top talent. McKinsey Global Institute, a global management consulting firm, found that companies in the top quartile of ethnic and gender diversity outperformed companies in the bottom quarter.
While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion laws have given minorities easier access to jobs and education, these programs have left white applicants feeling excluded. Many began to view DEI as “woke propaganda” that gave people of color an unfair advantage, instead of evening the playing field for underrepresented groups. Right-winged media sources began to only cover DEI in a negative light and use it as a political attack on the left. DEI became a dirty word and was known as policies that gave unfair advantages to unqualified women and people of color—despite DEI including protections on religion, socioeconomic status, disability, and sexuality. The narrative of diversity, equity, and inclusion changed from including all to becoming “anti-white.” According to the Pew Research Center, over 40 percent of white people believe DEI practices in the work place will harm white men. So, when the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action white conservatives celebrated this ruling as America’s return to meritocracy. Republicans soon began to place restrictions or regulations on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in over 25 states. DEI became politicized to divide people despite many unknowing of its original intention. Consequently, right wing politicians’ portrayal of DEI created the perfect storm for its removal.
Trump soon made campaign promises of removing DEI from the federal government, claiming it wasted taxpayers dollars to get other conservatives on board with his campaign. When elected, he removed DEI from the federal government and placed workers in this field on indefinite leave. The broadness of DEI allowed Trump to blame inclusive policies for plane crashes and “left wing indoctrination.” Many companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta have removed or scaled back their DEI policies in response to the Trump administration.
Bigger Picture
Trump’s successful attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, have set back the gains made by the Civil Rights Movement. Moving forward, it will be significantly easier for government agencies and other companies to to divide corporations on race due to fewer protections on minority rights. There will be less amends for systematic barriers that bar underprivileged groups from obtaining equal access to job opportunities. The erasure of DEI from the federal government will affect anyone working in the diversity job market and will make way for occupational segregation. Legal discrimination will be harder for victims to dispute and easier for companies to get away with.
While Trump claims DEI will restore merit in America, it will do the exact opposite and further the class and racial divides already prevalent in the nation