# DEI and Trump explained: What's behind the war on diversity

 kicked off the campaign to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives during his first term. Now he's back in the Oval Office to finish the job.

During , the president claimed his administration had eliminated DEI.

"**We have ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and, indeed, the private sector and our military,"** Trump said. "**And our country will be woke no longer.**"

Just hours after he took the oath of office on Jan. 20, Trump began issuing executive orders to dismantle programs, put pressure on federal contractors to end “illegal DEI discrimination,”&nbsp;and direct federal agencies to draw up lists of private companies that could be investigated for their DEI policies.

Cabinet officials quickly followed. In one of his first directives to Pentagon employees, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a short note with **"DoD ≠ DEI"** in large black letters. **"Those who do not comply will no longer work here,"** he wrote.

Some companies like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta  to align themselves with the Trump administration.

"**President Trump's speech confirmed what we already knew: He is intent on attacking all pathways to the American Dream that give all people the freedom to thrive in our nation and instead hoard opportunity for the privileged few,"** Andrea Abrams, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Defending American Values Coalition, told USA TODAY in a statement. "**His baseless attacks on DEI are attacks on the promise of America, the promise that everyone should be able to build the life of their dreams without barriers standing in their way.**"

With Trump fueling the backlash, tensions are running high in a nation already polarized over DEI. But what is DEI?&nbsp;

## What is the meaning of DEI?

DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Beyond that, there is little agreement on what it means.&nbsp;

On the one hand, DEI is a broad-brush term that refers to the policies and measures that organizations use to prevent discrimination, comply with civil rights laws and create environments more welcoming to people from marginalized backgrounds.

Supporters of these diversity programs say they help companies hire and retain top talent and boost innovation and profits.

"**Talk to any CEO of a major Fortune 500 company. They’ll tell you that their bottom line, dollar wise, does better when there’s more diversity in the room,"** Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a former civil rights lawyer and a Democrat, recently  the New York Times.

Critics see diversity initiatives as the polar opposite of merit. They have challenged these initiatives in courtrooms and on  as **"illegal DEI discrimination"** –  so called “reverse discrimination” – against white people.

Some of the “woke” excesses critics object to? Linking executive compensation to diversity goals and sponsoring fellowship or internship programs open only to certain groups.

DEI “postulates that American society is systemically racist, oppressive, animated by white supremacy or any of many other ills attributed to America, its founding, and its culture,” Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, recently . “DEI does not promote diversity, etc., to which few people would object. It seeks to dismantle our entire society and recast it.”

Trump "has restored merit as the cornerstone of all federal policy," Miller said during a White House briefing.

Business leaders have talked up the concept of merit for years. High-tech entrepreneur and investor Mitch Kapor has said corporations operate a **"mirroredocracy,"** not a meritocracy, a self-reinforcing system that concentrates power, influence, and decision-making authority in one demographic group.&nbsp;

David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the NYU School of Law, says he’s “deeply frustrated” that conservatives pit DEI against merit.&nbsp;

According to Glasgow, DEI helps make sure systems are meritocratic by **breaking down barriers** and **expanding the talent pool** so companies can hire and promote the best people.

“We know from decades of extensive research that, in the absence of DEI efforts, humans do not make perfectly merit-based decisions,” Glasgow wrote on LinkedIn. **"Far from being opposed to merit, DEI supports merit-based decision-making."**

Creating a true meritocracy "means creating and stewarding rigorous systems for hiring, feedback, and promotion" and eliminating discrimination, said Francisco Juarez.

"DEI done right is how we achieve our aspirations of meritocracy," Juarez  on LinkedIn.



## Did DEI change corporate America?

After , America’s largest corporations worked to reverse decades of disparities and remove bias from hiring and retention practices.&nbsp;

Those efforts seemed to get results. Between 2020 and 2022, the number of Black executives rose by nearly 27% in S&P 100 companies, according to a  collected by the federal government.

But the DEI backlash slowed that momentum. The ranks of Black executives fell 3% in 2023 from the prior year at twice the rate of white executives. Data for 2024 is not yet available.

Today, white men still dominate the corridors of power. Even with recent gains, Black Americans are outnumbered 12 to 1 by white people in executive roles.

Civil rights leaders warn DEI rollbacks could **erase hard-fought gains** in the workplace.

Without DEI, "we risk reverting to environments where homogeneity is the norm, bias and discrimination go more unchecked and the status quo remains unchallenged, where our nation will increasingly default to the belief that competence and privilege lie first and foremost with white men," said Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, president of the Southern Kitchen.

That belief "contradicts our best civic and religious values and makes our workplaces less competitive," he said.
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