After President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, on his first day back in office, Trump committed to an executive order dismantling all DEI programs.
The acronym DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. An article by the staff of insightintodiversity.com write “this program began when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Its goal was to insure diverse and inclusive workplaces where everyone has equal opportunities.” These goals were ultimately for forming equality and community between different races, genders, and backgrounds. An article on the DEI Act from cloud.house.gov states “This act terminates offices and prohibits agencies from renaming or repurposing them to continue the same functions under new titles.”
What does this effect? It will decrease protection against discrimination, a decline in reporting mechanisms for harassment, and a less diverse and equitable workplace culture. According to Forbes writers Connor Murray and Molly Bohannon, “television stations like Disney and CBS are altering or completely getting rid of DEI; this creates a sense of shamefulness and secrecy where diverse groups should feel happy and free to be who they are.”
However, stations are not the only places where they are ending DEI programs. Murray and Bohannon also write, “popular stores like Target, Amazon, and Lowe’s have all said they will stop supporting the LGBTQ+ community the way they have before, such as attending pride parades and selling pride merchandise.” Melissa Repko of CNBC states, “51% of Target’s workforce is people of color,” this means because Target has decided to pull back on all DEI related things, they will lose service quality, sales and safety. Quality is one of the main reasons people love to shop at Target, a popular brand.
If removing DEI hurts the stores too, why are they doing it? Another article from Forbes mentions companies are scaling back because of “political pressure, legal concerns, and a perceived lack of return of investment.” These companies are so worried about what will happen to them if they do not eliminate them, that they are not realizing eliminating them could end up being why their business will fail.
The Economic times expresses, “…the decision to remove DEI programs was based solely on President Trump’s belief that these DEI programs are discriminatory against white citizens.” However, the programs in question were formed over 6 decades ago, in hopes of finally ending centuries of discrimination, especially against people of color. It was an attempt to have everyone be treated equally, the way it should have been all along.
Now when the United States have made such great progress, we will have to fight for these same rights again.