Diversity, equity and inclusion is an attempt at creating a workforce with different opinions, backgrounds and skills. DEI includes policies and programs that assist marginalized groups in getting equal opportunities, including training for employers to ensure candidates are chosen based on merit rather than background, the Americans with Disabilities Act and affirmative action.
While DEI may be a new term, it traces its origins to the 1940s and legislation in the 1960s. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Title VII made baselines for equal employment and denounced discrimination. Johnson signed an executive order in 1965 which further prevented such prejudice. Activists fought for equity in the workforce for African Americans in the 1940s and 1950s, but this snowballed into more marginalized groups, such as the disabled, women, people of color, immigrants and ethnic groups. DEI programs started expanding in the 1970s, with the first extensions being affirmative action. These policies were enforced as a solution to bias in college admissions and hiring systems, but affirmative action in college admissions has since been outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2023.
President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders, which were signed in his first week of office, aim to remove DEI programs from the Federal government. Section 1 of his EO states, “The injection of ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ into our institutions has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.”
Trump’s decision has sparked controversy.
“It’s really easy and convenient to point the finger at minorities, at immigrants, to rile up his base,” said history teacher Scott BonDurant. “I mean, it worked, right? He got re-elected despite being an awful human being with a terrible criminal record. He got enough people mad about it. It’s an old trick … Leaders have been blaming minorities forever. [If you] don’t like your life, or your country’s social problems, it’s their fault, and this is the newest 2025 version of it.”
Specifically, these EOs terminate DEI programs and positions in the federal government and cancel previous executive orders from previous administrations. Beyond the workplace, the Department of Education has also commanded schools to halt “racial preferences” in curriculums and threatened to stop federal funding.
“While the current administration has eliminated some DEI policy in the federal agencies, it is important to recognize that diversity can naturally arise when focusing on merit,” said Queenie Hua, Career Technical Education and Career coordinator. “Diverse teams often outperform homogenized ones in creativity, problem-solving [and] decision-making. It’s important to maintain a fair, unbiased hiring process to evaluate candidates based on skills.”
Some feel as though Trump’s socioeconomic status affects these decisions.
“He’s obviously very privileged,” said junior Annalise Krause. “All he wants to do is to serve the rich [and] to benefit his party. He doesn’t care for lower class [people] or minorities. [Removing DEI will] harm our institutions overall, because it’s beneficial to have [different] opinions and perspectives. Catering to one certain group [will] definitely harm us.”
Opponents of DEI may argue it’s unfair to give benefits to certain groups due to their historical disadvantage, and that DEI is biased against groups who aren’t from diverse backgrounds.
Students disagree, believing there’s a misunderstanding about the purpose of DEI.
“If you immediately [assume] a person of color is hired [because] ‘the company wants diversity,’ I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” said freshman Julian Rhodes. “You don’t know anything about the person, their background or what they can do for the company.”
While these decisions will impact DEI programs, other federal civil rights laws and constitutional equal rights protections remain in place.
