This article delves into the attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, highlighting the confusion surrounding the term and its misrepresentation by some political figures. It clarifies the true nature of DEIA programs, emphasizing their role in promoting fairness, removing barriers, and creating a more inclusive workplace environment.
Attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs ( DEIA ) have been a prominent theme in the early days of the second Trump administration, including a particularly shameful and fact-free rant blaming a deadly plane crash on DEIA initiatives. While the DEIA acronym appears in many recent executive orders and memoranda, they offer no definition of the term. This vagueness may be intentional, or it may reflect a lack of understanding among those demonizing the term.
Either way, it has resulted in widespread confusion. Until President Trump fired me late at night on January 27th, I was the general counsel at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC's lawyers litigate hundreds of cases across the country each year to enforce federal civil rights laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on race, sex, religion, age, and disability. The recent wave of DEIA-related executive orders invoke these same civil rights laws, claiming that “illegal DEIA policies” violate them by discriminating based on race and sex. However, the relationship between DEIA and civil rights law is more complex than this simplistic narrative suggests.First, DEIA policies encompass a broader scope than federal civil rights laws, addressing a wider range of societal injustices and employing a larger toolkit to combat them. Second, DEIA policies do not violate employment civil rights laws unless they require an employer to make individual hiring or promotion decisions based on race or sex – that is, to choose one applicant over another because that applicant is Black or female. Third, these policies can serve a crucial preventative function by enabling employers to identify and rectify barriers to equal opportunity. If left unaddressed, these barriers could ultimately lead to violations of civil rights law. Retreating from DEIA initiatives now could prove costly in the long run, not only for workplace culture but also by exposing companies to liability for discrimination. President Trump’s executive orders frequently mention DEIA in the same sentence as race, and less often, sex. While disability is not explicitly mentioned, it sometimes implicitly accompanies the acronym whenever accessibility is included. However, former President Joe Biden’s now-rescinded executive orders from 2021 and 2022 calling for a commitment to DEIA throughout the federal government and within the federal workforce went beyond race and sex. These orders directed federal agencies to assess and remove barriers to equal opportunity for numerous groups that had historically been underserved by federal programs and underrepresented among federal workers. The orders covered individuals living in rural areas, veterans and military spouses, parents and caregivers, those experiencing poverty, and first-generation professionals. Furthermore, these DEIA initiatives extended beyond hiring to encompass areas like ensuring federal office buildings were physically accessible to people with disabilities and expanding paid federal internships to make these professional development opportunities available to individuals who lacked the financial security to pursue unpaid positions. President Trump appears to believe all of these efforts should cease and that anyone associated with them over the past four years should be dismissed. The damage being inflicted on the federal workforce is immense. Simultaneously, DEIA initiatives in the private sector are also under intense attack. “DEI hire” has become a derogatory term for any person of color or member of a historically disadvantaged group, particularly in a position of power, who is automatically perceived as unqualified for their job. However, lawful DEIA programs actually do expand recruitment efforts – interviewing candidates not just from Ivy League institutions but also from state universities, community colleges, and historically Black colleges and universities, for example – to ensure a wider range of talent has the opportunity to compete for job openings (that’s diversity). They also remove barriers that might hinder some workers’ advancement, such as offering training and networking opportunities at various times of day rather than only in the evenings, which would be inconvenient for individuals with caregiving responsibilities (that’s equity). Lawful DEIA policies aim to ensure all workers are valued and supported, for instance, by providing floating holidays that allow individuals with different religious observances to take time off from work (that’s inclusion). Lawful DEIA efforts could also involve ensuring that any company systems accessed by employees are compatible with assistive technology used by people with disabilities (that’s accessibility, a matter particularly close to my heart as a blind person)
DEIA Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Workplace Culture Discrimination Civil Rights Federal Government Executive Orders
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