Latest news with #DEI-focused
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana House passes bill that would eliminate DEI programs
BATON ROUGE, La. (LSU Manship School News Service) – The Louisiana House Monday night passed a controversial bill that would prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion offices, training and hiring policies in state agencies and public colleges. The bill passed 57-32 after an emotional and deeply divided debate that largely fell along racial lines. House Bill 685, by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, now moves to the Senate. It is part of Gov. Jeff Landry's legislative agenda. Ten Black representatives spoke in opposition to the bill, calling it divisive, unnecessary, and racially insensitive. 'This is the most racially oppressive piece of legislation I have ever had to debate since I have been in office,' said Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans. The bill would ban mandatory DEI training and race- or gender-based hiring or admissions preferences. It also would eliminate public DEI offices and initiatives, including prohibiting required DEI coursework at public universities. As Trump targets DEI, Republican-led states intensify efforts to stamp it out Chenevert said the bill aims to keep Louisiana compliant with President Donald Trump's executive orders and protect the state's federal funding. The Trump administration is investigating several universities nationwide, though Louisiana universities have not been targeted so far. She stressed the bill does not ban teaching DEI concepts, only the requirement of DEI-focused coursework for graduation. She also raised concerns about fairness in sports. 'My biggest concern is that it has hurt more female athletes across this country than it has helped,' she said. 'Biological men have taken the places of biological women.' Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, called the bill 'a step backwards' and accused Chenevert of ignoring the benefits DEI programs have provided, especially for white women. 'Are you aware that more white women, like you, have benefitted from DEI than whoever you're referring to?' Marcelle said. 'If we had equal opportunity to be at the table, there would be no need for the program.' She added she was appalled a woman would bring this bill. Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia, sworn in just hours before the vote, said voters he spoke to during his campaign were not focused on DEI. 'They're worried about schooling for their children, the economy, state issues,' he said. 'This bill is unnecessary.' Rep. Rodney Lyons, D-Harvey, questioned the bill's economic impact, particularly the elimination of the Department of Agriculture's Minority Affairs Program, which supports minority and veteran farmers, a large portion of the state's agricultural community. Marcelle also warned the bill could interfere with police training on race and community relations. Supporters said the legislation promotes unity and merit. 'I keep hearing diversity is what makes us strong, but it is not,' said Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray, defending Chenevert. 'What makes us strong is unity… There's only one race, and it's human.' Rep. Chuck Owen, R-Rosepine, expressed his frustration with the debate. 'I see us talking past each other,' he said. 'I hear us talking past each other.' The bill requires annual compliance reports and tasks the legislative auditor with enforcement. An accompanying fiscal note projects minor cost savings, including $174,000 from cutting the Agriculture Department's DEI office. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, Louisiana would join a growing number of Republican-led states rolling back public DEI policies. Chenevert became emotional in her closing remarks, saying everyone views the issue differently. She framed her perspective from a biblical viewpoint, emphasizing that no matter our skin tone, 'we all share the same blood.' Americans are divided over DEI programs on college campuses, an AP-NORC poll finds Trump administration set to limit COVID-19 shot approvals to the elderly, highest-risk New Orleans jail worker accused of helping inmates escape is arrested Trump pitch fails to move GOP holdouts on agenda megabill Louisiana House passes bill that would eliminate DEI programs Hannah Kobayashi speaks out after disappearance, father's death Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
18-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump says he killed DEI. So why isn't it dead yet? Cracks emerge in war on 'woke'
Trump says he killed DEI. So why isn't it dead yet? Cracks emerge in war on 'woke' Show Caption Hide Caption Big U.S. companies taper or abandon diversity pledges Some of the biggest companies in the U.S. from Walmart to Meta Platforms have rolled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, known as DEI. With the swirl of a black Sharpie marker, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day back in the White House, cracking down on what he calls 'illegal and radical' diversity, equity and inclusion practices. It was the first in a series of actions to make good on campaign promises to wipe out DEI. Over 100 days in office, the president purged diversity initiatives in the federal government and the military, threatened to strip billions of dollars in federal funding and grants from universities and pressured major corporations to roll back diversity initiatives or risk losing federal contracts – or worse. With the anti-DEI campaign that began in his first term now topping the White House's economic and cultural agenda, Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened investigations and prosecutions. The Federal Communications Commission opened probes into Comcast and Disney. 'I ended all of the lawless, so-called diversity, equity and inclusion bullshit all across the entire federal government and the private sector,' Trump said at a rally in Michigan marking his 100th day in office. But has he? DEI is not dead yet, people on both sides of the political aisle say. The White House 'will need to focus on making sure companies are doing what they said they would do when they announced they were turning away from DEI,' said Jonathan Butcher, a senior research fellow with the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. 'Goldman Sachs, Disney, IBM and others all made announcements just this year, so are they just renaming programs or actually ending race-based hiring policies or DEI-focused employee training?' DEI retreat or reset? The Trump administration struck mighty blows in the first 100 days, reshaping DEI policies across industries and touching virtually every American workplace. Even before Trump's inauguration, Facebook owner Meta abandoned its practice of considering diverse candidates for open roles. McDonald's dropped diversity targets for its executive ranks. In Trump's first week back in the White House, defense contractor Lockheed Martin said it would take 'immediate action to ensure continued compliance and full alignment with President Trump's recent executive order.' Software giant which told USA TODAY in 2023 that it would stand up to Trump on DEI, deleted the word 'diversity' from its annual report and scrapped goals to diversify its workforce. DEI explained What is DEI and why is it so divisive? What you need to know. 'The administration has certainly created a chilling effect where many organizations are reluctant to keep or advertise perfectly legal strategies to advance diversity,' said Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Even as major companies pare back or flatline diversity commitments, a few, including Costco and Cisco, have publicly defended DEI. Shareholders at American Express, Apple and Levi's have overwhelmingly voted in favor of DEI. And the 'silent majority' is continuing the work despite growing political pressure to defund DEI, said sociology professor Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, who runs the Center for Employment Equity at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 'The vast majority of organizations have simply gone quiet, neither retreating from or defending their DEI programs in the public square,' Tomaskovic-Devey said. The data seems to bear that out. Just 8% of business leaders surveyed by the Littler law firm are seriously considering changes to their DEI programs as a result of the Trump administration's executive orders. Nearly half said they do not have plans for new or further rollbacks. Instead of backing off, corporations are evolving their diversity programs to focus on what works and jettison what does not, said Joelle Emerson, CEO of culture and inclusion platform Paradigm. Some 85% of companies report that their executive teams are just as committed – or even more – to building fair and inclusive workplaces as they were a year ago, according to a recent Paradigm survey. 'We're seeing organizations back away from highly scrutinized and increasingly legally risky efforts like setting and sharing representation goals as well as evolving their language, moving away from the politically charged acronym 'DEI,'' Emerson said. 'But most appear to be continuing or even doubling down on initiatives that have the greatest impact. Benefits that allow a broader range of people to thrive in the workforce. Processes that empower companies to cast wider nets and hire and advance the best talent. Training and other programs that focus on creating cultures for everyone where all employees can do their best work.' Is DEI doubling down? Over half of the nation's 3,000 largest companies continue to build and expand DEI-related programs, according to Olivia Knight, racial and environmental justice manager at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which has advocated for corporate DEI programs. With good reason, said Meredith Benton, workplace equity manager at As You Sow and founder of Whistle Stop Capital. In the coming years, minority groups will become a majority of the U.S. population and they will expect businesses to reflect the nation's diversity. 'Early on, there was sincere confusion about the relevancy of these topics to financial returns,' Benton said. 'We are no longer having that conversation. The conversation now is about the best way to ensure that workplaces are managing against bias and discrimination.' While corporations try to "fly below the radar" – in the words of a large retailer just this week, Benton said – she continues to have conversations with corporate executives that show 'their deep understanding of how workforce cohesion, employee belonging, and employee loyalty is essential to their business success.' 'Root out DEI' Why red states are enlisting in Trump's war on 'woke' Some corporations are not sitting on the sidelines. At the Great Place to Work For All Summit, a leadership event in Las Vegas, CEO Anthony Capuano recalled the debate over whether Marriott should make changes to its DEI policies. Thinking back to conversations with his mentor and former chairman Bill Marriott, he told employees: 'The winds blow, but there are some fundamental truths for those 98 years. We welcome all to our hotels, and we create opportunities for all, and fundamentally, those will never change.' Twenty-four hours later, Capuano said he had 40,000 emails thanking him. At Starbucks' annual meeting, CEO Brian Niccol talked up DEI, telling shareholders it is critical for the coffee giant to reflect the diversity of its customers and staff 'in every single one of our stores.' 'Starbucks is a tremendously, tremendously diverse organization and will continue to be a tremendously diverse organization,' Niccol said. 'It's still early days, and I'm sure this administration will have more items in their bag of tricks, but I do think it's notable that a lot of work is continuing despite the unprecedented assault (DEI) has faced,' said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at the NYU School of Law. 'Short-sighted' organizations that abandon DEI won't do so for long, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian predicts. Successful companies are not checking a box but building policies that support 'a wide range of people,' the entrepreneur and investor told Forbes. "I think that the biggest sham is that we have somehow identified these types of goals with not being meritocratic," Ohanian said. "Those of us who've been out here building multibillion-dollar companies with an eye towards having diversity, equity, and inclusion, we're hiring for greatness. That never stopped." Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at Dartmouth, said the business case for diversity has never been stronger. 'The choice isn't between merit and diversity. The highest-performing organizations know that having a meritocracy means you need to make sure that diverse candidates have the same chance to show their merit as others,' Argenti wrote in a LinkedIn post. 'Companies with diverse leadership consistently outperform their homogeneous counterparts in innovation, risk management and financial returns.' Trump banks on DEI backlash DEI initiatives swept through corporate America and the federal government after George Floyd's 2020 murder forced a historic reckoning with race in America. Those efforts to increase the stubbornly low percentage of female, Black and Hispanic executives 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 USA TODAY analysis of workforce data collected by the federal government. That momentum was met with a forceful backlash. Critics like Stephen Miller and Edward Blum threw down legal challenges that reframed these DEI efforts as illegal discrimination. Consumer boycott threats from anti-DEI activists like Robby Starbuck intensified. In 2023, the ranks of Black executives fell 3% from the prior year at twice the rate of White executives, USA TODAY found. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump telegraphed a dramatic shift to America's approach to civil rights, vowing to take on "anti-white" racism. "I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country and that can't be allowed," Trump said. Some of DEI's sharpest critics now hold powerful positions in the Trump administration and they are leaning into deep divisions over DEI. A narrow majority of the public – 53% – disapproves of the Trump administration's actions to end DEI, while 44% approve, according to the Pew Research Center. The split is sharper along party lines. Nearly 8 in 10 Republicans approve while nearly 9 in 10 Democrats disapprove. According to data intelligence firm Morning Consult, DEI is one of the hot-button issues that produces the widest partisan gaps in what Americans want brands to talk about. Democrats are far more likely to want to hear about DEI than Republicans but even they are prioritizing it less than last year, down from 78% to 71%, Morning Consult found. 'If you want to have a government that enforces civil rights laws, we need to have a government that enforces civil rights laws for everyone. Not just the favored groups, but for every individual,' DEI critic Christopher Rufo said on a recent New York Times podcast. 'So what does that look like? It looks like what the Trump administration is doing: To say anti-White bigotry should face just as severe a sanction as anti-Black bigotry.' Many of the Trump administration's actions in the first 100 days were pulled straight from the pages of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for Trump's second term, from overhauling civil rights offices that enforce civil rights and antidiscrimination laws to the removal of a cornerstone of civil rights law known as disparate impact liability that the government used to challenge exclusionary policies in employment. At the Departmentof Justice, Harmeet K. Dhillon, the new head of the civil rights division that has been at the center of the struggle for racial equality since its creation in 1957, has purged top lawyers and reoriented the agency to focus on combating antisemitism and transgender athletes in women's sports, among other Trump priorities. 'The job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology,' Dhillon told conservative commentator Glenn Beck. In the coming weeks, Bondi is expected to submit a report with recommendations to 'encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI,' including each agency's list of up to nine civil compliance investigations. 'That's when the rubber will really hit the road as we move from the realm of bluster and threats into the realm of actually determining whether 'illegal DEI' is as pervasive as they seem to think it is,' Glasgow said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House highlights over $2B in savings from DEI cuts during Trump administration's first 100 days
An analysis of the Trump administration's efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the federal government during the president's first 100 days in office revealed that nearly 750 DEI employees have been placed on leave or fired for a savings of more than $2 billion. The analysis provided by the White House showed that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor saw some of the biggest savings. The trio of agencies fired or placed on leave 256 DEI employees, saving taxpayers over $1.3 billion, the analysis noted. Overall, the Trump administration let go of 745 employees working in DEI offices or on DEI-related programs throughout the government and saved taxpayers roughly $2.33 billion. "President Trump ordered the end of radical and racist DEI propaganda in government, and the administration is swiftly enacting the president's order," White House principal deputy communications director Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital. "Common sense has returned to government." 'New Sheriff In Town': State Finance Leader Rallies Around Key Trump Victory Saving 'Taxpayer Dollars' In addition to savings and staff cuts, the White House's analysis highlighted the various grants that were slashed and other changes made as a result of the Trump administration's efforts to rid the federal government of DEI. Read On The Fox News App Those programs included race-based grants or quota programs at multiple agencies and race-based promotion commitments. Multimillion-dollar grants for DEI training and DEI-focused activist groups were also among the cuts at most agencies. At the State Department, a $5 million grant to "strengthen organizational capacity leadership and impact for mid-sized autonomous intersex and trans human rights organizations" was cut. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) saved $1.7 million by eliminating four years of DEI staff training on topics ranging from "microaggressions" to "identifying and preventing racism in your marketing." "You must accept what has happened and what you have done," a narrator of one of the LinkedIn training sessions funded through these grants stated. "If you can't accept what the marketplace is telling you, that this piece of content is sexist, racist, homophobic … you can't move forward as a leader." Dei Is Dead. Here's What Should Come Next Other USDA grants, according to the White House's analysis, spent money on staff training aimed at "cultivat[ing] an Eye for Inequity," while Trump administration staff also found "DEI Bingo" cards left over from the Biden administration. The bingo cards included spaces to be checked off, like, "I know what the 'I' in LGBTQIA+ means" and "I have pronouns in my signature line." USDA also dispersed race-based grants, such as money for "LATINX Growers" and "Black Women's Regenerative Farming," according to the White House analysis. The analysis also indicated that the USDA spent $600,000 on research into the menstruation of biological males and $361,000 to support queer and trans farmers. Similar DEI-related materials were found at the Department of Education, including a white board with bullet points about race-centric priorities. Below the heading "Projects" was a bullet point that said "Black male resource doc," while "Goals of the Week" included "Tighten up Black Ed Roundtable" and "PAC pictures." Another box on the whiteboard said, "Black male political appointees." The Education Department under President Donald Trump has also slashed grants promoting racial hiring quotas and numerous teacher training sessions on topics like resisting "settler patriarchy" and how America's education system is one of the "settler-colonial realities." Defunding Dei: Here's How The Trump Administration Has Undone Biden's Very Prized Programs According to the administration's analysis of its DEI cuts, almost 100 antisemitic incidents were left unresolved by the former Biden-Harris administration's Office of Civil Rights within the Education Department. According to the analysis, staffers in the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights were also told by the last administration to "sit on" a civil rights complaint against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. The Biden administration also reportedly neglected Freedom of Information Act requests about its DEI efforts. The White House's analysis recorded as many as 4,000 outstanding requests sent to the Department of Labor, which, under President Joe Biden, promoted DEI-based hiring and mandatory training programs for staff. The Health and Human Services Department also saw steep cuts to DEI programs during Trump's first 100 days. At the National Institutes of Health alone, over $350 million in DEI projects were slashed, including grants for studying "multilevel and multidimensional structural racism" and "gender-affirming hormone therapy in mice," among others. 'Woke' Hospital Could Be In Crosshairs Of Trump Admin After Scathing Complaint Alleges Dei Discrimination In addition to all the cuts, the Trump administration has taken steps to rectify the Biden administration's DEI focus. It ended DEI-related training courses within the DOT online learning management system and disabled an internal email feature at the Department of Transportation that let users list their pronouns. The administration did the same with other pronoun policies at other agencies. The administration has also taken proactive steps at other agencies, such as removing DEI criteria from more than 2,900 supervisory performance standards at the Energy Department. At the Department of Interior, the agency's "DEIA Council" was terminated. It had a stated purpose of embedding diversity, equity and inclusion principles into "everything" the agency does. Trump's crusade against DEI began on the first day of his second presidency with an executive order, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing." In the order, President Trump accused the Biden administration of forcing "illegal and immoral" DEI programs on the American people. "This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden's first day in office," Trump's order article source: White House highlights over $2B in savings from DEI cuts during Trump administration's first 100 days
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal grant pulled from local farming collective over alleged DEI violations
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Western New York nonprofit that supplies fresh produce to thousands of families is reeling after the federal government abruptly cut off its grant funding, citing concerns over discriminatory practices tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Providence Farm Collective (PFC), a 37-acre nonprofit farm located in Orchard Park, recently received notice from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that its $750,000 grant — currently in its second year — would be terminated. The funding supports a program helping refugee, immigrant and Black farmers establish their footing in agriculture. 'It was like a shocker to me and even to the rest of the communities that farm here,' said Hamadi Ali, the deputy director of PFC. The collective, which operates 30 farms and supports over 200 farmers, grows over 100,000 pounds of produce annually and serves more than 14,000 Western New Yorkers. The sudden loss of funding, which arrived just as the 2025 growing season began, threatens the future of those operations, according to its leaders. 'We're the only program west of Ithaca in all of New York state that offers farmer training on farmland, plus free resources and education,' said Kristin Heltman-Weiss, the executive director of PFC. 'This decision is a real threat to our local food system.' According to the USDA, the grant was removed because the programs it supported allegedly violated federal civil rights laws. An email from the department stated that eliminating all forms of discrimination is a priority and alleged that the DEI-focused programming at PFC may have engaged in 'unlawful discrimination.' Ali strongly disagrees with the USDA's interpretation. 'Our work being discriminatory and breaking the Civil Rights Act — it is just not true,' he said. 'There's every religion, every ethnic background, every culture, every skin color you will see here,' Heltman-Weiss said. 'This is the opposite of exclusion.' The loss of funding is part of a broader shift under the current federal administration, which has moved to roll back certain DEI-related policies and funding streams. Still, PFC leadership said they are not aware of any other farms in New York receiving similar notifications. 'I reached out to see if anyone else has gotten a letter like this,' Heltman-Weiss said. 'So far, I haven't heard of any other farm.' Despite the financial uncertainty, the collective is determined to move forward. 'A word — resilient,' Ali said. 'We are resilient folks — both the communities here and the Western New York region. We can weather this.' PFC plans to formally appeal the USDA's decision. The appeal must be submitted within 60 days. Latest Local News Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Education uncertainty for new leader of the Minnesota teachers union
For the first time in 12 years, the 84,000-member Minnesota teachers union, Education Minnesota, will have a new president. Monica Byron will be MEA's first president of color at a time when the president of the United States, Donald Trump, is warning of funding cuts unless all DEI programs are banned. Byron says Minnesota teachers will fight to keep DEI-focused programs. "Right now, we have support at the local level and the state level to continue to make sure that when it comes to inclusion and it comes to those types of programs that we will have support," says Byron. She also takes the helm as schools across the country have come under fire for low test scores in the aftermath of the pandemic. The latest test scores show just under 50% of Minnesota students are proficient in reading, just over 45% are proficient in math. Only 31% of Black students are proficient in reading and 21% in math. While critics, especially Republicans, say the current education system is failing students and families. Byron and MEA feel the low test scores result from a critical statewide teacher shortage, and more students are choosing to opt out of tests. "What we are seeing there are fewer students taking the test and that actually impact the proficiency score," said Byron. Byron says those new test scores also don't reflect the impact of the $110M READ Act, which calls for schools statewide to go back to teaching reading through phonics. Byron says teachers are still being trained. "I think the best practices help all students, so I am hopeful that it will help reach all of our students and especially our children of color," said Byron.
