The Facts and Implications of Trump’s Attack on DEI Initiatives

By: Simi David

Trump’s Executive Actions 

Within the first week of commencing his second term, President Trump enacted three executive actions seeking to dissipate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Grounded in his personal conception of DEI initiatives as “illegal, immoral, and discriminatory,” Trump’s executive orders have instituted a federal policy that accepts only two genders, will cease all DEI-related initiatives and activities in the federal workforce, and repeal a number of DEI-related executive orders authorized by prior administrations (Ostrager et al., 2025). Under the guise of a meritocratic, “colorblind” approach to employment, Trump is nullifying decades of federal anti-discrimination policy, and perpetuating the racial and gender disparities which remain prevalent within the American economic and political systems (Moore, 2025). 

A Brief History 

The U.S. rests on a bedrock of slavery, redlining, segregation, disenfranchisement, and marginalization, all of which have worked to ultimately bolster the economic and political empowerment of white Americans while stalemating the socioeconomic progression and political representation of people of color. In attempts to mitigate the racial and gender-based inequity evident perpetrated by historical practices and systemic institutions, bipartisan efforts in recent decades have supported policies and initiatives to promote equal opportunity, political mobilization, and active recruitment for disadvantaged groups. The Johnson Administration, to illustrate, established Executive Order 11246, a watershed in equal opportunity policy for federal employers. However, Trump’s executive orders have abruptly and dangerously stood to vaporize such policies and executive actions, dismantling a foundational anti-discriminatory framework without offering any viable replacement structure (Moore, 2025). Major companies such as Disney, Meta, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs have already begun to “water down” their DEI efforts and representation goals in hiring while other companies and shareholders like those within Apple resist by voting against federal demands to cease DEI programs (Murray, Bohannon, 2025; Moore, 2025). 

Why Should We Care? 

In addition to dismantling decades’ worth of federal efforts to combat historical and systemic inequity, Trump’s executive orders exhibit greater harm in threatening to further widen the already existent race and gender-based gaps in political office. While some observable progress has been made in recent years, women and people of color remain overwhelmingly underrepresented in politics. Approximately 26% of voting members in the 118th U.S. Congress identify as a minority (i.e. a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white), and women constitute only 29.9% of state senate seats (Schaeffer, 2023; Schaeffer, 2025). Trump’s executive actions threaten to further these very disparate gaps in office, and increasingly discourage and diminish the ambition and feasibility of minorities to run and be elected to office. Whether or not the effects of Trump’s attack on DEI are immediate, they are certainly foreordained. It is imperative, in the face of growing federal pressure, for businesses, contractors, and universities to remain conscious and historically reverent in the name of supporting equality and fair opportunity. Employment should certainly be based on merit, but, equally, mindful of the historical and institutional obstacles that have hindered minorities from accessing equal opportunities in the U.S. for centuries. 

Sources:

Moore, R. (2025, January 24). Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/trumps-executive-orders-rolling-back-dei-and-accessibility-efforts-explained

Murray, C., & Bohannon, M. (2025, February 21). Apple Shareholders Reject Ban On Diversity Initiatives—Here Are All The Companies Cutting DEI Programs. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/02/21/pepsi-rolling-back-diversity-initiatives-here-are-all-the-companies-cutting-dei-programs/

Ostrager, A.-E., Jordan, J., & High, T. R. (2025, February 10). President Trump Acts to Roll Back DEI Initiatives. The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2025/02/10/president-trump-acts-to-roll-back-dei-initiatives/

Schaeffer, K. (2023, September 27). The Data on Women Leaders. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/the-data-on-women-leaders/

Schaeffer, K. (2025, January 21). 119th Congress Brings New Growth in Racial, Ethnic Diversity to Capitol Hill. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/21/119th-congress-brings-new-growth-in-racial-ethnic-diversity-to-capitol-hill/

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https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-executive-orders-dei/