US President Donald Trump has wasted no time in his plan to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US, ordering all federal employees in DEI roles to be placed on paid administrative leave on Wednesday.
The memo, reported in major news outlets, was issued to the heads of US departments and agencies, directing them to notify their DEI employees that they will be sacked or reassigned to other roles as the agencies prepare to shut down all DEI-related offices and programs.
The memo also ordered the removal of all websites and social media accounts for the agency offices, and requested federal agencies to file a written proposal for firing or reassigning the employees by the end of the month.
It comes just days after President Trump signed an executive order putting a stop to “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal agencies.
The order stated that the administration would “coordinate the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”
“The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military,” the order read.
On Tuesday night, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the colour of their skin.”
“This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.”
The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Linda Lee Fagan has already been sacked by the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, over her “excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives” among other factors.
Admiral Fagan, who is the first female uniformed leader of a US armed forces branch, was terminated from her position, with a senior Department of Homeland Security official citing reasons including, “leadership deficiencies, operational failures, and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard.”
The American Federation of Government Employees issued a statement condemning Trump’s latest decision, arguing that the “federal government has the lowest gender and racial pay gaps of all employers, precisely because employment decisions are made based on one’s ability to do the work and not on where they went to school or who they supported in the last election.”
“These programs also help build a federal government that looks like the diverse population it serves,” the union expressed.
The union’s national president Everett Kelley described the removal of the DEI programs as “… just another way for President Trump to undermine the merit-based civil service and turn federal hiring and firing decisions into loyalty tests.”
“Our nation’s military leaders have said that eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the Defense Department risks undermining military readiness,” she said.
“Every American has a stake in ensuring that federal employees remain free to carry out the mission of the agencies that employ them without fear of political interference.”
“The federal government already hires and promotes exclusively on the basis of merit,” Kelley told NBC News.
“The results are clear: a diverse federal workforce that looks like the nation it serves, with the lowest gender and racial pay gaps in the country. We should all be proud of that.”
In the past several months, businesses across the US have terminated their DEI programs, including Meta, McDonald’s and Walmart, joining a growing list of companies that have modified or cut back on their DEI policies in response to pressure from conservative groups.
The flurry of DEI rollbacks in the US could be affecting the temperature of corporate Australia, with the ASX’s governance council still finalising the updated principles released last year. Under the proposed changes, boards will be asked to collect data on the sexuality, age, race, Indigenous heritage and disabilities of their directors. The proposed changes to the principles also recommended the current gender target of 30 per cent of women on boards to be increased to 40 per cent.
On Wednesday, ASX Corporate Governance Council chair Elizabeth Johnstone told AFR that the principals are being considered through a “methodical and considered approach” in order for “all voice… [to be] heard.”
“We are committed to providing the best document for stakeholders,” she said. “It is our intention that the next edition is more useful, less prescriptive and easier to understand.”
Meanwhile, just one fifth of the top ASX-listed companies cared to comment on their company’s state of DEI initiatives, after being approached by AFR reporters for comments. However, none of the top 20 companies indicated any plans to roll back their DEI commitments.