Why Diversity Training Has Been Suspended At USAID
The suspension followed an executive order from the Trump administration that called such workplace programs "divisive," "anti-American," racist against white people and sexist against men.
The Trump administration issued an executive order and memorandum in September, prohibiting any discussion in the federal workforce of concepts like systemic racism, white privilege and unconscious bias during workplace diversity training.
The order affirmed that the federal government aims to "continue to foster environments devoid of hostility grounded in race, sex and other federally protected characteristics." But it condemned workplace diversity and inclusion trainings as "divisive," "anti-American," racist against white people and sexist against men. As an example, the order pointed to a Treasury Department seminar that promoted the idea that "virtually all white people, regardless of how 'woke' they are, contribute to racism."
