Trump’s Stance on Diversity and Inclusion

President Trump and his administration focus on addressing racism and sexism, particularly when they believe these issues affect white men rather than people of color or women. During his 2024 campaign, Trump stated, “there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country and that can’t be allowed.” In an effort to attract white voters, Trump promised to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which he argued discriminate against whites, especially white men, favoring supposedly less-qualified minorities and women.

Upon taking office, Trump fulfilled his promise by targeting federal programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. His administration began using civil rights laws, originally established in the 1960s to protect Black people and women, to seemingly benefit white men instead. In addition, the enforcement of a law protecting women and minorities from certain types of discrimination was reduced.

An example of these efforts appeared on July 21 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) decided to stop requiring employers to categorize their workforce by gender and ethnicity. This categorial reporting has been in place since 1966. The EEOC typically receives more than 88,000 discrimination complaints each year and uses these data to determine investigation priorities. In 2023, some 73,000 employers filed workforce demographic reports covering about 50 million employees. While data for 2024 has been collected, the Trump administration has withheld its release.

NPR reported that white men, representing one-third of the U.S. workforce in 2023, held 53 percent of high-level positions. Asian men, along with white and Asian women, were proportionately represented, but Black and Hispanic individuals were underrepresented in these roles. Rather than encouraging Black and Hispanic workers to report discrimination, Andrea Lucas, a Trump appointee and Commission Chair, released a video in December on X soliciting discrimination complaints specifically from white men.

The EEOC’s discontinuation of demographic data collection won’t eliminate workplace discrimination against people of color and women but rather obscure it. This aligns with Trump’s past remarks during the COVID pandemic, where he suggested that fewer tests would mean fewer reported cases, reflecting a desire to minimize the acknowledgment of existing problems.

Early in his second term, Trump signed executive orders that declared diversity, equity, and inclusion programs illegal and immoral, ending them within federal agencies and discouraging their continuation elsewhere. This led many companies to diminish or cancel their DEI initiatives. Trump argues that his campaign against diversity seeks to ensure job and educational opportunities based on merit, not race or gender, predicated on the belief that white men are inherently more qualified.

Trump attempted to gain Black voters by suggesting unauthorized immigrants were taking jobs from Black workers, implying low-paying labor positions were the only available jobs for Black people. This perspective ignores the intelligence and qualifications of many individuals across racial and gender lines.

As a Black woman, the author has faced lifelong underestimation, being told her success resulted merely from her race and gender. Yet, Black and female individuals remain underrepresented in high-level jobs and black households had lower average incomes in 2024 compared to white households. Racism and sexism have been constants in the author’s experience, dating back to her childhood in segregated Louisiana. Although America has made progress, ending these issues will not occur by suggesting that white men are the primary victims.

Donna Brazile is a political strategist, a contributor to ABC News, and a former chair of the Democratic National Committee. She authored “Hacks: Inside the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House.”