The move aligns with Trump’s campaign promise to end what he describes as “social engineering” based on race and gender in public and private spheres.
According to a memo issued on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Trump administration has called for federal agencies to put the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs staff on paid leave immediately and prepare plans to lay them off by January 31, 2025.
The memo requires federal agencies to identify all DEI offices and personnel as they existed on Election Day 2024 and initiate a “reduction-in-force action.” This follows an executive order issued by President Trump on January 20, which accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of embedding “discrimination” programs across the federal government through DEI initiatives.
By 5 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, federal DEI staff were ordered to go on paid leave, and agencies were required to remove all DEI-related webpages. Several departments complied with these directives ahead of the deadline.
Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), endorsed the decision, stating on Twitter, “Yesterday, President Trump issued an Executive Order to end the government’s promotion of DEI. Today, as Chairman of the FCC, I am ending the FCC’s promotion of DEI and will focus our work on competently carrying out the FCC’s statutory mission.”
The push against DEI initiatives extends beyond the federal government. President Trump’s anti-DEI agenda aligns with a shifting corporate landscape, where major companies like Walmart and Meta (formerly Facebook) have scaled back diversity practices. These changes come amid mounting conservative-led lawsuits and political pressures challenging DEI initiatives.
Redefining gender in federal policy
The other order redefines gender within federal policy, recognising only two biological sexes—male and female—based on reproductive anatomy at birth.
This approach, according to Trump’s administration, aims to protect women from what they call “gender extremism.” Conservative groups, such as the American Family Association, have lauded the measure, asserting it upholds biological reality.
However, leading medical organisations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, maintain that gender is a spectrum, challenging the binary framework introduced by the order.
The directive impacts various federal institutions, including prisons and shelters for migrants and rape survivors, which will now segregate facilities strictly by the newly defined sexes. Additionally, federal funding for gender-affirming treatments, including hormone therapy and surgeries, has been halted.
The order also removes requirements for federal employees and contractors to use pronouns that align with an individual’s gender identity, citing First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and religion.
With inputs from wires
