President Trump signed an executive order in the State Department on Tuesday to eliminate diversity programming, wiping away the Biden administration's initiative to remove barriers to employment for underrepresented groups.
Trump's order directs the State Department to “remove “diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility” from tenure and promotion criteria for foreign services.
The order further directs the US government not to lay the basis for recruitment, employment, promotion or retention decisions for foreign services relating to an individual's race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.
“The relevant agencies shall identify appropriate measures regarding foreign services officers who are willfully and intentionally involved in illegal discrimination and take appropriate measures,” the order reads.
The Biden administration has established the Bureau of Diversity and Inclusion, reported to the Secretary of State, and was charged with increasing representation among the underrated groups. One of the office's initiatives was to produce demographic baseline reports.
“The data allows the department to assess whether its workforce reflects the rich diversity of our country. The data will also be used to examine whether there are potential anomalies that could represent a barrier to equal employment opportunity,” the State Department said at the time.
