The Trump administration has recently announced the decision to prohibit the use of federal funds to go toward diversity training. President Trump also threatened to defund public schools that teach the 1619 Project in history classes.
Diversity training, formally known as diversity, equity, and inclusion training, is used by many companies to ensure that their workplace is inclusive and accepting to all types of people. Such training usually covers the effects of white privilege and the basics of race theory. Even with diversity training becoming more common in the workplace, there is still a significant wage gap between white and minority groups. With this in mind, it is difficult to understand why there is opposition to diversity training, aside from being racist and wanting to perpetuate racial inequality.
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, reasoned that diversity training “runs counter to fundamental beliefs for which our Nation has stood since its inception.” What “beliefs,” exactly, does vought refer to? Perhaps he is referring to the right for white men to make a dollar for every 62 cents black women make. The blatant racism displayed in this decision reflects the deep-rooted issues within the government. Without adequate diversity training, I believe, government officials cannot accurately represent all citizens. A government that does not acknowledge important issues facing the country will not solve them. A government limited in diversity and understanding is not an effective one.
Training in the Federal Government < the full directive that was released
Source 4 < read more about racial inequality in wages here
6 comments:
Sophie mentions that "even with diversity training becoming more common in the workplace, there is still a significant wage gap between white and minority groups" which brings up the question; how effective is "diversity training?" What companies have been implementing diversity training and what has been the impact?
The directive released by the Executive Branch justifies the prohibition of using federal funds toward diversity training by citing the experience of Executive Branch employees: "they were told that 'virtually all White people contribute to racism' or where they are required to say that they 'benefit from racism.'" If these experiences are true, then I think that there should definitely some review of the diversity training program, as I'm not sure, whether true or not, how forcing a group to agree with a statement is solving any problems. However, criticizing the entire idea of diversity training feels a little ridiculous. The purpose of the training is to promote equity and diversity which are definitely values that every company and group should be behind. One concern I have with this directive is that the only evidence it refers to are the experience of those in the Executive Branch. How can the experiences of a similar group of people, who likely share many values and pre-formed opinions on diversity training, speak for the experiences of an entire nation?
I agree with much of what Sophie and Claire mentioned. Completely prohibiting the use of federal funds for diversity training is not the proper solution to the administration's complaints. Yes, it's true that our conversations on race aren't always perfect. And yes, it's true that recent movements like the 1619 project may be ill-advised or flawed. However, improvement and change never come without mistakes. By entirely taking away funds from the program, yes you take away the mistakes, but you also take away the far more important benefits of diversity training (it is likely most companies wouldn't spring for diversity training without incentive from the federal government). Workplaces in America have so often been a racist hotbed, and having conversations about and conspicuous condemnations of commonplace racism, such as microagressions, can go a long way for a safer and more considerate workplace environment.
However, I must depart from Claire's and maybe Sophie's analysis on the wage gaps. Diversity training, from my knowledge at least, doesn't function to make everyone have similar salaries. That is a job of other federal and state legistlation aimed at equal pay (for the same job) and workers rights. Thus, the effectiveness of diversity training cannot be measured by salaries. Moreover, I disagree with Sophie's claim, or her wording, that "Even with diversity training becoming more common in the workplace, there is still a significant wage gap between white and minority groups." A lack of training in diversity isn't causing these wage gaps; knowing racial history or microgressions isn't keeping employers from paying fairly. This is less of an obvious, perhaps easily-adressed, systematic issue than it is a systemic one. Striving for equal pay should be done through education reform, socioeconomic affirmative action, and more. Diveristy training helps create a safe environment, not equal pay.
@Claire - How effective diversity training really is is very relevant to this situation. I do feel however, that the effectiveness of the training relies more on the people receiving it more than anything else. You mention how “forcing people to agree” with certain statements is not super effective. However, it is important to consider how preconceived notions of race learned from a young age can blind someone from learning the truth. For someone who has held racist views all their life without realizing it, learning about white privilege may seem completely ridiculous. This really just emphasizes the need for extensive diversity training that is needed to change a person’s core beliefs.
@Danny - You do point out a major flaw with my wording and logic in that sentence. It is true that diversity training does not do anything to directly combat the wage gap. State and federal legislation regarding this is another issue in itself. On the other hand, I do believe that having a better understanding of inequality in the workplace can lead to change, especially for high level people who have some degree of control over the wages of their workers. A boss who went through diversity training might see their own bias and catch themselves, whereas somebody who hasn't taken diversity training won't. Of course, the influence of training in these situations is minimal compared to the legislation needed to make real change.
The “fundamental beliefs” Vought wishes to defend by terminating the funding for diversity training programs refer to how America is held as a land of opportunity and a meritocracy. I agree with Vought; equal opportunity and a merit-based system have been ideals that America has long championed and strived to uphold. From the creation of the Constitution, the Framers wished to establish a meritocracy that would protect people’s different faculties for acquiring wealth. The image of the American Dream has attracted many prospective immigrants with the belief that they will have opportunities to advance their own stations. To say that these ideals are intrinsically racist would be incorrect. Perhaps it is the fact that systemic racism in America has never allowed the country to fully reach these ideals that the diversity training programs were attempting to teach but was misinterpreted by Vought. To qualify the statement that America is a land of equal opportunity and a meritocracy would have basis in the fact of systemic racism, preventing certain groups from achieving true equality and having equal pay.
First off, I want to say how complicated this issue is an to commend all the previous blog commentators on their well written responses. However, I feel a key point on how important diversity training is in the workplace has not really been elaborated on. While I understand where Alex is coming from, with the idea that "America is held as a land of opportunity and a meritocracy" this can only be purely true in a perfect society. Equal opportunity cannot exist unbiased in a country that still is struggling to deal with very real and prevalent race relation issues and blatant racism. Diversity training will not end racism within the US nor eradicate the gap in salaries between white men and black women, but it is a step in the right direction. In order to ultimately solve a problem, one needs to be aware of it. Trump trying to discontinue these programs is just a "if I don't see it, it doesn't exist" cheap-fix. Stopping diversity training or failing to admit there is a problem, is basically supporting racism and discrimination in the workplace. Trump has failed to denounce white-supremacists, therefore his move to stop federal funding for diversity training, clearly has racist roots. While in many places, if workers are not provided with this training, they won't automatically act racist or blatantly discriminate against non-white workers, the lack of training will continue to perpetrate the negative effects of systemic racism that is a problem within the U.S.
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