Tag: DEI

Companies Are Throwing Thousands of Diversity Officers Overboard: Report

Virginia Star Staff

Top companies are laying off thousands of diversity-focused workers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Major companies that have championed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, like Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, recently announced the exit of high-profile DEI executives, and thousands of employees working in diversity-related positions have been laid off since last year, according to the WSJ. Employee opinions about the importance of DEI and the funding for related initiatives are changing too, with many workers not seeing it as important.

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DEI Disaster: Wells Fargo Employees Say Bank Targeted Hispanics with Predatory Lending Practices

ADN America

Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States is facing a lawsuit from its Hispanic employees that accuses the centuries old bank of engaging in predatory lending practices against customers of the same ethnic origin.

The lawsuit, filed June 30 in a Texas federal court, accuses Wells Fargo of pressuring Hispanic employees in San Antonio to redirect Latino customers away from home equity lines of credit to more expensive but profitable refinancing options without furnishing the usual disclosures, according to a complaint filed in court.

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Air Force Embraces DEI as Recruitment Falters

The Center Square

The U.S. Air Force has become increasingly focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, and critics say it is hurting recruitment.

Chief of Staff of the Air Force Charles Q. Brown has been a major backer of the DEI efforts. Brown said in the fall of 2020 that DEI was a key focal point of recruiting and a factor in promotions. The Air Force launched a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in September 2020.

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Constitutional Law Center Urges over 150 Medical Schools to End Race-Based Admissions Following Supreme Court Decision

Susan Berry, PhD

A nonprofit law center whose mission is to defend the constitutional rights of Americans has sent a letter to more than 150 medical schools throughout the country, calling upon them to end their race-based admissions policies in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down affirmative action.

Liberty Justice Center, which won a major victory for First Amendment rights in June 2018 after the Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that non-union government workers cannot be required to pay union fees as a condition of working in public service, has now announced efforts to inform the schools of their “legal obligation to end race-based admissions policies” in response to the Court’s recent ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. 

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Commentary: SCOTUS’ Decision on Affirmative Action Could Spell Big Trouble for ESG’s ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ Hiring Quotas

Admin

It’s a simple ruling: “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”

On June 29, the Supreme Court affirmed Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S. Code § 2000d’s prohibition on racial discrimination in federally funded programs, including higher education, at both public and private universities, in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision.

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Commentary: American Medical Association Compromised by Radical Ideology

Virginia Star Staff

The American Medical Association recently passed a series of resolutions in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion that highlight how elite, professional organizations have been deeply compromised by ideology.

A report by National Review on Monday noted that the AMA, which accredits medical schools and has enormous power over the medical profession, passed a series of resolutions in mid-June denouncing legislation that would prevent “gender-affirming care” for minors and in support of racial preferences in higher education.

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Google Backs Down from Pride’ Drag Show After Employees Claim Discrimination Against Christians

Susan Berry, PhD

Tech giant Google has reportedly distanced itself from a ‘pride month’ drag performance it had planned to sponsor in San Francisco after several hundred employees signed a petition expressing opposition to the event, arguing it discriminates against the Christian faith.

According to a report Tuesday at CNBC, a drag queen known as “Peaches Christ” was scheduled to perform at Beaux, an LGBTQ bar in San Francisco, at a “pride” event sponsored by Google.

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Texas Gov Abbott Signs Bills Banning DEI in Public Higher Education, Reforms Tenure

The Center Square

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed two bills into law designed to reform public higher education institutions in Texas. One bans them from implementing DEI policies and another revises the tenure structure. 

Both bills, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, passed the legislature during the regular legislative session. Senate Bill 17 bans public colleges and universities from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that prioritize gender, race, ethnicity and ideological beliefs as factors for hiring or admission policies. Earlier this year, Gov. Abbott’s chief of staff sent a letter to public higher education institutions and state agencies saying if they were implementing DEI policies, they were violating federal law. In response, the heads of Texas colleges and universities said they were “pausing” and reviewing their DEI policies. The new law requires them to terminate them.

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Republican Lawmakers Call for DEI Spending Report to Investigate Virginia Public Colleges

Admin

Republican lawmakers in Virginia are requesting a spending report that focuses specifically on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at state colleges and universities, Higher Ed Dive reports.

Two lawmakers in particular are paving the way for this new initiative: House Speaker Todd Gilbert and House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore. In a May 4 letter, Gilbert and Kilgore requested the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) “to study the growing cost of public higher education in the Commonwealth.”

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Study: Critical Race Theory Being Taught at Top Veterinary Schools

Admin

A new study reveals that 8 of the top 11 veterinary schools in the United States have begun implementing far-left race-based concepts such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

As Fox News reports, the website CriticalRace.org monitors the teaching of CRT in schools, and has recently expanded its criteria to include veterinary schools in addition to other forms of higher education. The survey reveals that four of the 11 schools have made it mandatory for students to undergo such training and curriculum, while eight have mandatory training for staff and faculty, and six have implemented DEI in their hiring processes. Furthermore, seven of the schools have tools in place for students to report “incidents of bias” or “violations of inclusivity” to school authorities.

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Commentary: Equity and the Race to the Bottom

RealClearWire

Over the last few years, the rallying cry of “woke” activists has become “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (often abbreviated to DEI). There is little reason to object to such principles on the surface. After all, America was founded on the principle that all people are created equal. Unfortunately, the meaning of words can change over time.  

Rather than the Founders’ vision of equal opportunity for all, the use of the word “equity” today denotes equal outcomes for all. The implementation of this “equity agenda,” however well-intentioned, will lead to terrible consequences. 

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Medical Schools Are Ditching Standardized Tests in the Name Of ‘Diversity’

Admin

A developing medical school trend to ditch the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) requirement may not bode well for the future of the profession, medical watchdog group Do No Harm told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Approximately 40 medical schools across the country have dropped the MCAT, a multiple choice exam that determines an individual’s ability to problem solve, think critically, and understand concepts about medical study, as a requirement for some applying students, according to a list compiled by Inspira Advantage. Do No Harm alleged that dropping the requirement is another way schools aim to bolster diversity on campus but asserted that it is a “dangerous trend,” according to its analysis.

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Report: CVS ‘Gender Transition Guidelines’ Urge All Employees to Become Allies of Transgender Workers

Susan Berry, PhD

CVS Health’s “gender transition guidelines” for employees shows the drugstore chain catering to transgender employees by allowing them to use whichever sex’s restroom they prefer, insisting all others use their preferred pronouns, and providing medical leave for their gender transition, a Fox Business report says.

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States Are Pushing to Force Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs in Higher Education

Virginia Star Staff

As Republican-led states fight for laws to cut Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives on college campuses, other state legislatures are pushing to enshrine the programs into law, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.

At least 29 bills have been filed in 17 states to crack down on DEI programs, but states such as New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey are debating legislation that would do the opposite, the Chronicle reported. DEI has become a point of contention as state lawmakers grapple with the role the programs should have on campus, as Democrats argue that the programs help bolster diversity on campuses while Republicans challenge that they stoke division. 

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Virginia’s Prince William County Hides ‘Creepy and Intrusive’ DEI Survey for Employees: Elected Official

Just the News

A suburban Virginia county near Washington, D.C. is retroactively hiding diversity, equity and inclusion-related materials from the public as a Republican elected official calls attention to its activities.

Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega, who lost a closely watched House race in November, posted the “creepy and intrusive” DEI survey sent to county employees after the Office of Equity and Inclusion removed the link she had shared with constituents Feb. 26.

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Virginia Military Institute Alumni Work to Disrupt Donations to Force School to End DEI Programs

Admin

The Virginia Military Institute continues to face intense pushback from an alumni group that opposes the military school’s ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The activists in recent months upped their efforts by seeking to redirect the institute’s alumni fundraising in an effort to persuade campus leaders to pull back on critical race theory policies and programs.

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Biden Grants Sweeping ‘Racial Equity’ Power to Susan Rice in Executive Order Converting Entire Federal Government into ‘Woke DEI Cult’

Susan Berry, PhD

Joe Biden issued an executive order Thursday that grants Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice power to transform all agencies of the executive branch into a radical “woke DEI cult,” warns America First Legal (AFL). With scant establishment media coverage, Biden issued his executive order that intends to completely make over all domestic federal agencies to an entirely Marxist worldview – without congressional approval.

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Commentary: The Sudden Dominance of the Diversity Industrial Complex

RealClearWire

Little more than a decade ago, DEI was just another arcane acronym, a clustering of three ideas, each to be weighed and evaluated against other societal values. The terms diversity, equity, and inclusion weren’t yet being used in the singular, as one all-inclusive, non-negotiable moral imperative. Nor had they coalesced into a bureaucratic juggernaut running roughshod over every aspect of national life. 

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Tennessee Veterinary School Puts Emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Watchdog Finds

Virginia Star Staff

A Tennessee veterinary school engaged in programs to bolster commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), according to medical watchdog group Do No Harm.

Faculty at Lincoln Memorial University- Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU CVM)  attended a January workshop titled “Inclusivity” to learn about incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in the workplace, according to a tip sent to Do No Harm. Its masters program partnered BLEND, a certification program, to train veterinarians in DEIB.

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Commentary: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Has Already Killed Public Education

Virginia Star Staff

During the last few years, most conservatives have become at least dimly aware that leftist ideology, in the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), has infected public education. It’s unlikely, however, that many Americans realize just how far the disease has advanced. It has long since spread beyond a few courses embedded into the social studies curricula of secondary schools and elite colleges. Public school students as young as 9 and 10 years of age effortlessly recite leftist shibboleths even as they descend into functional illiteracy in reading, writing, math, and science.

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Commentary: There Is a Reason Why DEI Is Little More Than a Costly Failure

Admin

Earlier this month, amid howls from the “progressive” Left, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis demanded an accounting of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) expenditures from the state’s public colleges and universities. The results are exactly what you might expect. According to a recent report from Campus Reform, in 2022, Florida institutions spent $28 million on DEI initiatives, more than half of that ($15 million) funded by taxpayers.

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Liberal Professor at Western Kentucky University Fired after Protesting His School’s DEI Dogma

Admin

Former Western Kentucky University English instructor Ryan Hall said he was fired after canceling his classes in protest of his school’s political bias to embrace and enforce diversity, equity and inclusion above free speech and academic freedom and discourse. Hall, who describes himself as a liberal who has never voted for a conservative, said he risked his two-decade career in academia to defend the principles of classical liberalism the university “abandoned” in its pursuit of a DEI dogma.

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University of Iowa Trains Committee to Hire Faculty Based on Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Standards

Virginia Star Staff

The University of Iowa Office of the Provost trained its Faculty Search Committees to interview candidates through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lenses, documents obtained by Do No Harm through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation revealed.

A training given to the Department of Pediatrics at UI’s medical school broke down different types of implicit biases and provided a list of practices committee members could follow to limit bias in hiring decisions, which included having a diverse committee that is trained and use “accountability strategies,” spending 15-20 minutes on each candidate and evaluating through standard criteria, the documents show. Committee members were also taught to “grade” prospective candidates after an interview rather than use a ranking system and to evaluate whether they made biased decisions if “women and people of color” were not advancing.

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Biden Admin Pays $2.8 Billion to Battery Makers That Pledge Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration announced a $2.8 billion investment in U.S.-based battery manufacturing Wednesday that contributed to the administration’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.

The administration selected 20 companies to receive awards from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed into law in November 2021, with projects evaluated by their ability to “contribute meaningfully” to the administration’s Justice40 initiative, which sets a target of 40% of all federal clean energy investments benefitting “disadvantaged and underrepresented communities,” the Department of Energy (DOE) announced Wednesday.

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Project Veritas Exposes New York City K-4 Assistant Principal: Candidates Who Don’t Answer ‘Diversity’ Question Right ‘Automatic Not Hire’

Susan Berry, PhD

An assistant principal of Neighborhood Charter Schools in Harlem with the New York City Department of Education revealed in a Project Veritas (PV) undercover video that he asks a “very specific” question of prospective hires in the area of “Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI),” and “if people don’t answer that question right, they are an automatic Not Hire.”

In this third episode of PV’s education series titled “The Secret Curriculum,” Todd Soper is heard telling the undercover journalist that his teachers are expected to be fully indoctrinated in DEI concepts which, as parents have discovered, are central to Critical Race Theory (CRT).

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$75 Million Equity Strategy Includes 40 New Faculty Hires to ‘Diversify’ Campus

Virginia Star Staff
Purdue University

Purdue University announced recently that it intends to hire 40 new faculty to “diversify the racial makeup” of its campus. 

The move is part of the Indiana school’s $75 million Equity Task Force strategy, a five-year project.

Purdue’s website lists 14 open positions and explains that the first cluster hire will focus on the fields of “Public Health, Health Policy, and Health Equity.”

Andy Sayles, the vice president of Purdue University’s Turning Point USA chapter, told Campus Reform that the amount of money the school is spending on the initiative is “alarming.” 

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Air Force Academy Forces Students to Watch Pro-BLM Video

Virginia Star Staff

The newest class of cadets at the United States Air Force Academy, as part of their education, are being forced to watch a video that is supportive of the far-left domestic terrorist organization Black Lives Matter, Fox News reports.

The video in question portrays a fictional situation where a mixed-race student named Jose, who has a Nigerian mother and a Mexican father, is pressured into attending a Black Lives Matter rally on his campus by two of his friends. A third friend tries to convince him to not go, instead suggesting that “all lives matter” is a better slogan, since “black lives matter” would suggest to Jose that his mother’s life matters more than his father’s.

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