With Trump's crackdown on DEI, some women fear a path to good-paying jobs will close

With Trump's crackdown on DEI, some women fear a path to good-paying jobs will close toggle caption Amber N. Ford for NPR In 1980, Lauren Sugerman was enrolled in a vocational program aimed at getting more women and Black Americans into the steel mills. "A huge loss to have what's happening now" President Trump revoked EO 11246 on his second day in office as part of his own executive order cracking down on what he sees as widespread and illegal use of "dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences" under the guise of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. "Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system," Trump's Executive Order 14173 states. Confusion over "illegal DEI" Not only has Trump revoked Johnson's executive order and halted its enforcement, but as part of his own executive order, Trump demanded that federal contractors certify that they're not engaging in "illegal DEI."