The Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping

For more information, read this article in Nonprofit Quarterly, How Nonprofits Can Stop Trump’s Effort to Roll Back Diversity Training (Oct. 5, 2020).

Background

On September 22, 2020, President Trump signed his Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (EO).

The EO applies to five groups: federal departments/agencies, the military, federal contractors, federal grant recipients, and potentially all employers in the country. Nonprofits could fall into one or more of the last three categories.

The EO prohibits government contractors (in contracts entered after Nov. 21) from providing “any workplace training that inculcates in its employees” training on race or sex diversity, equity, or inclusion involving 11 “divisive concepts.” Grant recipients have a little more time; November 21 is the deadline for federal agencies to report to OMB all grant “programs for which the agency may [in the future] …require the recipient to certify that it will not use Federal funds to promote” the forbidden concepts. (Emphases added to highlight differences and some of the vague and ambiguous wording.)

The forbidden concepts deemed “anti-American” and “divisive” by the Administration include anything that might make someone “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex.” This is offered as an example: workplace diversity trainings that suggest “men and members of certain races, as well as our most venerable institutions, are inherently sexist and racist.”

The EO and other materials run counter to the widely respected view that being informed about racial and gender diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to the healing and wellbeing of the country and important for high-performing organizations.

Below you will find the Administration’s public documents related to this issue, a sampling of statements that have been issued in opposition to the EO, and multiple analyses and reports.

We Need Your Help

There is wide opposition to the Executive Order based on concerns for the constitutional rights of free speech and due process, and the importance and value of learning more about racial and gender equity. If you oppose the EO there are at least three ways you can help yourself and other nonprofits:

We ask that you share what you are seeing, hearing, and thinking about this offensive order.

• If your organization issues a statement, then please share with us. 
• If you see any analyses, reports, or worthwhile news accounts, then please share with us.
• You’re on the frontlines in the field and may see proposed changes to contract or grant language first, so please send us copies so we can track any developing trends.

The Administration’s Documents

• Sept. 4: OMB Director’s Memo to Heads of All Executive Branch Agencies, M-20-340), the “First Memo”
• Sept. 22: President’s Executive Order on Combatting Race and Sex Stereotyping,
• Sept. 22: White House press statement: President Trump is Fighting Harmful Ideologies that Cause Division in Our Federal Workplaces
• Sept. 28: OMB Director’s Memo to Heads of All Executive Branch Agencies, Memo (M-20-37), the “Second Memo,”
• Sept. 28: DOL News Release U.S. Department of Labor Launches Hotline to Combat Race and Sex Stereotyping by Federal Contractors
• Oct. 8: DOL/OFCCP Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Executive Order  

Opposition to the Executive Order (sampling)

• Joint Letter signed by 50 nonprofit organizations, including the National Council of Nonprofits, Nonprofit Letter to President-Elect Biden in Opposition to the Executive Order on Race and Sex Stereotyping, Nov. 20, 2020
• Joint Letter signed by 41 nonprofit organizations, including the National Council of Nonprofits, Nonprofit Letter to Administration Opposing Dangerous Executive Order on Diversity Training, Oct. 21, 2020
• Joint Letter signed by 161 for-profit business and nonprofit organizations, including the National Council of Nonprofits and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of their thousands of members, Private Sector Letter to the President in Opposition to the Executive Order on Race and Sex Stereotyping, Oct.15, 2020
• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, ACGME Issues Statement on the Executive Order on Race and Sex Stereotyping, Sept. 30, 2020
• Alliance for Digital Innovation, with 10 other technology, software and advertising organizations representing thousands of government contractors, Joint Letter in Opposition, Oct. 8, 2020
• American Council of Education Coalition, Joint Letter signed by 56 Organizations Representing Higher Education Institutions, Oct. 8, 2020
• Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, Trump's order interfering with diversity efforts: The wrong move at the wrong time, The Hill, Oct. 1, 2020
• Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, ASPPH Statement on Executive Order Halting Trainings on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, Sept. 24, 2020
• Clean Water Action, Joint Letter signed by 121 Conservation Organizations to Congressional Leaders, Oct. 1, 2020
• Information Technology Industry Council: New Executive Order is a Major Step Backward for Racial Equality, Sept. 23, 2020
• Internet Association, Statement on The Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, Sept. 25, 2020
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and National Women’s Law Center, Civil Rights Groups and Allies Condemn White House Move to Censor Race and Gender Equity Training, Oct, 7, 2020
• National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, NADOHE statement on DEI training, Sept. 24, 2020
• National Association of Social Workers, NASW Affronted by President Trump’s Sinister Executive Order on Racial and Sexual Stereotyping, Sept. 25, 2020
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: PhRMA Statement on Presidential Executive Order Restricting Diversity Training, Oct. 1, 2020
• Union of Concerned Scientists, White House Executive Order Silences Anti-Racism, Anti-Sexism Programs at Federal Agencies, Sept. 24, 2020
• University of Michigan President, Statement on Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, Sept. 26, 2020

Analyses & Reports

• Baker & McKenzie, Can Federal Contractors Provide D&I Training? Executive Order on Combating Race and Sexual Stereotyping Leaves Federal Contractors with No Clear Answer, Sept. 26, 2020
• Biddle Consulting Group: “Combating Race And Sex Stereotyping” Executive Order – What Federal Contractors Need To Know, Sept. 25, 2020
• Congressional Research Service, Can a President Amend Regulations by Executive Order? July 18, 2018, 2020
• Covington & Burling, President Trump Issues Executive Order Prohibiting “Divisive Concepts” in Federal Contractor Trainings, Sept. 29, 2020
• Direct Employers Association, Trump Issues Executive Order 13950 to Combat Race and Sex Stereotyping Imposing New Requirements on Government Contractors, Sept. 28, 2020
• Jackson Lewis, Additional Information Released On ‘Combating Race And Sex Stereotyping’ Order; ‘Hotline’ Established, Oct. 1, 2020
• Morrison & Foerester, President Trump Issues Executive Order Banning Federal Contractors from Race and Sex Stereotyping Training, Sept. 24, 2020
• National Alliance to End Homelessness, Summary of 2020 Executive Order on Combatting Race and Sex Stereotyping, 2020
• Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Executive Order Prohibits Workplace Training Related to Race and Sex Stereotypes, Sept. 29, 2020
• Venable, New Executive Order Seeks to Impose Additional Requirements, with Severe Consequences, on Federal Government Contractors, Subcontractors, and Grant Recipients, Sept. 24, 2020