Trump government calls on white men to file discrimination claims

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is encouraging white men to file workplace discrimination claims – the latest salvo in its campaign to mothball diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

“Are you a white male who’s experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex?” Ms Andrea Lucas, the acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), wrote on social media platform X this week.

“You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws,” she wrote.

“The EEOC is committed to identifying, attacking and eliminating all race and sex discrimination – including against white male employees and applicants.”

The EEOC is a federal agency created under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to tackle sexism and racism in the workplace. The wider law sought to combat segregation of black Americans.

But since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has sought to dismantle DEI programmes
across the federal government and threatened companies that practice such policies, saying they hurt America’s white majority.

The EEOC now emphasises “DEI-related discrimination” on its website, and Mr Trump has rolled back affirmative action policies of past administrations.

Many DEI programmes – created to support minorities who were victims of discrimination – are now tagged as “woke”, and thereby unacceptable, by American conservatives.

Under Ms Lucas, the EEOC is also taking on what it calls discrimination against American workers.

“Many employers have policies and practices preferring illegal aliens, migrant workers or non-immigrant guest workers (guest worker visa holders) over American workers – in direct violation of federal employment law,” she said in a statement in November.

Media reports suggest the agency has stopped investigating complaints of workplace discrimination against transgender people, who have been in the Trump administration’s cross hairs.

“Deliberate” discrimination

Ms Lucas’ call to white men was shared by Vice-President J.D. Vance.

In a separate post, Mr Vance included a column by a Hollywood screenwriter, who claimed he was refused work because he is a young white man.

Above the link, he wrote that DEI as a concept “was a deliberate programme of discrimination primarily against white men”.

Ms Lucas said he was “absolutely right”, adding: “And precisely because this widespread, systemic, unlawful discrimination primarily harmed white men, elites didn’t just turn a blind eye; they celebrated it.”

According to a study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the proportion of African-American employees who file complaints with the EEOC is 195 times higher than among white employees.

In 2024, women earned an average of 85 per cent of what men earned, according to Pew Research Center data. AFP