According to Reuters, cited by European media, the State Department has ordered U.S. diplomatic missions around the world to review their aid programs for compliance with the new rules. They prohibit funding for diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), family planning and “gender ideology” groups. The new rules will go into effect on February 26.
Foreign NGOs are prohibited from using funds even from non-U.S. donors for purposes that the U.S. administration considers “radical ideology.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio allowed a number of exceptions to make sure the measures would not undermine “ongoing programs to save lives, respond to natural disasters and other critical priorities.”
One of Trump’s first executive orders after his inauguration was to eliminate DEI programs at all federal agencies. DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) programs are about creating a work environment that values and respects people’s differences and provides equal opportunity for all (regardless of gender, race, age, disability, etc.).
These initiatives, according to the US administration, lead to “positive discrimination”: employers hire employees based on race, gender or other characteristics rather than on their professional qualities.
First, the Department of Government Efficiency began canceling contracts under DEI programs in U.S. education and medicine. Then, U.S. corporations began to eliminate DEI in their hiring practices.
