By Nathan Layne
(Reuters) -The Trump administration told federal agencies on Thursday to halt the use of statistics on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin in the hiring process, marking its latest effort to extinguish use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The directive was part of a broader set of guidelines sent to human resources leaders at government agencies fleshing out an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January aimed at “restoring merit” to the center of the hiring process.
All hiring and promotion decisions must be based “solely on merit, qualifications and job-related criteria — not race, sex, color, religion, or national origin,” the memo from the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday said.
The memo further ordered human resources leaders to “cease using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin, or the broader concept of ‘underrepresentation’ of certain groups,” in relation to recruiting or hiring. The memo also said dissemination of such data was banned.
The directive is the latest move by Trump to undermine diversity and inclusion programs, many of which have been in place for decades in an effort to remedy historical injustices for marginalized groups. Trump and his allies have called such programs anti-merit and discriminatory against white people and men.
Advocates and experts have said racial or gender data collection, which has long been a standard across the federal government and many private sector U.S. companies, is a necessary tool to identify inequities or potential discrimination within hiring practices.
The OPM memo also said government agencies have been too focused “on elite universities and credentials, instead of merit, practical skill, and commitment to American ideals.”
In addition to hiring veterans and individuals with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, agencies should recruit more young people from state universities, religious colleges, trade schools, faith organizations and homeschooling groups, the memo says.
“Going forward, agencies shall ensure that early career recruitment focuses on patriotic Americans who will faithfully adhere to the Constitution and the rule of law,” the memo says.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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