Oklahoma took a stand in opposition to variety, fairness and inclusion (DEI) final month. The state’s governor, Kevin Stitt, signed an executive order defunding DEI efforts in public faculties and universities and banning it in different state businesses.

He stated the transfer would take “politics out of education” and encourage “equal opportunity rather than promising equal outcomes.” Affirmative motion itself has been banned within the state since 2012.

This latest executive order doesn’t goal pupil organizations, but it surely does ban state sources from getting used for variety coaching and asks for a evaluate of present DEI packages to eradicate any “non-critical personnel.” Oklahoma is following within the footsteps of Florida, Texas, South Dakota, North Carolina and Tennessee in attempting to curb DEI initiatives at public faculties.

However public faculties aren’t the one ones being affected; that is a part of a broader backlash to DEI that has develop into prevalent in lots of industries, from technology to academia to fashion. Supporters of DEI say these initiatives assist everybody get forward, particularly marginalized communities which have been traditionally disenfranchised. Critics name DEI-related work a type of discrimination.