03-16-2023
In February 2023, President Biden issued an executive order launching a new annual process to strengthen racial equity and support for underserved communities through Equity Action plans. Executive agencies must create equity teams and establish diversity, equity and inclusion steering committees to hold the teams accountable.
At the state level, Texas Governor Abbott has announced his goal to ban the "innocuous-sounding notion of diversity, equity and inclusion to reduce identity-based discrimination." This announcement has already impacted DEI in Texas. The University of Houston publicly shared it will not be using DEI initiatives in its hiring practices. The administration said, "We have no offices, departments or programs promoting discrimination in the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion." Texas A&M and the University of Texas made similar pronouncements about avoiding DEI.
Major League Soccer (MLS) is not pulling back its efforts. The MLS launched a development program intending to increase the inclusion and representation of underrepresented candidates in the job pipeline. They are trying to broaden the applicant pool of coaches and front-office candidates. This invitation-only program provides professional development and networking to strong candidates for leading MLS teams. The league has expanded its search across the country and the globe. The development program offers technical skills coaching, interview preparation, mentoring, and a speaker series. MLS’s hiring policy as of 2021 requires finalist pools include two or more non-white candidates, one of whom must be black.