DEI is Dead… But Will ‘Digital Equity’ Programs Shutter?

One of the biggest losers on Election Day was “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” the moniker for a movement that appeared to suffer a fatal blow with voters’ support for President-elect Donald Trump. Diversity programs date to the rise of affirmative action decades ago, and have at times enjoyed broad political support. But the “DEI” label, which grew rapidly after the murder of George Floyd in June 2020, became tightly linked with the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Even the name of the Biden administration’s signature internet initiative—the infrastructure-focused Broadband Equity Access and Deployment—links squarely to this concept. Indeed, the $42.5 billion BEAD program of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of November 2021 includes a requirement that state broadband offices execute “digital equity” plans. Just because the “DEI” term has fallen out of favor, however, doesn’t mean that agencies like the National Telecommunications and Information Administration or state broadband offices will be rolling back possibly renamed digital equity programs in the coming administration.