Equity on the Line: Telecom’s DEI Dilemma
FCC ends DEI priorities after Trump’s executive order, leaving telecom’s equity mandates in limbo.

FCC ends DEI priorities after Trump’s executive order, leaving telecom’s equity mandates in limbo.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2025 – Advocates for racial diversity and equity in the telecommunications industry expressed shock and confusion about how to reconcile recent Trump administration orders with longstanding practice and law.
Diversity, equity and inclusion were not just goals, but legal mandates for the telecommunications industry, experts said during a Federal Communications Bar Association session Tuesday.
The Trump White House issued an executive order on January 20 to eliminate DEI programs across federal agencies. This Inauguration Day directive, calling DEI efforts "illegal and immoral discrimination programs," came after major tech companies Meta, Amazon, and Apple had already scaled back DEI initiatives.
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