First Woman To Lead NASA Ends DEI Program Despite Organization’s Lack Of Diversity

The first woman to lead NASA is ending the agency's short-lived DEI efforts.

NASA’s interim Trump-appointed leader, Janet Petro, sent a stern email to agency staff on Wednesday, abruptly halting diversity and inclusion programs.

While Petro is the first woman to lead the world-renowned space agency since its founding in 1958, and a 2024 report highlighted “little progress” in advancing DEI efforts at NASA, Petro is aligning with the Trump administration’s rapid dismantling of DEI-related roles and initiatives in public sector organizations.

“These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination,” Petro’s email stated.

Petro’s letter implies that some NASA civil servants, concerned about potential anti-DEI measures under a future Trump administration, attempted to conceal DEI programs by renaming them. However, Petro warned that such efforts would be uncovered, and those responsible would face “adverse consequences.”

“We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language,” she noted. “If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024, to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances.”

The letter continued, “There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information,” Petro explained, adding, “However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.”

NASA’s brief DEI efforts were initiated following a 2010 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report, which revealed that among the agency’s 17,000 employees at the time, only 35% were women, fewer than 6% identified as Latino, just over 6% as Asian, and only 11.8% as African American.

In 2024, the NASA Office of Inspector General noted that “despite support from Agency leaders and multiple initiatives to increase diversity,” NASA had “made little progress in increasing the representation of women and minorities in its civilian workforce or leadership ranks. Specifically, over the past decade, NASA’s overall workforce demographics have stayed roughly the same.”

Since Petro’s email was issued, the NASA Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity website now redirects to a 404 error page, indicating missing content.

“The cosmic object you were looking for has disappeared beyond the event horizon,” it reads.