Women And People Of Color Left Vulnerable As Trump Reverses 1965 Workforce Protections

Trump's reversal of a 1965 executive order signed by Lyndon B. Johnson could lead to an increase in workforce barriers for women and people of color.

Donald Trump’s reversal of a 1965 executive order signed by Lyndon B. Johnson could lead to an increase in workforce barriers for women and people of color.

On his second day in office, President Trump revoked EO 11246 as part of his broader executive order targeting DEI initiatives. The order had mandated federal contractors to identify and address employment barriers, particularly for women and people of color.

The executive order played a pivotal role in helping women like Lauren Sugerman secure jobs with companies that previously might not have considered them, NPR reports. In 1980, Sugerman was hired by a company awarded a federal contract to maintain and repair elevators for the Chicago Housing Authority. Thanks to LBJ’s executive order, signed 15 years earlier, the company was required to make an effort to recruit women and people of color.

Now, Sugerman is mourning the end of the executive order as part of Trump’s dismantling of what he has labeled as the illegal use of “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences” under the guise of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. She now wonders if the small gains women have made in the construction trades since the 1980s will simply disappear.

“It is a huge loss to have what’s happening now,” Sugerman says.

As part of Trump’s Executive Order 14173, the government office responsible for enforcing LBJ’s 1965 executive order was instructed to “immediately cease.” The Labor Department is now expected to largely dismantle the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), as its primary function is no longer required.

The termination of EO 11246 is particularly impactful, as companies that work with the government employ one in every five workers in the U.S., according to Jenny Yang, who led the OFCCP during the Biden administration.

“Not all companies are willing to look under the hood voluntarily to see whether they have a problem,” Yang said.

Wendy Pollack, a co-founder of Chicago Women in Trades and now a lawyer at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, warns that the repeal of EO 11246 will create a dire situation for women and people of color. Having started her career as a carpenter, Pollack faced resistance on the job but developed a mantra that helped her persevere.

“You know, I might not change your hearts and minds, but at least I have the law on my side,” Pollack told herself.

However, with Trump’s reversal of civil rights protections in the workforce, that may no longer be the case.