The Trump Administration Says Diversity Training Can Be Harmful. What Does the Research Say?

With an executive order this month, the Trump administration took aim at the anti-racism training that is becoming commonplace at colleges and other workplaces. The directive bars federal departments and agencies, government contractors, and any recipients of federal grants from holding such training for employees.

President Trump’s order criticizes training that “perpetuates racial stereotypes and division and can use subtle coercive pressure to ensure conformity of viewpoint.” The text then states: “Research also suggests that blame-focused diversity training reinforces biases and decreases opportunities for minorities.”

While it’s unclear whether colleges — many of which receive federal grants — would face consequences under the order, the directive has reignited debate around diversity training and whether it does any good.

The issue is top of mind for college leaders, who are grappling with higher education’s broader reckoning over racial injustice and facing greater pressure from students and others to require such training for faculty and staff members.

What does the research actually say about diversity training’s effectiveness?

A major 2019 study on diversity training found that it could be effective — for some people.

A team of researchers led by Edward Chang, a Ph.D. student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, tested how diversity training affected people’s attitudes and behaviors at work. The team had 3,000 people at one company voluntarily take diversity training and then explored its effects on their attitudes about women and racial minorities, Chang said.

For people who were less supportive of women beforehand, the training positively changed their attitudes. In other words, they began to acknowledge their own racial and gender biases, and recognized that discrimination against women was a problem. But the training didn’t meaningfully change the behavior of men or white employees, Chang said.

The only category of people who adjusted their behavior were younger women, he said: After the training, they took more initiative to promote their careers.

“There was no evidence of backlash,” Chang emphasized. In other words, even if the training didn’t change people’s actions, it didn’t do any harm.

But other studies have found that diversity training doesn’t work — and, in fact, could make things worse.

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Read the whole story (subscription may be required): The Chronicle of Higher Education