Washington Post, October 29, 2020

By Jena McGregor and Eli Rosenberg

The Trump administration has united a surprisingly broad swath of American business groups, nonprofits and civil rights organizations in opposition to an executive order that prohibits federal contractors and other entities from using “blame-focused” diversity training that it says stereotypes groups based on race or sex. During a town hall last week, Craig Leen, the director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, tried to allay concerns of the more than 300 government contractors and trade groups in attendance.

Yet for federal contractors, there are still plenty of concerns about the reach and ambiguity of the order. Craig Albright, vice president for legislative strategy for BSA: The Software Alliance, which represents major software companies, asked Leen during the town hall if he knew what the following phrase from the executive order’s list of “divisive concepts” means: “members of one race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex.”

Albright said that while the call was helpful, his organization still has questions. “I think a lot of companies are operating without clarity,” he said. It’s notable “when you see such a broad range of industries all coming out relatively quickly on something. It demonstrates there’s a real significant concern.”

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Original Posting: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/10/29/trump-diversity-training-labor-department/