This is what the Feds are teaching in diversity training

You can have a baby with a man, but don’t ask for data.

Aaron Sibarium • January 4, 2023 5:00 am

It is considered a microaggression to ask an Asian person for help with math. There is no reverse racism. Men can get pregnant.

These are just some of the lessons government workers learned in diversity presentations and trainings in 2021, according documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal Page editorial. The materials, as summarized in the a December 30 editorialThese examples show how once-fringe concepts have saturated the federal bureaucracy, including NASA and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

One NASA training states It is possible to be colorblind. “actually limit us.” Another identifies The words “America is a melting pot” “don’t you want a family?” As “microaggressions,” Together with “asking an Asian person to help with a math or science problem.” A third lists “perfectionism” “data is king” Here are some examples “common leadership mistakes.”

“Value and center lived experience,” The presentation. “Do not demand data in order to accept a person’s individual perspective or to utilize that perspective in decision-making.”

The Army places a strong emphasis on subjective experience. Two separate trainings are offered, one for each. commanders One for “special staff“features a vignette about an officer who wants to “discuss his newly confirmed pregnancy.” Another vignette blurs the line between gender and biological sexuality. Imagine a urine collector uncomfortable watching soldiers who are not comfortable. “the same biological gender as the observer.”

The Army didn’t respond to our request for comment.

Many of these presentations were made after President Joe Biden signed a June 2021 executive order instructing agencies and organizations to increase diversity programming. “Such training programs should enable federal employees, managers, and leaders to have knowledge of systemic and institutional racism and bias,” The order as well as the an “increased understanding of implicit and unconscious bias.”

These lessons are not cheap. Between 2020 and 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent more than $300,000. diversity trainingsIncludes “Let’s Talk About Systemic Racism, Unconscious Bias, and Privilege,” “Silence is a Statement: Understanding Race in the Workplace,” “Bambi vs. Godzilla: Dealing with Different, Diverse, and Sometimes Difficult People.”

Many presentations illustrate progressive concepts with cartoons. A training The Department of Veterans Affairs also includes the now-famous “genderbread” Diagram that was featured in elementary school curricula. A presentation Contrasts with the National Endowment for the Arts “equality” With “equity” by juxtaposing two images of people watching a ball game from behind a fence—one in which individuals of different heights are on equal footing and another in which shorter individuals are given a larger leg up than taller ones.

“Justice,” The cartoon suggests that it would mean to remove the entire fence.

This training has been made possible by a growing group of diversity, equality, and inclusion consultants. Some of these consultants now hold full-time positions in government bureaucracy. Janice Underwood was NASA’s head of diversity equity and inclusion for Virginia in 2021. talk On “having difficult conversations.”

“When patterns of white supremacy are named or questioned,” One slide in her talk says, “predictable defensive responses will emerge.” Others slide assert that “reverse racism does not exist” And suggest that “individualism” “universalism” perpetuate bias.

Underwood was made director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility of the Biden administration’s Office of Personnel Management on May 20, 2022. According to the office’s website, to execute Biden’s executive order regarding diversity training.