Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Less than a day after Donald Trump’s administration terminated federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles, NASA moved to implement the executive order ending its diversity program.
NASA Interim Administrator Janet Petro sent a memo to agency employees Wednesday afternoon, ordering them to close offices related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) at the agency and cancel related contracts. The decision comes amid NASA’s efforts to increase the diversity of its workforce and land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
In 2023, NASA was called as one of the best employers in the United States for diversity. NASA began engaging in DEIA efforts in 2012, adding inclusion as a core value in 2020. In 2021, NASA’s workforce was comprised of approximately 35% women and 30% minorities, according to a report from NASA’s Office of the Inspector General. A year later, NASA has announced its first equity action plan to try to solve persistent problems of diversity and accessibility, and to respond to underrepresented communities.
Petro’s memo, however, reflects a dismissal of the agency’s diversity programs. “These programs have divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination,” the memo read. The website for NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity it currently shows a “404 Not Found” error message.
The note highlighted that the steps to close NASA’s DEIA offices are in accordance with Trump’s executive order, which were followed by a template formulated by the Office of Personnel Management to convey to employees .
The NASA e-mail also included a warning against a violation of the new order, suggesting that employees of the space agency tried to hide the contracts under its diversity programs. “We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language,” Petro’s memo read. “If you know of a change in any contract description or personnel position description from November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances” .
NASA is not the only federal agency affected by the new executive orders; other agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, are also being forced to end their diversity programs. Diversity and inclusion efforts at agencies like NASA are crucial given the lack of diversity in the field.
It wasn’t until 1978 that NASA selected its first diverse class of astronauts, a group that eventually included the first African-American astronauts and the first Asian-American astronauts and the first women. The problem goes beyond NASA. Black and Latino students tend to drop out of STEM programs at a much higher rate than their white counterparts. About 40% of Black and 37% of Latino STEM students changed majors as undergraduates, compared to 29% of White STEM students, according to a 2019 study.
Even if NASA lands a diverse group on the surface of the Moon, efforts to be more inclusive on Earth should not be taken lightly.
