The Trump administration on Thursday directed federal agencies to stop using data on race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in hiring decisions, a move seen as the latest step in dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the government.

The directive, issued in a memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Thursday, is part of a broader push under a January executive order by President Donald Trump to center federal hiring strictly on “merit, qualifications, and job-related criteria.”

The memo bans the collection, use, and distribution of demographic statistics in hiring practices, including the concept of assessing “underrepresentation” of specific groups.

It argues that such measures compromise fairness and merit, echoing long-standing critiques by Trump and his allies that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are discriminatory against white people and men.

The move represents a significant rollback of longstanding federal practices aimed at promoting workforce diversity and addressing systemic discrimination. Critics say eliminating demographic tracking undermines efforts to identify and correct inequalities in hiring.

In addition to the ban on demographic data, the OPM memo criticizes an overreliance on elite academic credentials and calls for broader recruitment.

Agencies are urged to seek candidates from state schools, religious institutions, trade programs, homeschooling backgrounds, and faith-based organizations. The focus, the memo states, should be on “patriotic Americans” committed to constitutional values and the rule of law.

This initiative marks a further step by Trump to dismantle DEI programs across federal agencies, a cornerstone of his broader campaign against what he calls “woke” culture in government and education.

With inputs from Reuters

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