APSA Joins Opposition to Executive Order on Combatting Race and Gender Stereotyping

The American Political Science Association condemns the Executive Order issued September 22, 2020. The order, which claims to combat race and gender stereotyping and scapegoating, instead seeks to target  and eliminate the very research and evidence-based training programs that are intended to advance our knowledge of, and the presence of, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and beyond. As the association noted in a recent statement condemning systemic racism, “Political scientists have long examined the linkages between race, power, governance, social injustice and oppression. This scholarship has made an invaluable contribution to our discipline and to public discourse. It has illuminated the sources and structures of pervasive inequality and human rights abuses in the United States, as well as the resulting social, political, and public policy consequences.” APSA has joined fellow scientific societies calling for the order to be rescinded. These communications include:

  • A letter to OMB Director Russell Vought, urging the administration to rescind the order.
  • A letter to OMB Director Russell Vought and Office of Science and Technology Policy Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, refuting the false narratives that underpin the executive order
  • A joint society letter in opposition to the Office of Management and Budget’s September 4 directive to Executive Departments and Agencies to dictate what training about race, diversity, or equality can include, explicitly mandating the exclusion of a theoretical perspective that has led to important scientific research on systemic racism.