The head of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Andrea Lucas, has taken to social media to encourage white men who believe they have faced race or sex discrimination at work to come forward. In a post on X, Lucas stated that such individuals “may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws” and directed them to the agency’s fact sheet on DEI-related discrimination.
Lucas, a vocal critic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, shared her call-out shortly after Vice President JD Vance posted an article describing what he called “the evil of DEI and its consequences.” Lucas responded to Vance, asserting that “widespread, systemic, unlawful discrimination primarily harmed white men” and that “elites didn’t just turn a blind eye; they celebrated it.” She added that the EEOC “won’t rest until this discrimination is eliminated.”
David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at New York University School of Law, criticised the posts as reflecting a “fundamental misunderstanding of what DEI is.” He argued that opponents of DEI “tend to frame it as a set of illegal preferences” when in reality it is about creating a culture of fairness and equal opportunity for all, including white men. Glasgow noted that he has seen no “systematic evidence that white men are being discriminated against,” pointing out that Fortune 500 CEOs are overwhelmingly white men and that the demographic is overrepresented in senior leadership.
Since being named acting chair in January, Lucas has prioritised “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination.” She has sent letters to 20 prominent law firms demanding information about diversity fellowships and other programmes, and last month filed a subpoena enforcement action against financial services company Northwestern Mutual to obtain information on its DEI practices. Former EEOC Chair Jenny Yang described Lucas’s approach as “unusual” and “problematic,” suggesting it gives priority treatment to one group rather than ensuring equal opportunity for all. Yang also noted that the agency has deprioritised or dropped discrimination complaints from transgender workers.
