Targeting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: What It Means for Social Work Education

By Sue Coyle, MSW

DEI is an integral part of every inch of social work. As the Trump administration works to erase it, social work students and educators must consider the ways in which they will be affected.

When NM*, a lecturer at a school of social work in the Midwest, was a graduate student, she says there was not a place for her and other students to go with their concerns, to feel seen and heard. “With the issues that I experienced belonging to a marginalized community, any time I brought attention [to them] to the people who were supposed to be responsible for addressing them, I never got any response that was productive or helpful or understanding of where I was coming from,” she remembers.

Returning more than a decade later as a professor, NM, MSW, LMSW, found some improvement with the presence of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office at the school. “I remember the first time I had a meeting; they had a person from the DEI department. As I was bringing up [issues], that person was literally finishing the other half of my sentence. For the first time, somebody heard what I was saying. I’m not a very emotional person, but I broke out into tears. I heard somebody say ‘I hear you, I see you, I know what you mean.’”

NM notes that while the acknowledgment of her concerns as valid did not necessarily lead to action and change, the very presence of the DEI program at least offered a glimmer of hope. That hope, on campuses throughout the country, including NM’s, is now dimming as the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI are leading to the closure of programs and offices at colleges and universities. Unfortunately, the shuttering of such programs is only one of many potential fallouts anticipated from the rollback and elimination of DEI initiatives. How this will impact social work education moving forward is yet to be determined, but many are concerned.

Targeting DEI

To fully grasp the implications the Trump administration’s actions—as well as the actions of state and school leaders—could have on social work education, one must first understand exactly what DEI is. Diversity, equity and inclusion is a framework by which institutions and organizations, including colleges and universities, have striven to ensure fair treatment and opportunity are given to all individuals, including those in marginalized communities. The Harvard Business School defines the components of DEI as:

• “Diversity: The presence and participation of individuals with varying backgrounds and perspectives, including those who have been traditionally underrepresented
• Equity: Equal access to opportunities and fair, just and impartial treatment
• Inclusion: A sense of belonging in an environment where all feel welcomed, accepted and respected.”

While misconceptions have led some to believe DEI initiatives help a small percentage of individuals, the truth is that these programs have the potential to benefit many, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, the LGBTQ+ community and more. However, studies show that white women have benefitted the most from DEI initiatives in recent years.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has taken aim at DEI, describing it as “radical and wasteful.” Orders from the president as well as government departments have eliminated DEI in federal agencies and have threatened the loss of federal funding to nongovernmental organizations if DEI is not eliminated.

For example, on Feb.15, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to educational institutions stating they had two weeks to stop using race and other “stereotypes” when making decisions on admissions, scholarships, hiring, promotions, and other actions. If they do not do so, the letter says, they risk losing federal funding. The administration also has focused on specific schools, such as Columbia University and Harvard University, by pulling or freezing funding to grants unless the schools agree to a number of conditions.

Response to the Trump administration’s demands and orders have varied. Many schools throughout the country have closed or rebranded and restructured their DEI offices. However, not all have capitulated. In the cases of Columbia and Harvard, Columbia yielded while Harvard did not. In fact, Harvard University announced in April that it would be suing the administration to halt the funding freeze. When additional funding was cut in May, Harvard again released a letter stating the university remains in compliance with the law and that the sanctions were unlawful.

Impact on Social Work Education—The Students

The impact these orders will have on social work likely will play out over a long period of time and depend on how many of the Trump administration’s orders are upheld. But it is sure to be felt. After all, DEI is an integral component of social work. This is evident not only in the work social workers do daily but in the values of the organizations that support social workers and the profession.

The Clinical Social Work Association (CSWA), for instance, emphasized this in an April 3 press release, stating its opposition to the “Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to eradicate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These actions contradict the foundational values of social work, threaten the well-being of marginalized individuals and communities, and hinder clinical social workers’ efforts to ensure equitable access to society’s benefits. Our profession is built on a commitment to both mental health and social justice, ensuring that all individuals— regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status— have access to equitable opportunities and care. The dismantling of DEI initiatives undermines these efforts, reinforcing systemic disparities and eroding progress toward a more just society.”

In social work education specifically, DEI is seen in every aspect of the curriculum, says Jennifer L. Siegel, PhD, MSW, assistant professor and BSW field director in the Sociology and Social Work Department at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich. “When we talk about human behavior and development across the lifespan, we have to talk about the diversity of human experiences. When we talk about research, we have to talk about the differences and the disparities that we see. In every single class, DEI is an essential component,” she says. As such, the potential impact of eliminating or censoring DEI programs, content and more is profound.

The Trump administration’s actions already have had adverse effects, with many worrying about a loss of diversity and perspective within schools of social work, both among faculty and students. As NM points out, having a DEI office offered her the space to feel validated and to discuss important matters affecting her experience on campus. Without it, that acknowledgement is gone.

Claire Pacer, a rising junior at Calvin University double majoring in psychology and social work with a minor in Spanish, fears that students’ sense of safety will go as well. “It is going to impact the mental health of students and their view of themselves. [At Calvin], some people I know already feel unsafe. I have a friend who last year left because he experienced a lot of racism on campus. If the university couldn’t do anything before this administration was requiring [DEI] rollbacks . . . it’s terrifying to think it is going to get worse,” she says.

Seth Hoeksema, a rising senior at Calvin studying social work and geography, agrees and adds that he worries about how freely his classmates and professors will speak in the classroom moving forward. “It will negate our ability to share personal experiences, to have an open and honest floor where we can share our own interactions with systems, he said.”

Stephanie Payne, LCSW, president of the Clinical Social Work Association, adds that “Students— especially those on student visas—may feel unsafe speaking up on issues they care deeply about, such as the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, out of fear of retaliation or even deportation. This type of suppression doesn’t just silence individual students; it has a chilling effect across the academic community, limiting robust discourse on a wide range of social issues and discouraging students from fully engaging in the values of the profession.”

Already, students and others are considering the ramifications of speaking out in support of issues they care about. For example, Pacer and Hoeksema hosted a pro-DEI rally in April. At the event and at the request of the university, Hoeksema asked international students not to participate, concerned that being there would lead to the State Department revoking their visas or taking other similar actions. The concerns were not unfounded. Inside Higher Ed reported that as of April 24, more than 1,800 international students and recent graduates across the U.S. have had their legal status changed in 2025.

The quantity of incoming social work students may also be affected by changes to programs like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. President Trump issued an executive order aimed at limiting eligibility for PSLF in March. Organizations that provide services the White House deems prohibited, such as gender-affirming care, would not qualify for borrowers. The loss of potential loan forgiveness could deter students from pursuing further education. Pacer says this has been top of mind for her and several of her classmates as they consider when and if they will pursue master’s degrees.

Quality of Social Work Education

There is concern about how the attacks on DEI will impact the quality of social work education— from the information available for students to the opportunities and field experiences offered to them.

For example, loss of funding for organizations and grants has already led to uncertainty and the elimination of partnerships and programs connected to social work education. At the University of Texas, El Paso, which sits on the U.S.-Mexico border, some students are worried their practicums will end up losing programs and services, says Eva M. Moya, PhD, LMSW, professor and chair of the Department of Social Work. “They’re worried that individuals may not come to seek services even though their status may be fully regular or they may be permanent residents or even U.S. citizens,” she says.

This has already happened at Calvin University. Siegel says she recently was contacted by an organization that works with refugees and had agreed to take a field placement student. “They called me and said, ‘I’m sorry. We just can’t.’ I have to find [the student] another placement. I certainly have organizations on standby, but I am worried.”

It’s not just organizations outside of education that may lose funding. The University of Alaska Anchorage was informed on April 29 that funding for their School-Based Social Work Education and Network Development (SSWEND) program would be discontinued. The program was aimed at combatting the youth mental health crisis in Alaska by training social workers to work in the schools, says Matthew J. Cuellar, PhD, MSW, associate professor, MSW program chair, SSWEND project director, and president of the UAA Faculty Senate at the university’s School of Social Work.

MSW and postgraduate students in SSWEND took courses to earn their Type C certification, as well as graduate certificate in children’s mental health, Cuellar says. Students were taught specifically about what it is like to work in Alaskan schools where social workers are likely to experience uniquely Alaskan situations, such as off-road communities, and a great deal of diversity, he says. There are reportedly more than 100 languages spoken in Anchorage alone.

The letter the school received stated that the goals of the program aligned with the previous, not the current, White House administration. Additional details were limited. “It sounds like we have through our budget year, the end of the calendar year. We are working toward notifying our students and trying to figure out how to offer as many courses as we can by the end of the year,” Cuellar says. “What is going to happen is, I think at the end of the day, the students and the children they serve are going to foot this bill.”

Additional grant-funded programs at social work schools likely have and will be discontinued throughout the country—as will research. “Our university, like every single public university, has been impacted by cuts or by grants or by projects that are either ending early or by submissions that are not being funded. Why? Because they’re too close to DEI or they’re too close to addressing disparities,” says Moya. She notes that the department of social work has not yet been directly impacted, but there are many grants where funding may be in question moving forward.

Impact on Social Work Practice

When social work education is impacted, so too is social work practice. When social workers are not trained through a DEI lens, their ability to serve diverse communities is lessened. They may lack the ability to authentically hear and see the needs of individuals, families and communities.

Calvin University’s Pacer worries that if classrooms in social work schools become less diverse, a profession that is already predominantly white and female risks becoming even more so. Such a loss of diversity would have negative impacts on the profession and the individuals served.

It is those individuals that the CSWA’s Payne, like all social workers, fears for. “There’s the concern that vulnerable individuals—especially undocumented immigrants—will become increasingly afraid to seek services or to disclose critical aspects of their lived experience,” she says. “This erodes the therapeutic relationship and limits the support we can offer. Second, if attacks on DEI expand, we could see decreased funding for programs like Medicaid, which disproportionately serves people with limited access to resources and poor mental health outcomes.

“And finally,” Payne continues, “trans and nonbinary individuals are facing active erasure in policy, research and practice. If clinical social workers are not trained and empowered to serve these clients with dignity and clinical competence, we fail in our ethical responsibility to do no harm.”

Room for Action

It remains to be seen what impact lawsuits and other institution-level actions will have on the Trump administration’s attack on DEI, but they are crucial parts of fighting back—as are actions by communities and individuals. Pacer and Hoeksema encourage other social work students to hold protests and rallies, as they did. At the very least, such actions show that these issues matter.

“I just wanted people to know that we see them, we care, and we want to fight for them,” Pacer says.

Hoeksema adds, “It’s not a time to be silent. It’s a time to advocate.”

Similarly, Moya encourages all social workers to find ways to be both courageous and safe, recalling what she recently told students at an MSW orientation: “You’re getting your social work education at a time in global reality where the challenges that we’re being faced with are going to bring the very best and sometimes the very worst of humanity. It’s going to challenge you to be a better practitioner. It’s going to challenge your values. You’re going to have to find creative and innovative ways of caring for humanity.”

Sue Coyle, MSW, is a freelance writer and social worker in the Philadelphia suburbs.

(*NM requested to remain anonymous for fear of employment repercussions.)