NASA to remove DEI-related terms from its website

FILE PHOTO: NASA is dropping all DEI mentions from its websites per a new report.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

NASA is dropping all DEI mentions from its websites, per a report by 404 Media that has revealed that the space agency was sent a directive from the White House with a list of terms that must be removed immediately. 

“This is a ‘drop everything and reprioritize your day’ request. Note that the list below is the list that exists this morning, but it may grow as the day goes on,” the note said.  

NASA had announced that it was ending its diversity programme in the last week of January after the Trump administration took over and implemented an executive order to shut down DEIA offices in the government. 

The memo was signed by NASA acting administrator Janet Petro, the first woman to lead NASA since it was founded, who said that diversity programmes “divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars and resulted in shameful discrimination.” She added that some government agencies were trying to “sneak in such programmes,” and advised that employees report these cases lest they face “adverse consequences.” 

In 2023, NASA had been named as one of the most diverse employers in the U.S. with a workforce comprising of 35% women and 30% minorities. But a 2024 internal report said that progress had been slow and there was still work to be done.