DEI changes could surprisingly shift an already lopsided college landscape

What you probably already know: President Donald Trump’s relentless push to eliminate all forms of DEI could backfire spectacularly. At least that’s the trending narrative in the media (and social media), as reports are emerging that the administration’s DEI rollback in higher education could disproportionately harm some male students in the college admissions process. One story, by educational news outlet The Hechinger Report (the story also appeared in The Washington Post) speculates that the president’s “ban on diversity, equity and inclusion is likely to hit another underrepresented group of applicants: men, and particularly white men — the largest subset of male college applicants,” primarily because women have long far outnumbered men on college campuses. It’s important to note, however, that no peer-reviewed research unambiguously proves that DEI policies could have a negative effect on men.

Why it matters: Boys are falling behind in school in almost every metric. The Brookings Institute notes that about 83% of boys graduate high school, compared to 89% of girls. The gaps are even greater at the college level: Men received about 42% of bachelor’s degrees in the United States in 2020, according to the American Institute for Boys and Men. Women undergrads outnumber men on college campuses by 2.4 million and women now account for about 60% of total college enrollment. “The prevailing evidence surrounding gender-based preferences is that they tend to favor men,” college placement firm Best Colleges notes, adding that the last year men outnumbered women in higher education was 1978. “Colleges have a men problem.”

What it means: The irony is thick. An executive order issued by the White House in January said higher-ed institutions (along with several other industry sectors) “have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion,” going on to say they potentially violate the nation’s Civil Rights laws. But, as one woman wrote on LinkedIn reflecting a common theme, “In practice, it wipes out the quiet gender preference that has propped up men, especially white men, at selective institutions where women apply in larger numbers and with stronger grades and test scores.”

What happens next: Many colleges and universities have already begun dismantling or reorganizing their DEI offices or rebranding DEI work under other labels. As a result, the Educational Technology and Change Journal says some institutions will quietly preserve DEI programs while others will close theirs entirely, leading to a confusing patchwork of programs. Legal challenges may arise. The Trump administration has also controversially demanded that colleges turn over their admissions data in an effort to quell DEI practices, and several have agreed to do so. A Facebook post from Essence magazine notes that “the students slipping from applicant pools aren’t the ones headlines predicted. In fact, many campuses are seeing the sharpest enrollment drops among white male students.”