‘DEI pledge’: Wayne State University issues statement after asking working partners to sign pledge
Wayne State University requires employer partners to sign “Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) I pledge to, among other things,” encourages signatories to promote equal access to opportunities for LGBTQ students.
“We invite our employer partners to fulfill this pledge, committing your company to uphold Wayne State University’s standards of diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is a core value at Wayne State University,” Wayne State University notes on their website.
The Detroit-based public university stresses that it believes exposure to “diverse experiences teaches them how to be open-minded about others” and will educate them about working with “individuals from different backgrounds.”
“As such, we hold our employers accountable for promoting equal access to opportunity for all WSU students, including our Black, Hispanic/Latino students, Native Americans, students of color, women, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, and international students. We are committed to with employers who support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for all,” the university writes.
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Wayne State University Cafe and Bookstore in Detroit, Michigan on October 13, 2017. (Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Wayne State says that by signing the DEI pledge, an employee partner “demonstrates to the WSU community that your company is committed to fighting racism, racial bias, injustice and inequality.”
Wayne State University’s website also includes a list of employers looking to hire through a school that has signed the DEI pledge.
Matt Lockwood, assistant vice president for university communications, said Fox News Digital that “it is a completely voluntary option for partner employers to consider signing the pledge.”
“The university works with all employers regardless of their response,” he continued.
The promise attracted the attention of several groups who spoke with Faculty repair, the latest campus news website.
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Screenshot of the “Employer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Pledge” on the Wayne State University website. (Wayne State University/Screenshot)
Lepanto Catholic Institute President Michael Hichborn told the news outlet that requiring a partner-religious employer to sign the university’s DEI pledge is “an explicit form of religious discrimination.”
“It is a sad irony that Wayne University’s pledge of ‘inclusion’ actively and deliberately excludes all those whose religious beliefs prohibit them from supporting – in any way – sexual deviance,” Hichborn said.
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Chance Layton, director of communications for the higher education reform group National Association of Scholars, was also critical of the pledge.
Layton told The Fix that “there is no world in which a seemingly neutral institution should be encouraging companies to sign political pledges.”
