Merriam-Webster defines equity as “freedom from disparities in the way people of different races, genders, etc. are treated.” But notably, it has other definitions there, too, such as “the common stock of a corporation.”
In recent years, government agencies have taken action to make digital services more inclusive and accessible, with the recognition that all constituents should be able to participate in the civic process. Public agencies have dedicated staff to supporting this mission, and the private sector has largely committed to it as well. More recently, these practices have come under scrutiny for allegedly prioritizing equity above merit.
One factor contributing to this shift is President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order (EO), “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” The EO calls for “the termination of all discriminatory programs,” including mandates, policies, programs and activities related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. It calls for federal agencies and departments to terminate positions, offices, initiatives or programs that are deemed “equity-related.” And it is already impacting digital equity work.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s former Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program Director Evan Feinman said agency staff have had to complete some “silly exercises” under the administration, related to the EO.
“At one point, we had to defend the usage of the word ‘inclusion’ in our notice of funding opportunity,” said Feinman, whose last day was March 14. “It was a form of the verb ‘to include.’ It was about including particular locations in a construction project.”
As he explained, this type of instance is a “real risk” of the impacts of that Jan. 20 EO. He also said he believes that these concerns are “holding up portions of the digital equity program” created by the Digital Equity Act — which, as Feinman underlined, is the law.
The FCC is also being impacted by the January EO. Chairman Brendan Carr ended the agency’s related efforts in its strategic plan, budget, advisory group, action plan, task force, advisory committee directive, annual performance plans, and economic reports.
“Let’s be clear: diversity, equity and inclusion does not equal discrimination,” Commissioner Anna M. Gomez responded in a statement.
Carr has since launched an investigation into private-sector companies, Comcast and NBCUniversal, for their equal employment opportunity practices.
In addition, a Tuesday public notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture amends 14 program funding opportunities to remove scoring criteria based on diversity, equity and inclusion to comply with the EO. This impacts the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants and Community Connect Grants programs, among others.
Research shows gaps in Internet access disproportionately affect certain historically marginalized populations.
Federal funding from programs like BEAD prioritizes unserved and underserved areas for a reason, as Angela Thi Bennett, NTIA supervisory broadband program specialist, previously told Government Technology: “This funding will directly impact our most vulnerable communities because those are the ones that have been most impacted by the digital divide.”
Digital equity stakeholders are exploring how these federal actions will impact their work, including at the state and local levels.
“There’s always open questions; one is, ‘Has equity itself become a dirty word?’” Zaki Barzinji, senior director for Aspen Digital, said. If this is the case, he said a separate debate may be needed in which digital equity is redefined in a way that doesn’t use the word “equity.”
The dispute primarily comes down to semantics around the words used, he said, which could create unnecessary harms. He said the impact that trickles from the federal government to the state level depends on their level of enforcement. Regarding criticism of the terms — diversity, equity and inclusion — Barzinji said the phrase “digital equity” has historically been more insulated.
“So, I think the challenge is going to be expanding that imagination of what equity means and who it serves,” he stated. “Equity is for any marginalized community, and marginalized communities take many different shapes and sizes and colors.”
Another major piece of the digital equity puzzle for governments is digital accessibility.
“We know that the Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention] reports that more than 28 percent of U.S. adults have some form of disability, which means that we continue to make sure that we’re building the best path forward for local governments to reach all of their residents,” said Don Torrez, director of partnership at CivicPlus, which sells software to local governments. The company has a mission of helping locals make government work better, including supporting better direct interactions with constituents. Accessibility, Torrez said, is part of that.
The organization released a report this month exploring web accessibility in local government; it found 75 percent of local officials view web accessibility as a high priority. However, 38 percent of respondents said they were entirely unaware of the federal mandate to make all digital content accessible. Accessibility challenges for local governments include limited time, resources and budgets — paired with competing priorities, Torrez said.
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the role local governments play in providing information, he said, especially in an emergency situation like a public health crisis. Local governments, he emphasized, need to be able to ensure everyone has access to that information, underlining that equal information access is important to consider when thinking about “inclusion.”
By improving digital accessibility for people with disabilities, Torrez explained that governments will make the information more widely accessible to people without disabilities, too — something known as the curb cut effect.
Governments’ accessibility efforts should go beyond compliance, he said: “What you're really trying to do is make sure that everyone can use your programs and services.”
