by Heather Getha-Taylor
Image of a shadow on a wall.
The push for equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the United States was driven by the goal of ensuring that women and minorities could access education and employment and thus participate more fully in the economy and democracy. By opening the doors of opportunity, the contributions of women and minorities would benefit individuals, families, and the broader community. These priorities were woven into federal laws and policies as tangible representations of the American dream, that is, a place where everyone has the chance to succeed. Yet, in 2025, these values are under threat at the federal level, and their erosion stands to unravel decades of progress for the marginalized.
The march toward improved equity found traction with President Johnson’s Great Society initiatives of the 1960s. As a result of that administration’s historic nondiscrimination legislation and affirmative action programs, the public sector became an employer of choice for women and minorities. However, a 2025 National Women’s Law Center report indicated that recent federal government job cuts disproportionately affected women and people of color, especially in agencies where they are well represented (Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Education, for example).
Similarly, President Trump’s Executive Order 14173 rescinded Executive Order 11246, which established race- and sex-based affirmative action programs for federal contractors. These programs were designed to ensure that the principles of equal opportunity and nondiscrimination extended to agents of the state who received public funds. Ideally, affirmative action programs should be retired once they reach their intended goals. However, a 2023 report by the Center for Investigative Reporting found that the goal of a representative contractor workforce was more rhetoric than reality: most of the leadership ranks of the nation’s largest contractors were far from equitable.
These examples signal a departure from the pursuit of representative bureaucracy at the federal level. They cast a shadow on the prospects of women and minorities in the public sector today. And they echo to a time when marginalization was widely accepted. However, this is not the first time that adversity clouded the goal of equality. As those who embrace the values of diversity and inclusion question what to do in this moment, an important lesson comes from the life of Septima Poinsette Clark.
Born in 1898 in Charleston, South Carolina, Clark experienced a host of inequities, including racial discrimination, gender bias, and socioeconomic divides. But she believed in the power of individuals and the importance of local action to achieve social change. In 1954, Clark was working at Highlander Folk School when she envisioned the concept of “citizenship schools” for those who had been denied an education and thus denied the opportunity to vote due to the barrier of literacy tests. She knew that teaching people to read would equip and empower them to have a voice in their democracy. Only then could the scales of justice begin to tilt toward greater equity.
Clark’s vision of change began in Tennessee with one class of fourteen students and a budget of $100. With time, her concept diffused across the South, reaching thousands through literacy classes and citizenship workshops. One of the most notable workshop participants was Rosa Parks, who would later start the Montgomery bus boycott which initiated the civil rights movement. As was the case then and is now, adversity can be a motivational force. It can spark a flame of imagination and action. Amid the shadows of adversity, one smoldering ember can light a sweeping fire. Clark’s example reminds us to think big and start local.
About the author:
Heather Getha-Taylor is a Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas. Her work focuses on topics in public management, including human resource management, collaboration, and leadership.