New documents reveal that, as the nation suffered from the strain of historically high inflation, employees at the Federal Reserve spent more time going through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training than addressing the financial crisis.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the newly-obtained documents reveal that there were four DEI training sessions held in the spring and summer of 2021. These lessons featured such teachings as “correct pronoun usage is a civil right” and acknowledging “White privilege,” as well as demanding the use of “inclusive language” such as “Latinx,” a word that is meant to erase the historically gendered language used in Hispanic languages.
One lesson featured an illustration of a “transgender gingerbread person,” which claimed that it is possible for someone to have a female brain and male sexual organs. Employees were also ordered to not refer to Chairman Jerome Powell as “Chairman,” and instead say simply “Chair” in order to keep “gender-inclusive language.” Despite this, the Fed’s website still refers to Powell as “Chairman.”
Furthermore, the training materials point to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as “proof” that people have a “civil right” to use their preferred pronouns or chosen name. Title VII, the documents claim, “prohibits any employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity and/or sexual orientation.”
At the height of the inflation crisis, the rate of inflation was the highest it had been in 40 years, leading to a declining approval rating for the Federal Reserve; in April of 2023, a poll found that 54% of Americans do not trust Chairman Powell to fix the economy.