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Split Thread DEI in the US

The paper showed that all U.S. science funding agencies required funding applications to include a DEI component. Two independent peer reviewers and a decision editor agreed and published the paper. If you, in contrast, believe that the paper did not show what the authors, the reviewers, and the editor thought it shows, then you should write a rebuttal and get it peer reviewed and published.
 
The paper showed that all U.S. science funding agencies required funding applications to include a DEI component. Two independent peer reviewers and a decision editor agreed and published the paper. If you, in contrast, believe that the paper did not show what the authors, the reviewers, and the editor thought it shows, then you should write a rebuttal and get it peer reviewed and published.
The paper did claim that all U.S. science funding agencies require a DEI component. However, the paper also claimed these supposed DEI mandates were implemented by Executive Order. Two independent peer reviewers and a decision editor agreed and published that, despite the fact that the EOs did not mandate such specific requirements.

In Section 2.3, the paper claims that DEI violates or conflicts with the First Amendment. Their citation for this claim of being forced to say things they do not believe are true is a dead link. Yet, two independent peer reviewers and a decision editor agreed and published this point, despite the fact that accepting federal funding is voluntary and does not constitute a free speech violation.

The paper also explicitly claimed in Section 2.3 that hiring quotas are DEI requirements, but then immediately undercut this in the next paragraph by shifting the terminology to "de facto quotas." Not only do hiring quotas not exist within DEI policies, this rhetorical move implicitly acknowledges that the authors know this. Somehow those two independent peer reviewers and a decision editor missed that sleight of hand and agreed and published this anyway.
 
If you believe that, you should write it up and submit it for peer review. Let’s see if the reviewers agree with your claims.
 
If you believe that, you should write it up and submit it for peer review. Let’s see if the reviewers agree with your claims.
My being correct about the paper's errors is not conditional on submitting my own critique for peer review. The validity of my points: that the paper misstates the EO mandate, misrepresents constitutional law, and contains internal contradictions on quotas, is verifiable right now, in the text of the paper itself.

If you believe my critique is wrong, you are welcome to step out from behind the skirts of Epimov et al and defend those provably wrong claims yourself. I read his interview in t-invariant.org. The dude has a clear ideological axe to grind and isn't going to let a little thing like factual accuracy get in the way of his politically motivated pablum.
 
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I’ve already explained why your claims are wrong. You’ve made your claims (repeatedly). The authors, reviewers, the editor, and I think you’re wrong. If you think everybody but you is wrong, get your rebuttal peer reviewed and published.

And you, with your blatant misrepresentation of DEI, is clearly the one who is being motivated by ideology.

ETA: We can add the editors of T-invariant to the list of scientists who know that the mandate to require science grants to include a DEI component stemmed from Biden's EOs. Seems, actually, that everybody but you knows this.
 
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I’ve already explained why your claims are wrong. You’ve made your claims (repeatedly). The authors, reviewers, the editor, and I think you’re wrong. If you think everybody but you is wrong, get your rebuttal peer reviewed and published.

And you, with your blatant misrepresentation of DEI, is clearly the one who is being motivated by ideology.

ETA: We can add the editors of T-invariant to the list of scientists who know that the mandate to require science grants to include a DEI component stemmed from Biden's EOs. Seems, actually, that everybody but you knows this.
Your defense is a continuous loop. You have not, at any point, explained why my claims are wrong; you have only appealed to the authority of the very authors and reviewers who failed to catch the errors.

I have documented three distinct and verifiable factual errors in the published paper's own text. Your entire argument rests on citing the people who missed these errors. That is not a rebuttal.

You should read up on t-invariant before jumping in bed with them, by the way.
 
You should read up on t-invariant before jumping in bed with them, by the way.
I know all about t-invariant. What's your problem with them? I literally can't find a single objectionable sentence on their entire about page. On the contrary, they seem like a laudable organization.
 
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I know all about t-invariant. What's your problem with them? I literally can't find a single objectionable sentence on their entire about page. On the contrary, they seem like a laudable organization.
Oh, I read more than their about page. I paid attention to what they write, how they write it, and how they frame the opposing views. (Marxism? come on)
 
Oh, I read more than their about page. I paid attention to what they write, how they write it, and how they frame the opposing views. (Marxism? come on)
So what do you find objectionable. The very first interview on their home page is actually pro-DEI. The founders grew up under Soviet rule. So, yeah, they're anti-Marxism.
 
Let's not forget that the rightist fearmongering crusade against what they call "DEI" is being used to end and suppress real world policies and initiatives that actually promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Very much this. While T-invariant may include one article expressing the value of DEI, that single piece doesn't negate the platform’s overall editorial pattern. The content I found shows a clear editorial imbalance, with a ratio of four anti-DEI pieces (three interviews and one article) to one pro-DEI interview. This shows clear ideological bias and scaremongering. It doesn't help that their contributors and interviewees are exclusively white and overwhelmingly male. The content also consistently echoes the same fundamental, verifiable errors found in the Efimov paper: misrepresenting Executive Orders as direct mandates, asserting the existence of quotas, and falsely claiming that DEI prevents scientific organizations from hiring the best people, etc.
 
I asked ChatGPT 5.2 one simple question: When and why did the Department of Energy institute PIER plans?

Here is the respsonse (let me know if the color is not readable on your screen and I will remove it):

The DOE “PIER Plan” requirement—PIER = Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research—was instituted during the Biden administration, with requirements rolling out in 2022 and taking effect broadly for FY 2023 funding opportunities in the DOE Office of Science.

Below is a clear timeline and rationale.



When did DOE institute PIER Plans?

Key milestones

  • January 20, 2021
    President Biden issued Executive Order 13985: “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”
  • 2021–2022
    Federal agencies, including DOE, conducted internal equity assessments and developed agency-specific implementation plans.
  • Mid–late 2022
    The DOE Office of Science announced that many FY 2023 Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) would require a PIER Plan as part of the proposal.
  • FY 2023 (and continuing into FY 2024–2025)
    PIER Plans became a standard proposal component for many Office of Science programs (with some variation by program and FOA).
So: PIER plans were not a Trump-era policy; they are a Biden-era requirement, operationalized about 18–24 months after EO 13985.


Why did DOE institute PIER Plans?

1. Direct response to Biden executive orders

PIER Plans are explicitly justified by:

  • EO 13985 (racial equity)
  • EO 14035 (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the federal workforce)
  • OMB and OSTP guidance instructing agencies to embed equity goals into grantmaking, not just internal hiring.
DOE interpreted this as requiring equity considerations in funded research activities, not merely in agency operations.


2. Shift from demographics to “process”

DOE framed PIER Plans as:

  • Not quotas
  • Not demographic targets
  • Not identity-based scoring
Instead, they are described as plans addressing:

  • mentoring practices
  • access to research opportunities
  • inclusive team culture
  • outreach, training, and professional development
  • removal of structural barriers in labs and collaborations
This framing was likely chosen to reduce legal vulnerability after:

  • heightened scrutiny of race-conscious policies
  • Supreme Court rulings on admissions (2023)
  • Title VI concerns

3. Alignment with NSF-style “Broader Impacts”

Internally, DOE has often described PIER Plans as analogous to:

  • NSF’s Broader Impacts criterion, but
  • focused specifically on equity and inclusion in the research enterprise
This represented a major cultural shift for DOE Office of Science, which historically emphasized:

scientific merit + mission relevance, with minimal social criteria

4. Political and institutional signaling

PIER Plans also served a signaling function:

  • Demonstrating DOE’s compliance with White House priorities
  • Showing alignment with OSTP’s “Equity in STEM” agenda
  • Insulating the agency from accusations of ignoring EO 13985
In other words: they are as much a governance instrument as a scientific one.


Important nuances

  • Not all DOE programs adopted PIER Plans uniformly
    Some applied them lightly; others made them formally reviewable but “non-scored”; still others integrated them into merit review.
  • Implementation varied widely across panels
    Reviewers were often given minimal guidance, leading to inconsistency and confusion—something many PIs quietly complained about.
  • DOE avoided calling them “DEI statements”
    The term PIER was deliberately chosen to sound procedural and neutral, rather than ideological.

Bottom line

DOE instituted PIER Plans in 2022–2023
because it interpreted Biden’s equity executive orders as requiring equity criteria in federal research funding
, and chose a process-oriented, proposal-embedded mechanism to demonstrate compliance.
 
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I asked ChatGPT...
There's a reason rightists love AI so much. It validates everything anyone says to it. "That's a great question!" "You're absolutely right." "Would you like me to...?" AI is a sycophant, and rightists absolutely love sycophants.


Everything you get from ChatGPT should be fact-checked. You know - treated with... what's the word?.. Skepticism.
 
There's a reason rightists love AI so much. It validates everything anyone says to it. "That's a great question!" "You're absolutely right." "Would you like me to...?" AI is a sycophant, and rightists absolutely love sycophants.


Everything you get from ChatGPT should be fact-checked. You know - treated with... what's the word?.. Skepticism.
I wasn't aware "rightists" loved AI. My recent recollection is that "rightist" distrusted AI because it had a clear lefty bias (garbage in /garbage out). But I agree with you fully - don't just trust the AI output, you've got to verify it.
 
It's amazing that when asked a completely open-ended question—"When and why did the Department of Energy institute PIER plans?—the AI traced them back to Biden's EOs. Completely amazing.
 
Yes, truly amazing, when I just posted evidence that AIs will tell you exactly what you want them to.
Truly amazing that you think ChatGPT would think I waned it to tell me that PIER Plans were due to Biden's EOs, given that I only asked it, "When and why did the Department of Energy institute PIER plans?"
 

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