As the Trump administration rolls out new policies reducing DEI and abortion rights, many women worry for the future. In a changing political and social climate, some feel the right-leaning administration threatens their safety and civil rights.
With the dismantling of DEI initiatives, training in government agencies on gender discrimination and school discussions of “divisive” issues including gender bias will cease. DEI had its flaws, including its implementation in large part benefiting select privileged workers already in powerful positions rather than the diverse workforce at the bottom. But its complete removal hints at a growing lack of regard for minority contributions, as seen in the erasure of the Department of Defense’s records related to DEI content, which included articles on women’s contributions to the military.
English teacher Beth Wahl analyzed the effects of the new Trump administration, citing the 2024 survey, which found that increasing numbers of Republicans now believe that women should return to their traditional roles in society.
“There’s a lot of continuing disrespect,” Dr. Wahl said. “That’s really frightening and that is a definite change. In a relatively short amount of time, there’s been a real shift among those who identify as Republicans about the roles that women should play in society, and I find this deeply disturbing.”
President of the Civil Discourse Club Jacqueline Huang (12) observes conservative shifts in society and attributes them to sexism rather than to new political forces. She pointed out the larger societal trend of disrespect towards women.
“A lot of it is part of our culture and how we perceive women compared to men,” Jacqueline said. “Women are often seen as meeker, as less authoritative, even when they carry out the same actions a man would do. This is a quality that’s built into our society and it will take a very long time and a gradual process in order to fix this. It’s not something that could be fixed or worsened by a single presidential administration.”
Despite feminist fears of a takedown of women’s rights under the new administration, Trump’s cabinet includes many women in positions of great power. Initiatives like the UN conference discussing future improvements on women’s rights at the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration also continue to push for progress on women’s rights.
Jacqueline theorized that the conservative government may not fully reflect America’s societal climate.
“Right now, the direction that our society is moving in with regard to gender roles may not be exactly the same as the political direction of the current administration,” Jacqueline said. “Culturally, our society is still moving towards increasing the amount of opportunities that women have. There will be people who are constantly pushing for change, and I do think that in the end, women’s rights movements will prevail.”
During Trump’s campaign for reelection in 2024, he emphasized traditional gender roles and masculinity in an attempt to appeal to male voters while claiming he would protect female voters. His presidency has come with a broader social revival of traditional feminine values like submissiveness and domesticity in women, seen in trends like the “tradwives” on social media.
Powerful conservative female politicians under the Trump administration generally live up to the traditional female beauty standard, wearing large amounts of makeup and fancy clothing. These politicians directly contradict the growing emphasis on submissiveness and domesticity for women, and theorists believe that they compensate for that with a more feminine appearance.
US history teacher Chuck Witschorik commented on the effects of the administration’s continued use of rhetoric affirming traditional gender roles.
“When anybody with a public platform and a lot of influence tries to project onto people the gender norms that they’re ‘supposed to follow,’ then that can affect anyone who isn’t perceived to conform to the way someone is ‘supposed to be,’ Dr. Witschorik said. “Someone might feel that there is an unwritten message being sent to them of needing to project an image and they may well feel that they need to follow that message and act accordingly.”
With social conservatism on the rise, those who do not fit traditional gender expectations may face oppression and limited opportunities. Dr. Wahl expresses concern over societal shifts toward traditional values for women.
“I’ve been very concerned about the increasing misogyny in the younger generation,” Dr. Wahl said. “There’s just a coarsening of our culture in general. There seems to be more openness to disrespect, not just towards women but towards people who are LGBTQ and people in any marginalized communities. American culture is founded on the principles of respect, and I feel like that’s being eroded.”