A race- and gender-exclusive program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said it now accepts applicants of all races and genders as part of its application process, updating its website with the new inclusive language hours after being accused of discrimination.
On Monday, the Equal Protection Project filed a federal civil rights complaint against MIT for its Creative Regal Women of Knowledge group, which excluded non-“women of color” from being members. Since then, the group changed its website to say it will no longer discriminate.
“While our program is designed to support and celebrate undergraduate women of Color, participation is open to all students regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin,” an updated website for the program now states. MIT declined to comment to the Washington Examiner.
“MIT is trying to rewrite the exclusionary and discriminatory history of the CRWN program. This raises questions as to whether MIT is sincere in opening up the program to all students regardless of race or sex,” said William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project. “MIT needs to appoint an outside monitor of the program to make sure the website language change is not just window dressing.”
In addition to being skeptical of MIT’s motivations, Jacobson said the subtle change to the website should not stop the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights from opening an investigation into the group that he says has been operating a racially discriminatory program for years.
“MIT’s after-the-fact website wording change does not alter the serious violations of the civil rights laws that have been taking place for years,” he said. “The CRWN program’s exclusionary language necessarily deterred white female and all male students from applying. The OCR should open a formal investigation and impose remedial and other sanctions on MIT.”
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As the Washington Examiner reported, some of the group’s stated purposes are to “enhance and strengthen community amongst [women of color]” and “support positive racial/ethnic, cultural, gender identity, self-awareness, confidence,” as well as offering up to $400 in professional development assistance.
CRWN defined “women of color” to include black, indigenous, Hispanic or “Latinx,” Asian, Pacific Islanders, and other “minoritized ethnicities,” as well as biological men who identify as women, and its application asks extensively about which race and gender groups prospective applicants identify with.