Harvard Sued in Alleged Anti-White Discrimination Case, Latest Step in Trump Crackdown on Woke Academia

The feds are suing Harvard University for data related to allegations its hiring practices discriminate against white men — the latest step in the Trump administration’s crackdown on woke practices in academia.

In a lawsuit filed late Tuesday in a Massachusetts federal court, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused the university of failing to comply with an investigation launched last year into what it called “systemic discrimination” against white, Asian, male and heterosexual workers.

In April 2025, Trump-appointed EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas filed a civil rights charge against Harvard, claiming its recruitment and promotion efforts violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employer discrimination.

{snip}

Harvard has argued the investigation is retaliatory and part of the Trump administration’s broader attempts to muzzle prestigious, left-leaning universities.

{snip}

Lucas’ charge against Harvard last year came days after the university filed its own lawsuit against the federal government, arguing its freeze of $2.2 billion in research funding was “unconstitutional,” the uni’s lawyers have noted.

A Harvard spokesperson said the university has been responding to the EEOC’s inquiries in good faith over the past year and it is prepared to continue defending itself against “illegal government overreach.”

{snip}

Lucas’ charge against Harvard cited since-deleted materials from the school’s website that showed the share of white men among tenured faculty had dropped to 56% in 2023 from 64% in 2013.

The share of “total women and faculty of color” on the tenure track had jumped to 68% from 54% over the same period.

White men in 2023 still outnumbered white women, men of color and women of color when counted separately, according to a graph on the site.

The storied Cambridge, Mass.-based university has faced backlash over allegations its diversity, equity and inclusion policies – which the Trump administration has targeted in several executive orders – went too far and discriminated against certain groups, particularly white men.

{snip}