The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s program, Creative Regal Women of Knowledge, faced accusations from the Equal Protection Project for discriminating against students who were not women of color. After the federal civil rights complaint, the program updated its website to state that it would no longer consider race and gender in its application process.
The Equal Protection Project, led by William A. Jacobson, expressed skepticism regarding MIT’s sincerity in opening the program to all students regardless of race or sex. Jacobson urged MIT to appoint an outside monitor to ensure the program’s inclusivity was not just superficial.
MIT Program Open Only To 'Women of Color' Challenged By Equal Protection Project @ProtectionEqual As Violating Civil Rights Laws https://t.co/B7V8okBn09 pic.twitter.com/DTv5zB6Lg4
— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) May 21, 2024
In addition to questioning MIT’s intentions, Jacobson emphasized that the website’s language change should not deter the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights from investigating the program’s alleged history of racial discrimination.
CRWN, which aimed to support and celebrate undergraduate women of color, updated its website to include a broader range of participants, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin.
The Washington Examiner reported the program’s mission to foster community among women of color and to provide support for racial, ethnic, and gender identity development. Furthermore, the program offered up to $400 in professional development assistance.
The program’s application process asked prospective students extensively about their racial and gender identities, defining “women of color” as including black, indigenous, Hispanic or “Latinx,” Asian, Pacific Islanders, and other “minoritized ethnicities,” as well as biological men who identify as women.