Women's soybean board nominations rejected by USDA

The Trump administration rejected all four women farmers chosen by their peers to represent them in an industry group called the United Soybean Board earlier this year, a rare intervention by the US Department of Agriculture that three of the women suspected was linked to their gender, reported Reuters. 

From the Pentagon to the US Department of Education (USDA), the Trump administration has vowed to root out policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, from every layer of government.

Normally, soy farmers pick their representatives and the USDA signs off. This time, the USDA rejected at least five of the farmers selected for the United Soybean Board, including four women. It did not give any reason, according to three of the women.

Sara Stelter, a Wisconsin farmer stripped of her role on the soy board, saw the decision as part of Trump's broader policy.

“It seems like a small thing," Stelter said, "but in other ways, it’s really a big deal because it’s just another thing of where the current administration views women, I believe, and what their role should be."

Reuters could not determine the reason for USDA's rejection of the five candidates for the soy board. The USDA and the United Soybean Board did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters about the rejections, saying only that the agriculture secretary selects board members from candidates put forward by state boards. The White House did not fulfill a public information request seeking any correspondence on the matter, citing a backlog of requests, and a spokesperson declined to comment, referring Reuters to the USDA.

The administration has in the past year revoked equal pay initiatives enacted by the Biden administration and rolled back programs across the federal government that aimed to correct past inequities impacting women and minority groups. The White House argues that such programs are illegal under laws against race and gender discrimination, and work against merit-based advancement.

Shaun Harper, a University of Southern California professor whose research focuses on equity in business, education and policymaking, said the intervention on the soy board showed the administration's approach to diversity went beyond specific DEI programs and was affecting the federal approach to boards that work within particular industries.

Groups like the United Soybean Board, he said, "are casualties of a blanket implementation of anti-DEI policies and practices in the federal government."