US Sues New York Times Over Alleged DEI-favored Promotion

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit against The New York Times Company on Tuesday, alleging the publisher discriminated against a white male employee to satisfy Internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, DEI, goals. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, the Times passed over a well-qualified, long-time editor with extensive experience in real estate journalism for the position of Deputy Real Estate Editor in 2025. Instead, the agency claims the company hired an external candidate, a non-white female, who reportedly lacked the specific experience required for the role and was rated less favorably by the company's own interview panel. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, points to the Times' 2021 call to action and other DEI policies as evidence of a corporate mandate to prioritize non-white and female representation in leadership roles at the expense of merit-based selection. In response, a spokesperson for The New York Times, Danielle Rhodes-Ha, noted that it had cooperated with the EEOC's investigation before the filing and rejected the allegations, describing the newspaper's hiring practices as lawful and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world. ♪