For over forty years, I have advised organizations—public and private, local and global—on how to better connect with underrepresented talent in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In that time, I’ve seen powerful progress. But I’ve also seen the cycle of inclusion stall and regress. Today, I write with urgency because the hiring of Black engineers is in decline once again.
While we await the latest comprehensive data, the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. Conversations with leaders at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), attendees at conferences like the BEYA STEM DTX, and dialogues in communities across the country all point to the same disturbing trend: companies that once actively recruited Black talent are now pulling back. Job offers are disappearing. Internship pipelines are drying up. Corporate presence at key events has become sporadic or symbolic.
This retreat is not just disappointing—it’s dangerous.
Where the Talent Is
One of the most fundamental lessons I’ve offered to employers is this: if you're not finding Black engineering talent, you're not looking in the right places. Talent isn’t absent; it’s simply been overlooked.
HBCUs have long been engines of Black excellence in engineering. Schools like North Carolina A&T, Howard University, Florida A&M, and Prairie View A&M consistently produce top-tier graduates who are ready to innovate, lead, and compete globally. Events like the BEYA STEM Conference, hosted by Career Communications Group, are not just celebrations of achievement—they are active talent hubs where corporate recruiters, government agencies, and educators meet the future of STEM.
Yet, many employers have chosen to step back from these spaces. In doing so, they are not just abandoning opportunity—they are reinforcing inequity.
A Presidential Executive Order Gives Employers Cover—and a Call
What makes this moment especially frustrating is that national leadership has already provided employers with both the cover and the call to act.
Through Executive Order supporting HBCUs https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/white-house-initiative-to-promote-excellence-and-innovation-at-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/, the White House has made it clear that inclusive hiring is not only permissible—it’s a strategic imperative. The order urges agencies and their partners to expand recruitment efforts at institutions that serve underrepresented communities, including HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). It also encourages collaboration with organizations that host culturally relevant career events, such as BEYA and Women of Color STEM.
In other words: there’s no legal gray area. Employers have every authority—and now federal encouragement—to reach talent where it lives. Failing to do so is not a compliance issue; it’s a commitment issue.
The Supreme Court's Ruling Has Shifted the Landscape
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended the use of race-conscious admissions in higher education. That decision sent shockwaves through the nation’s academic institutions—particularly those seeking to maintain diversity in competitive programs like engineering.
The early impacts are clear: Black enrollment is declining at many majority (predominantly white) institutions, where race had previously been one of several holistic admissions factors. At the same time, admissions at HBCUs have surged, as more Black students seek out environments where their potential is affirmed, not filtered out.
Here’s what this means for employers: if you're not recruiting at HBCU-sponsored events, you’re effectively taking 30% of the nation’s Black engineering graduates off the table.
That’s not a missed opportunity—it’s a willful blind spot. In a moment where HBCUs are shouldering a disproportionate share of the equity burden, failing to show up in those spaces signals a troubling retreat from inclusion.
Why This Is Wrong
The decision to reduce recruiting efforts in communities rich with Black STEM talent is wrong on multiple fronts:
It’s morally wrong.
Scaling back diversity outreach sends a harmful message to students and professionals: that their aspirations are negotiable and their excellence conditional. This betrays the trust built through decades of partnership and undermines the social contract forged with communities that have historically been excluded.
It’s strategically shortsighted.
The U.S. faces a workforce shortage in critical STEM fields—from cybersecurity to clean energy. To sideline a growing, motivated demographic is to handicap national competitiveness. Diversity is not charity; it is a necessity for innovation and resilience.
It’s institutionally unjust.
Many of the same organizations withdrawing from these recruiting efforts once benefited from public funding or goodwill earned through their past diversity statements. When those commitments become performative or vanish under the weight of economic shifts, layoffs, or political pressure, they reveal an inconsistency that damages institutional credibility.
This Is a Time to Lean In—Not Back Away
At a time when global challenges—from climate change to digital transformation—require the best minds, we must double down on efforts to build an inclusive STEM workforce. That means returning to and reinvesting in proven pipelines. That means showing up—not just with sponsorship dollars, but with meaningful offers, mentorships, and internships.
The formula is simple: go where the talent is. HBCUs, cultural conferences like BEYA and Women of Color STEM, and community tech incubators are teeming with promise. They are where resilience, brilliance, and innovation intersect.
Let’s not pretend we don’t know where to look.
Call to Action
To employers, recruiters, and policymakers: If you’re serious about solving your talent challenges, start by honoring your previous commitments. Go back to the campuses, events, and partnerships where the future of Black engineering continues to rise—despite the odds. Invest in these communities not because it's the popular thing to do, but because it’s the right thing to do.
As for the rest of us: let’s hold organizations accountable. Let’s track which companies show up, which ones hire, and which ones retreat when it matters most. The story of diversity in engineering cannot afford another chapter of silence or surrender.
Let us write one of renewed commitment.
Let us go forward—not backward.