The U.S. government’s efforts to scrub diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from public and private sector programs could have a chilling effect on efforts to recruit tens of thousands of telecom workers to build out networks nationwide, experts told Fierce.
Though the telecom sector also includes wireless networks, broadband builds could be among the hardest hit by the administration’s actions. Why? Well, as New Street Research’s Blair Levin explained, DEI is actually an integral part of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. It’s right there in the name.
DEI efforts may be key to getting enough workers…
Federal efforts to slash DEI initiatives come as the broadband industry braces for a worker shortage ahead of BEAD rollouts. A study commissioned by the Fiber Broadband Association warned of an expected shortage of 28,000 workers on the construction side and 30,000 on the technician side between now and 2030.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were about 418,000 people employed in the telecommunications sector (excluding wired carriers) in 2024. Among these workers, 30% were women and around 27% of the total were non-white. Nearly 15% of workers were black, 14% Hispanic and 9.5% Asian.