WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women Features (IW Features), the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, is sharing the story of Tom Grove, a physicist and safety officer who was fired for questioning the rise of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Grove’s story highlights the pervasive DEI agenda that crept into federal agencies under the Biden administration.
In the above photo, Tom Grove received the NIST’s Bronze Medal Award in 2014, “the highest recognition awarded by NIST.”
In an exclusive interview with IW Features, Grove shared about how identity politics infiltrated one of the country’s most critical scientific institutions –– and how questioning this agenda led to his cancellation. Safety and scientific rigor were once the top priorities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), but Grove said that DEI ideology took over the agency and undermined its mission.
By 2022, the NIST had hired a diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, held staff meetings dedicated to DEI, and developed a ‘DEIA Strategic Plan.’
The NIST became hostile to any criticism of DEI, which Grove believes “is the death of the rule of law, liberty, unity, equality under the law, the individual and unconditional inclusivity.”
Grove’s outspokenness in the agency quickly put a target on his back, and he received a proposal for suspension in October 2022. He was charged with “conduct unbecoming of a federal employee” for questioning the DEI policies and transgender ideology being pushed within the NIST. Then, just before the 4th of July in 2023, Grove received an email notifying him of his official termination.
Andrea Mew, managing editor for IW Features, said: “Tom Grove’s story is a truly troubling example of how DEI policies have weaponized identity politics to silence dissent and critical thought. His firing from NIST wasn’t just an attack on free speech –– it revealed a broader assault on the foundational values that once made our institutions great. This kind of retaliation has no place in a nation that is supposed to pride itself on individual liberty and intellectual integrity. It’s my hope that by spreading Grove’s story, more Americans can wake up to the dangers of DEI before it completely undermines our uniquely American principles of fairness, meritocracy, and free speech.”
Read Grove’s full profile on IW Features: Federal Physicist Silenced and Ousted After Challenging DEI at Federal Agency.
IW Features also recently shared the story of L.M. Caheb* a former United States Secret Service (USSS) agent of nearly 30 years who claims he was overlooked for a larger role in the agency because of the Biden administration’s DEI agenda. (*The name has been changed to protect the storyteller’s identity.)
Read more stories from those discriminated against for their beliefs as told by IW Features in “Unfairly Canceled:”
- Burned by the System: Fire Captain Tracy Turner’s Fight for Free Expression
- Woke Activists Canceled this Renowned Anthropologist for Stating that Male and Female Skeletons Are Different
- Pardoned Activist Blasts Biden Admin For Trying to Silence Americans with Different Politics
- Qualifications, Not Quotas | Exposing DEI in the U.S. Secret Service
- Nextdoor App Suspends A Woman For Defending Rape Survivors
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