Consulting Giant Bans Whites And Asians From Career Advancement Seminar

International accounting giant PwC is hosting a career advancement conference for college students that discriminates against white and Asian applicants on the basis of their race.

The program, called the Career Preview, is a three-day experience set to take place this summer in Orlando that imposes race-based selection criteria on applicants. Selected candidates will have the cost of their travel and accommodations covered by PwC.

“Career Preview is a chance to really see what PwC is about, how your major fits in at the firm, and begin a professional relationship with PwC employees invested in your personal and professional growth,” the company’s site says before listing off the discriminatory eligibility requirements.

The program’s “eligibility guidelines” explains that “PwC’s Career Preview is a three-day experience designed for high-performing individuals who” self identify “as a member of traditionally underrepresented group in the professional services industry.” It specifically adds that “traditionally underrepresented” means “Black or Latino/Hispanic.”

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The Career Preview application again states that applicants must be black or Hispanic and asks applicants, “Do you self-identify as a member of traditionally underrepresented groups in the professional services industry?” again explaining that the term refers specifically to those who are “Black or Latino/Hispanic.” The question is mandatory and students are not able to apply without answering it.

The company could run the risk of facing a legal challenge over its race-based selection criteria, Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow GianCarlo Canaparo told The Daily Wire.

“With respect to applicants, an employer cannot ‘limit, segregate, or classify’ them in a way that ‘deprives or tends to deprive’ anyone of an employment opportunity. The question here is not whether PwC is classifying its applicants — it is — but whether these programs increase the chances of getting hired permanently,” Canaparo explained.

“PwC will say, we only ‘encourage’ certain groups to apply, but all are welcome,” he added.“That’s a technical nicety, not a get-out-of-jail-free card. It will provoke a fact-finding investigation into PwC’s true intentions.”

And with President Donald Trump back in office, the company could be taking on significant risk by embracing race-based selection policies.

“It’s worth remembering that abstract legal opinions are only so useful. What really matters is how the Trump administration reads the law,” Canaparo told The Daily Wire. “I am confident that the Trump administration will take an aggressive position against any programs that even seem discriminatory. So, even if the particulars of a given program are close to the line, and even if a particular judge might eventually side with PwC, the Trump Administration can put PwC through a legal and regulatory blender over these policies while it presses its reading of the Civil Rights Act.”

PwC did not respond to a request for comment.

PwC hosts another program, called the Start Experience, which is also intended for people of certain racial backgrounds. The career readiness and leadership program, which the company says is “uniquely designed for high-performing college sophomores/rising juniors looking to grow their business and professional acumen, and inclusive mindset,” guarantees selected applicants an internship offer at the company. Students from all racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply, notably leaving out whites and East Asians.

“As part of the firm’s commitment to equal employment opportunity, we encourage students who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, and/or first generation college students to apply,” the program’s eligibility requirements read.

The company is also a government contractor, making it subject to Trump’s recent executive order intended to bring an end to DEI in government contracting.

“That order requires contractors to agree to a term in their contracts forbidding them from engaging in DEI practices and from discriminating,” Canaparo told The Daily Wire.

“If they fail to abide by that term, they’re subject to nonpayment on their contracts, federal enforcement, and qui tam suits,” which allow individuals to sue on behalf of the federal government and receive a percentage of the damage payments.

The race-based PwC programs are part of a broader trend, however. A series of Daily Wire investigations revealed that companies like ExxonMobil, IBM, Apple, and more have imposed race-based selection criteria on career advancement programs.

Upon taking office, Trump signed an executive order purging DEI from executive agencies of the federal government. The Trump administration now has the opportunity to quash DEI discrimination among corporations and non-profit organizations by issuing consent decrees, initiating investigations, and filing lawsuits against those who run afoul of non-discrimination law.

He also appointed Andrea Lucas, a vocal critic of discriminatory DEI policies, to serve as the Acting Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“Race or sex cannot be even a plus factor, a tiebreaker, or a tipping point in the employment context. People sometimes think that race or sex can be part of the equation for an employment decision if race or sex is not the sole factor, the exclusive factor, or the deciding factor,” Lucas said in one panel discussion. “That is dead wrong.”