State department reverses font policy, calling Calibri a ‘wasteful’ diversity program

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered diplomats to return to using the Times New Roman font in official correspondence, describing his predecessor Antony Blinken’s decision to adopt the Calibri font as a “wasteful” “diversity” move.

Under Blinken’s leadership, the department switched to Calibri in early January 2023, a modern sans-serif font without decorative serifs and the default in Microsoft products. The change was justified on the grounds that it was a more accessible font for people with disabilities.

A cable dated December 9, seen by Reuters and sent to all US diplomatic missions, stated that typography shapes the professionalism of official documents and that Calibri is informal compared to serif fonts.

“To restore civility and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and to eliminate another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as the standard font,” the cable stated. “This formatting standard is consistent with the President’s One Voice in America’s Foreign Relations directive and underscores the Department’s responsibility to present a unified, professional voice in all communications.”

Some research indicates that sans-serif fonts like Calibri are easier to read for people with certain visual impairments.

After taking office in January, Trump moved quickly to eliminate federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and to discourage such programs in the private sector and education.

As part of this effort, he ordered the dismissal of diversity officers in federal agencies and withdrew grant funding for a wide range of programs.

DEI policies became more widespread following nationwide protests in 2020 against the police killings of unarmed Black people, drawing the ire of conservatives.

Trump and other critics of diversity initiatives say they are discriminatory against white people and men and undermine merit-based decision-making.