Despite corporate efforts to improve diversity and inclusion, there's still a lot of work to be done. That's according to Culture Amp's report "Workplace Diversity, Inclusion, and Intersectionality," which finds that although diversity has led to growth in talent pools, new perspectives, innovation, and better performance and profits, many companies have a long way to go to achieve anything close to workforce equality.
It should come as no surprise that straight white men continue to hold all the cards when it comes to businesses' decision-making. Fifty-seven percent of Latinx women and 56 percent of black women say their views are not taken into account in decision-making processes at work, with just 43 percent of the former and 44 percent of the latter even feeling comfortable speaking up at work. By comparison, 69 percent of white males say they feel comfortable speaking up.
It goes further than that, however. Only 60 percent of black and Latinx women believe that they can voice their opinion without negative consequences—and just 54 percent of black women believe they have an equal opportunity to succeed.
Race is not the only factor driving inequality; disparities exist among age groups and between the sexes. Generation Z is likely to become the most diverse generation yet, especially as the population ages. More straight white men are exiting the workforce today than entering it.
Parenthood experiences also divide the workforce, with nearly twice as many men with children at work as women with children. According to the report, this finding raises questions about what choices women are making—"the notion that new mothers are opting out of returning to work after giving birth, due to a lack of understanding of the differences between men and women in the workforce."
Motherhood is a dividing factor not only between men and women, but also among women of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Says the report, "a 31-year-old white woman with no children will likely have a very different experience to a 42-year-old black woman with two children."
Identifying these differences so that companies can act on them is key to improving both inclusion and diversity at work, but there is still much to be done to achieve equality.
From: BenefitsPro
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
