An April report by Glassdoor Economic Research finds employees of different ethnic backgrounds have varying opinions on how their companies are handling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, Glassdoor users of all races, sexual orientations, and disability statuses gave their employer an average DEI rating of 3.73, the report says. Black workers of all genders reported an average rating of 3.49, while white employees gave an average rating of 3.74. Hispanic and Latinx workers and Asian employees gave above-average ratings at 3.80 and 3.98, respectively.

This perception gap remained even in industries dominated by Black workers, but only “small indistinguishable” disparities were found in other sectors, including media, business services, telecommunications and transportation, and logistics.

One of the largest disparities between Black employees and other employees was found in Registered Nursing roles, with a 1.9-star gap.

“The workplace diversity perceptions gap is real and growing,” reads an excerpt from the report:

“Using a statistical model, we assess whether D&I sentiment differs among racial and ethnic groups after accounting for differences in employees’ occupations, industries, company sizes, genders, lengths of time on the job, and more. We find that, even after these adjustments, Black or African American employees still rate workplace D&I nearly 8 percent lower — a large and highly statistically significant gap. Moreover, we find that since 2019 this gap has grown rather than shrunk, expanding from 0.2 to 0.6 stars (on a 1 to 5-star satisfaction scale) despite many employers increasing investments in D&I programs in the last two years.”

About 56 per cent of the survey participants were white, which, according to the report, is 4 per cent lower than the overall representation of white people in the U.S. 

At 13.8 per cent, Black participants were on par with their 13.4 per cent representation among the total population. Asian representation was 2.6 per cent higher in the survey than the general U.S. population.  You can read a full breakdown of the participants by demographic here (flip to Page 7).

NOT THE FIRST SURVEY TO FIND DIFFERING VIEWS ON DEI EFFORTS

It has been nearly a year since businesses and academic institutions vowed to put a renewed effort into DEI. We are seeing progress on some fronts, but there is also a growing body of evidence that some programs are missing the mark.

For example:

  • An April report out of Princeton University found many DEI programs are catering to white people, with many institutions centering their DEI initiatives around the narrative that “diversity enhances student learning,” a view that aligns with “better relative outcomes” for white people. The paper found this approach corresponded with lower graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students.
  • A January job satisfaction survey by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) revealed “significant disparities” in how white and non-white faculty members perceive DEI progress on college campuses, with  73 per cent of white faculty members saying there is visible and sufficient DEI support. Only 55 per cent of their Black colleagues felt the same way. About 78 per cent of white professors felt their departments are committed to expanding DEI initiatives, while only 58 per cent of Black faculty agreed.

LAST NOTE: HERE’S THE THING ABOUT CATERING TO “WHITE PEOPLE”

Like we’ve said before, DEI programs that centre white people don’t centre all white people equally.

Programs that fail to authentically include the experiences of non-white people also tend to erase disability and focus on a narrative catering to the majority, i.e., (mostly) male, able-bodied, and cis-gender.

And with many DEI metrics focusing on male-female demographics, non-binary individuals tend to be overlooked as well even though a growing number of people are identifying as part of this group.

Read the full Glassdoor report here.