Increasingly, issues of gender and diversity are central to discussion of the modern workplace, and U.S. companies are expected more and more to present a fair workplace full of workers of both genders as well as members of diverse ethnic groups. But there’s still a large element of taboo to the practice of open discussion of these important issues, similar to the taboo surrounding salaries. But how can a company be open to diversity and inclusion is talking about it openly is discouraged? Employees were asked, “Does you company encourage open discussion of workplace issues related to gender and diversity?”
This information comes from the latest reading of an ongoing study by Comparably.
Nearly two-thirds of employees say that such discussions are encouraged at their workplace. Women, who arguably have more stake in such discussions, were less positive than men on this question.
Among ethnic groups, who would also benefit from such open discussion, we see a range of responses. Slightly more than two-thirds of Asian/Pacific Islanders reported they were encouraged to discuss such matters openly at work. Hispanic/Latino, Caucasian, and “other” responses were in line with the overall average of all responses. African-Americans positive responses were slightly lower than overall female.
From the youngest workers up through the 46-50 age bracket, positive responses came in at or near the average for all workers. That number begins to drop after the 46-50 group, implying that older workers may identify more strongly with a work culture where such discussions were not encouraged in the open.
The more educated you are, the higher the chance you work in for a company that encourages open discussion of pressing progressive hiring and fairness issues. The least educated are most likely to work for a company that discourages such talk of diverse fair play.
In a troubling sign, women in nearly every work department feel less encouraged to discuss matters of gender and diversity openly. Only in Communications, Marketing, Product, and Operations are women more positive on the topic than men, and only by a small margin for each.
Latest reading as of July 16.
