New data from Clutch has revealed the most popular diversity initiatives that staff want their employers to adopt.
The survey from the B2B ratings and reviews firm found that 25% of US staff want to see more racial and ethnic minorities in leadership ranks. Approximately 21% of employees said they want to see more women in leadership. Around 24% seek employee diversity training. Another 20% said recruiting underrepresented groups was important to them.
However, more than half (54%) of US staff believe that their employers have failed to create a diverse workplace in 2020, according Clutch. On a positive note, a similar number of employees (53%) believe their company is committed to establishing a diverse workforce next year. But around one-third of employees (36%) aren’t sure if their company is actually committed to diversity. And around 11% believe their employer isn’t committed to diversity at all.
DIVERSITY ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS
More importantly, the Clutch survey revealed that diversity initiatives are essential for people of colour to succeed at work. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of people of colour said that the level of diversity at their company affects their ability to succeed. However just 32% of their White colleagues share the same belief.
Diversity experts believe that mentorship is key to get ahead and succeed in an organisation, especially for people of colour. Dr Luz Claudio, Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Ichan School of Medicine in Mt Sinai, believes that “authentic mentorship” is a must. As a successful Afro-Latina scientist for 29 years, she commented that mentors become more important as you “continue to climb the corporate or academic ladder”.
According to Clutch, mentorship programmes can greatly improve the odds of professional success for minority groups. The study found that these initiatives are more likely to exist at companies which are diverse and led by leaders that value diversity.
Additionally, diversity initiatives are a must at all levels of an organisation and employee involvement is key to their success. “In order to truly embed diversity and inclusion in a company culture, you have to create opportunities for engagement at all levels of the organisation,” pointed out Karina De La Cruz, Vice President of CSAA Insurance Group. She said her firm uses employee resource groups and diversity councils to ensure all employees are involved in decision-making about diversity-related initiatives. “Diversity and inclusion have to be ingrained as part of everyone’s work,” Cruz concluded.
Sign up for our newsletter
