Research Report Summary: The State of Diversity & Inclusion 2020

Achieve greater success and engagement through better D&I practices

Previous studies from the HR Research Institute show that many employers struggle to craft and implement excellent diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices. To better understand why so many struggle as well as how the best ones succeed, HR.com’s HR Research Institute investigated a range of related topics in 2020. Those topics include the D&I landscape, the prevalence of inclusive benefits, who is typically responsible for D&I, and so much more.

 

Key Findings

• D&I programs are largely immature and appear under-resourced
• Not enough organizations are incorporating key D&I initiatives across the rest of the talent management function
• Most companies fall short in the areas of metrics and training
• Although some progress has been made in cultivating a more diverse workforce, many companies still have a long way to go
• Many companies offer benefit programs that appeal to a diverse workforce, but there is room for improvement

How Diverse Is Today's Workforce?

There has been progress in overall workforce diversity but not nearly enough. Although a majority (59%) of organizations agree their workforces are more diverse than two years ago, only a little more than half (54%) say their workforces reflect the demographics of today's marketplace. It is clear that, despite some progress, a large proportion of organizations have a long way to go before their workforces are as diverse as the marketplaces they serve. Why are so many organizations lagging in this area? The rest of the report tries to answer this question.
  In the U.S., women make up about 47% of the labor force, yet they are often under-represented in the leadership ranks of organizations, a situation commonly referred to as the “glass ceiling.”  When asked about the percentage of leaders who are women, nearly half of HR professionals (46%) say women represent no more than 30% of their organization’s leaders. Another 21% say women make up only 31% to 50% of leaders. On the other end of the spectrum, just 7% say women represent 51% to 60% of leaders, and only 16% say women make up 61% or more of the leaders. The same trend occurs in regard to ethnic/racial minorities in the U.S. These  minorities make up about 40% of the U.S. population, according to Census Bureau estimates.¹ The study finds, however, that two thirds (65%) of HR professionals say ethnic/racial minorities comprise no more than 30% of their organizations’ leaders. This suggests ethnic minorities are significantly under-represented in most leadership ranks.

How Developed Are Today’s Diversity Practices?

One of the primary reasons many organizations have failed to cultivate diverse workforces and leadership teams is that their D&I programs are inadequate. In fact, only about a quarter of HR professionals indicate their organizations have “advanced” or “vanguard” D&I practices. A small percentage of participants (7%) report that their organization’s initiatives are in the most mature stage (the vanguard stage) and 16% are in the advanced stage.

To What Extent Are D&I Initiatives Effective?

Among the subset of respondents who are directly involved with the management or execution of D&I initiatives, only 16% rate their organization’s D&I initiatives as very effective (that is, they say their organization’s D&I initiatives are an 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale). This lends support to the previous finding that few organizations deem their D&I practices as being at the advanced or vanguard stages. Both findings indicate that most organizations and most HR departments have the ability to manage D&I much more effectively in the future.

What Is the Scope of D&I Initiatives?

One-fifth of HR professionals say their organization has no D&I initiative.

Among those whose organizations have D&I initiatives, about 60% say they are directly involved with those initiatives. Compared to respondents from smaller organizations (99 or fewer employees), those from mid-sized (100 to 999 employees) and large organizations (1,000 or more employees) are more likely to say they are directly involved in the management and/or executive of D&I initiatives. This might be because larger organizations are better able to devote specific personnel to D&I efforts.

Participants with direct responsibility for D&I were asked to indicate the percentage of their role that is allocated to D&I. Only 16% say more than half of their role is devoted to D&I, whereas 56% say no more than 20% of their role is focused on D&I.

HR professionals in organizations with D&I initiatives indicate the HR function as a whole is, by far, most responsible for those initiatives (44%). Another 7% say Chief Diversity Officers (CDO) are responsible, though these executives may or may not work under the umbrella of the HR department.

To better understand whether D&I work is usually a subset of the HR department or whether it is distinct from it, participants were asked about the connection between the HR department and D&I within their organization. About half (51%) indicate “D&I is a subset of the HR department” and another 20% say “D&I and HR are separate but work together.” Only 8% say D&I and HR are completely separate. In most cases, organizations decide that D&I should either be brought under the umbrella of HR or work closely with HR, probably to confer on issues that affect D&I, such as recruitment practices, analytics, succession management, compliance, and more.

Among organizations with D&I initiatives, laws, and regulations have a large impact on how they define workforce diversity and inclusion. For example, businesses operating in the United States must adhere to a federal anti-discrimination law, Title VII, which was first enacted in 1964.²   When asked which characteristics of a diverse and inclusive workforce their employer considers and tracks, participants said that employers are most likely to track characteristics associated with legal considerations.

Some, however, also include a range of other diverse characteristics not necessarily covered by regulations. These include behavior style (27%), thinking style (23%), personality (21%), socioeconomic status (17%), and political beliefs (7%). About one-third track and consider career aspirations (30%), and 40% do the same for educational backgrounds.

Do Companies Offer D&I Inclusive Work Arrangements?

Companies most commonly offer paid time off (65%), albeit time off mandates vary from one country to the next.³ However, some experts argue that in some corporate cultures there is a stigma associated with taking time off for non-work considerations. For example, if employees leave to take care of children, they could suffer career penalties such as being less likely to be promoted.⁴ In today’s society, women are more often the ones to leave the office to take care of children.⁵ More than half (56%) of responding firms provide flexible work options, a percentage that has almost certainly increased in the Covid-19 era. Studies show that 92% of millennials identify flexibility as a top priority when job hunting and 80% of women and 52% of men want flexibility in their next role.⁶ Women with flexible work arrangements are more likely to return to work after having children.⁷Just 42% of HR professionals have one or more initiatives focused on diversity in leadership. This is somewhat surprising considering it is often well understood that having diverse leaders at the top is a helpful step in building a diverse workforce.⁸ Fewer have mandates of any kind to increase diversity in leadership roles (30%).

What Prevents Organizations from Making Initiatives Successful?

The most commonly cited barrier to D&I effectiveness is a “lack of metrics to identify insufficient diversity” (34%), followed by a failure to prioritize at top leadership levels (31%), and lack of budget (28%).

What Types of D&I Training Are Most Common?

How do organizations incorporate D&I into their learning and development (L&D) programs? The most widely provided training is unconscious bias training (57%). The second most widely included type of training, used by 53%, is inclusion awareness training. Many also incorporate communication practices training (42%). This can be helpful for managers and employees who need to communicate D&I issues without unintentionally giving offense or being accused of discrimination. Fewer provide pay equity training and awareness (22%).

To learn more about how organizations might become more successful in fostering a culture of diversity, we invite you to download and read the report and infographic today. Learn how these outcomes and insights may apply to your organization, plus 12 key takeaways.  

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