When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, 78% of hiring decision-makers polled by Express Employment Professionals say their company has taken action on DE&I. And larger firms were more likely than the smallest firms to be taking action.
The most commonly cited areas of action taken were:
- Provided training for employees, cited by 40%
- Offered safe ways for employees to report discrimination and harassment complaints, 31%
- Revised policies and procedures, 29%
- Changed recruitment and hiring practices, 28%
“I think businesses recognize the value of DE&I and are moving toward it,” said Shannon Wenninger, Express franchise owner in Fishers, Indiana. “It is not something that will happen overnight, but when businesses become more intentional about it, change happens.”
Almost half of companies, 46%, said they have a DE&I policy. In addition, 11% say they plan to implement one by the end of this year, and 14% plan to implement one after the end of this year.
One of the most important priorities for their company right now, cited by 31%, is expanding the diversity of their employees.
Express noted that action on this topic increases significantly with company size. The largest companies (more than 500 employees) are at least twice as likely as the smallest companies (two to nine employees) to have taken each of these actions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion:
- Provided trainings for employees: 50% vs. 25%
- Offered safe ways for employees to report discrimination and harassment complaints: 41% vs. 16%
- Revised their policies and procedures: 39% vs. 14%
- Changed their recruitment and hiring practices: 39% vs. 12%
The largest companies were also more than three times as likely as those with two to nine employees to already have a diversity, equity, and inclusion policy at 63% vs. 20%.
Express’ survey included 1,002 US hiring decision-makers and took place from Nov. 16 to Dec. 7, 2020.