Diversity in the workplace is now more than just improving a company’s reputation or brand. Looking at workplace diversity statistics, companies have started to see the value and benefits of workplace diversity.
It goes hand in hand with other workplace programs, such as employee recognition, employee engagement, and workplace wellness, to increase revenue, reduce voluntary turnover, foster positive company culture, and boost productivity.
However, workplace diversity is more than just hiring workers from different backgrounds and hoping for the best. Like everything else, proper implementation can be hard but vital.
Workplace diversity is, after all, one of the many contributing factors to a company’s success and overall a pro-human concept.
Fundamental Workplace Diversity Statistics 2020 (Editor’s Picks)
- Workplace diversity programs are implemented in 91% of companies
- 71% of companies want to have a more inclusive culture
- Africa has the highest percentage of employees who think diversity and inclusion are important or extremely important
- In 2019, women aged 16 and above make up 46.9% of the American workforce
- In 2019, 21% of C-level executives were women
- Since the 2017 US workforce diversity statistics, the percentage of women C-level executives has only had a 0.5 annual average increase
- Minorities make up only 19.5% of Fortune 100 board seats
- If 1.5% of a management team is from a different country of origin, the innovation revenue percentage improves by 1%
- In decision-making, diverse teams outperform individuals 87% of the time
- Companies with inclusive cultures have an eightfold likelihood of better business results.
General Workforce Diversity Statistics
1. Of the 87 million millennials in the United States, only 56% are white.
There are a lot more millennials in the workplace than baby boomers, and they are much more diverse. Of the 76 million baby boomers, 72% are white.
As the United States’ population becomes increasingly diverse, workplace diversity is expected to double in the coming years.
2. 91% of companies have implemented a workplace diversity program.
Although this percentage is pretty high, looking at the statistics on diversity in the workplace will show you that a majority of employees don’t feel like they actually benefit from workplace diversity programs. In fact, only 27% of female employees report that they have seen the benefits.
This is possibly due to companies taking a passive approach to workplace diversity, which almost always leads to failure.
3. General opinion on workplace diversity in the technology, financial services, and healthcare sectors is 52% positive and 31% negative.
On the other hand, opinions on inclusion are 61% negative and only 29% positive.
These diversity and inclusion trends in the workplace emphasize the need for more inclusion efforts in even the most diverse companies.
Recruiting diverse employees just doesn’t cut it; a culture of inclusion and equal opportunities is needed for employees to thrive.
4. 71% of organizations want to have a more inclusive environment in the future.
Although a huge percentage of organizations aspire to be more inclusive, the actual data does not coincide with this intention.
According to research, this could be because companies fail to understand the depth of change needed to improve diversity in the workplace statistics.
Common mistakes lie in implementing programs and policies without a culture reset.
5. Africa has the highest percentage of employees who think diversity and inclusion are important or extremely important.
Around 79% of respondents in Africa consider diversity and inclusion as an important workplace issue.
On the other hand, the lowest percentage belongs to Central and Eastern Europe, at 60%. Still, more than half of the respondents perceive current workplace diversity trends as a pressing topic.
6. 42% of employees agree that diversity is a hindrance to employee progression in their company.
Compared to gender, age is a greater determinant of how much diversity is perceived as a hindrance to employee progression.
This is evident in the fact that 49% of respondents between 18 and 29 years old agreed with this perception, whereas for those over 60 years old, only 20% agreed that diversity stats in the workplace affect employee progression.
7. 80% of American workers in the tech industry agree that diversity and inclusion are vital.
Despite this, there is still a huge gap between intention and action in a majority of workplaces since only less than 30% of minorities in the workplace feel represented and included.
Additionally, over the years, there has been a decline in individual participation to create positive changes.
Gender Diversity in the Workplace Statistics
8. In 2019, 46.9% of the total American workforce was women aged 16 and above.
This amounts to over 76 million women aged 16 and above who are part of the workforce. In terms of population percentage, 57.4% of women have joined the workforce as opposed to 69.2% of men.
Women’s participation in the workforce rapidly increased between the 1960s and 1980s; however, it gradually declined in the 1990s, according to these women in the workforce statistics.
9. Companies in the top quartile in gender diversity had 25% more financial returns than those in the bottom quartile.
Over the years, the correlation between diversity in the workplace statistics and financial performance strengthens the notion that providing equal opportunities for both men and women to be part of an organization’s workforce can be financially beneficial.
This is especially true in countries with a culture that is accepting of women being part of the workforce.
10. In 2019, 21% of C-level executives were women.
Although there has been an apparent increase from 2015 when only 17% of C-level executives were women, there’s still a lot of efforts to be made to facilitate a change in workplace diversity and inclusion trends to include more women in executive-level positions.
11. 61% of women consider the gender diversity of a company’s leadership team when searching for jobs.
This is particularly true for top female candidates.
A big portion of top talents prefer employers that have diverse teams, which could be a contributing factor to why companies in certain contexts have outperformed their peers.
12. 44% of employers in 2019 have three or more female C-level executives.
This is a huge improvement from the 2015 workplace diversity statistics where only 29% of companies have female C-level executives.
Having a diverse team of C-level executives and including more women in the decision-making process can be a contributing factor to shaping the culture and success of a business.
Despite this, the representation of women in upper management is still underwhelming, with only one out of 5 C-level executives being a woman.
13. Recent workplace diversity and inclusion trends show that the percentage of women C-level executives has only had a 0.5% annual average increase since 2017.
Looking at this female representation statistic in the United States and the United Kingdom, it’s easy to point out that there’s still a long way to go to achieve gender parity.
Change is steady, albeit slowly. On the other hand, there has been no change in female representation on boards in both countries.
Ethnic and Racial Diversity in the Workplace
14. If managers from a different country of origin make up 1.5% of a management team, innovation revenue increases by 1%.
Even incremental changes made toward increasing diversity in management can have a remarkable impact on a company’s innovation revenue. This type of revenue is from new or updated products and services within the last three years.
15. 44.4% of Facebook employees in the United States are Asian.
Sneak peek at Facebook’s minorities in the workplace statistics will tell you that its employees have become more ethnically diverse since 2014.
The percentage of Asian employees has increased from 34% to 44.4%.
Additionally, the percentage of Hispanic employees has increased from 4% to 6.3%.
16. 41.9% of Google employees in the United States are Asian.
While 51.7% of its employees are white, much like Facebook, Google’s company diversity statistics by ethnicity has certainly increased since 2014.
There are more Asian, African American, and Latino employees now than six years ago.
However, the percentage of Native American employees has decreased by 0.2% since 2014.
17. The participation rate of African-American men in the labor force is lower than the overall male rate.
In 2019, 64.8% of African-American men participated in the labor force, which is down by 4.4% from the overall male participation rate of 69.2%, according to diversity demographics in the workplace. In general, male participation rate has been decreasing since 1972.
On the contrary, women participation rate has been increasing drastically from the 1970s through the 1980s, then slowing down in the 1990s.
18. Minorities make up only 19.5% of Fortune 100 board seats.
Out of the 19.5%, 11.1% are African American, 4.4% are Hispanic, and 3.8% are Asian or Pacific Islander.
These seem to be underwhelming workplace diversity statistics compared to the Alliance for Board Diversity’s target of 40% minorities in board seats by 2020.
However, it is still higher than the percentage of minorities in Fortune 500 board seats, which is 16.1%.
19. By 2028, the percentage of Hispanic employees in the American workforce is expected to increase to 20.9%.
They are projected to have the highest increase in workforce share among any other ethnic or racial group.
In 2018, Hispanic employees made up 17.5% of the American labor force, with 9.9% being Hispanic men and 7.5% being Hispanic women.
Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace Statistics
20. 87% of the time, diverse teams outperform individuals in decision-making.
Teams that are composed of members with varying backgrounds will likely also have varying perspectives. Numerous workplace collaboration statistics state that this allows the team to come up with more resolutions and options, thereby allowing them to make more informed decisions.
21. In meetings, decision-making is two times faster half the time in diverse teams.
A great benefit of having demographic diversity in the workplace is that you have members who see one thing from varying points of view.
More often than not, this multifaceted viewpoint makes it easier for diverse teams to come up with informed business decisions.
22. Companies with above-average leadership diversity have 19% more innovation revenue than those with below-average diversity.
What this means is that almost half of the revenue of companies with more diverse members in their management team comes from new or updated products and services within the last three years.
This latest workforce diversity statistics also show us which companies can quickly adjust to changing customer demands.
23. Companies with inclusive environments have eight times more likelihood of achieving better business results.
Diversity and inclusion go hand in hand in promoting a positive work culture and getting ahead of peers.
A company is almost guaranteed to fail if they only hire people from varying backgrounds but forget to make their employees feel included.
Diversity statistics in the workplace should be looked at along with inclusion statistics.
24. Highly inclusive organizations have 1.8 times more likelihood of being change-ready.
Statistics also show that inclusive companies have higher cash flow, increased employee engagement, and better employee performance. It seems these companies are not just good at HR; they also perform better as evident in their talent, financial, and business outcomes.
Conclusion
Looking at the numerous statistics and facts about diversity in the workplace, one can’t help but think that progress has been made over the years, albeit rather slowly. As more and more companies globally are setting the bar high in improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace, others are more than likely to follow suit.
In the United States, there are already tangible improvements in diversity by race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. However, it is far from over. There is still a lot of ground to cover and glass ceilings to break through to make a really impactful difference in improving workplace diversity.
