Only 46 percent of BAME and 52 percent of LGBTQ+ women feel included in company decision making

Straight white men still dominate across all aspects of business according to Culture Amp global research of over 34,000 employees

10 December, 2019 - London - Less than half (46 percent) BAME (Black, Asian and Latinx) women and 52 percent LGBTQ+ women feel included in company decision making according to global research from Culture Amp, the people and culture platform.

The research highlights gender disparity further, with only 54 percent of straight white women saying they feel included, compared to 69 percent for straight white men.

The findings, which assess the views of 34,634 employees around the world, also show that while 80 percent of straight white men feel that people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed only 54 percent of black women; 58 percent of LGBTQ+ women; 63 percent black men; and 69 percent of straight white women agree.

The survey also found that, in the workplace, there are almost twice as many partnered men with children than women (13 percent and six percent respectively) while the proportion of men to women with no children is almost equal (21:24 percent). The findings seem to support the argument that new mothers with professional careers don’t return to work after having children because they believe companies won’t accommodate their needs.

That said, 66 percent of partnered parents think that perspectives like theirs are included in decision making at the company compared to 59 percent of employees with no children. For single parents, only 56 percent of parents agreed.

Culture Amp’s Workplace Diversity, Inclusion & Intersectionality Report was released in November 2019 against a backdrop of worldwide demographic research indicating an increasingly diverse population. Minorities are becoming an increasingly influential voice in the workforce in leading economies. UK academic research suggests that ethnic minorities will comprise 35-40% of the UK population by 2061 and a majority by the end of this century, while the US is projected to have a majority-minority workforce by 2050[1].

Culture Amp’s survey data also indicate an increasingly youthful and self-aware global workforce. The youngest (under 24 years of age) cohort outnumbers the oldest participant group (55+ years of age) by three to one, with this cohort being more likely to identify as LGBT than any other (11 percent).

The Culture Amp survey provides greater insight into global workforce diversity initiatives and priorities than a simple company diversity census because it draws on data regarding who is in the workforce as well as their experiences - increasing businesses’ potential to take meaningful action informed by data.

The study does however show where companies are now making effective progress on D&I strategies, finding that:

Companies that collect in-depth data on diversity and intersectionality are more likely to act on the findings

Organizations that incorporate diversity and inclusion (D&I) principles into everyday workplace life - instead of treating them as separate initiatives - are delivering on target outcomes

Teams taking a “small wins” approach to achieving D&I strategies - such as being more transparent in their decision-making - typically see an uplift of between 4-8 percent on target areas.

Jess Brook, senior people scientist and head of D&I Europe at Culture Amp, comments: “Diversity and inclusion initiatives are integral to the success of an organisation. They provide new perspectives, a wider talent pool, stronger innovation and even improved profits. Yet despite the world around us being increasingly diverse, these findings suggest that change still isn’t happening organically in the workplace. Organisations therefore need to focus on D&I with practical impacts if they want to reflect leading economies’ fast-changing demographics and fully embrace the opportunities a diverse workforce can offer.”

Note to editors

[1] What the UK population will look like by 2061 under hard, soft and no Brexit scenarios, London School of Economics, Brexit blog, 2019.

ENDS

About the survey

The Culture Amp survey uses anonymised data from Culture Amp’s own annual Diversity and Inclusion Survey which collects employee feedback through the Culture Amp platform.

About Culture Amp

Culture Amp is the leading People & Culture Platform helping companies take action to improve employee engagement, retention and performance. Culture Amp is a Culture First certified B Corporation used by 2,500 customers including Aegon, Airbnb, Go Cardless, KIND Snacks, McDonald’s, Mercy Health, Salesforce and Slack. Started in Melbourne with offices in San Francisco, London, and New York, Culture Amp has raised $150,000,000 USD from leading venture capital funds, including Index Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Blackbird Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. Learn more at cultureamp.com and @CultureAmp and through the Culture First podcast which distills the wisdom of people and culture experts into insightful stories for the modern leader.

For more information:

Jillian Alexander

Alexander PR (PR for CultureAmp UK)

Tel: +44 (0)79 49 602 484

Jillian@alexander-pr.co.uk