85+ Workplace Diversity Statistics for 2023

Get a glimpse into the evolving landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in today’s workplaces. Sourced from 28 credible sources, these DEI statistics highlight the growing importance of DEI to both employees and employers. While the journey towards greater diversity and inclusion may not always be smooth sailing, it’s an issue that businesses simply can’t afford to overlook.

Our workplace diversity statistics cover the following areas:

• DEI initiatives and the LGBTQIA2S+ community

 

• Benefits of diversity in the workplace

 

• The importance of workplace diversity to today’s workers

 

• The state of workplace diversity in 2023

 

• Efforts to improve workplace diversity

Or are you looking for other career-related statistics? Check out our human resources (HR) statistics and cover letter statistics for more insights.

DEI and the LGBTQIA2S+ community

• 65% of LGBTQ+ workers believe in workplace diversity and inclusion are key for a supportive culture (Purpose Brand, 2019).
• 9% of workers identified as LGBT, and less than a third strongly agreed that their organization genuinely cares about their well-being, treats them fairly, or will do the right thing about ethics or integrity issues (Gallup, 2022).
• 1 in 4 gay men and lesbians were open about their identity to their bosses (Proud Ventures, 2021).
• A rising number of Fortune 500 companies in 2021 offered benefits to their LGBTIQ+ employees: 96% included sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies, 94% included gender identity, and 71% offered transgender-inclusive benefits (International Labour Organization, 2021).
• 1 in 4 of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs hide their identity from potential investors, with 18% doing so fearing it could impact their fundraising (Proud Ventures, 2021).

Benefits of diversity in the workplace (5 statistics)

The effects of workplace diversity on business performance are hard to measure, with factors such as company size, industry, culture, and other factors complicating studies. Even so, researchers have shown that diversity in the workplace provides several advantages.

• Companies with the greatest ethnic diversity (top 25%) at the leadership level are 36% more profitable than similar companies with the lowest ethnic diversity (bottom 25%) (Dixon-Fyle et al., 2020).

• Companies with the greatest gender diversity at the leadership level (top 25%) are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than similar companies with the lowest gender diversity (bottom 25%)(Dixon-Fyle et al., 2020).

• Executive teams with more women (30+% female) are 48% more profitable than teams with less women (under 10% women)(Dixon-Fyle et al., 2020).

• In 2020, respondents chose the top reasons to implement DEI at work. Some of their answers included the following (MacKenzie, 2021):

• • the right thing to do (50% named it in their top 3)
  • needed to satisfy employee expectations (48%)
  • helpful for attracting, engaging, and retaining talent (48%)
  • providing business benefits, such as increased revenue and productivity (21%)

• 86% of business leaders say that incorporating DEI into everyday work and measuring outcomes is either important or very important to their organization’s success (Hatfield and Kirby, 2023).

How important is workplace diversity to workers? (16 statistics)

Workplace diversity matters to employees, and often affects their decisions when deciding whether to stay at a current company or start writing a resume for a new job. And to minority groups and younger generations, workplace diversity is even more significant.

 

General views on the importance of workplace diversity

• 78% of Americans surveyed agree that it’s important to work for a company that values DEI (CNBC, 2021).

• 74% of US workers report that corporate investment in DEI is either somewhat or very important when choosing a new job (Indeed & Glassdoor, 2023).

• 76% of females consider corporate investment in DEI to be somewhat or very important when considering a job, compared to 72% of males who thought similarly (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022).

• 32% of job seekers would not apply to companies lacking in diversity (Glassdoor, 2020).

• 93% of workers consider DEI personally important to them — not just at work (MacKenzie, 2021).

• 36% of 18–44 year olds believe diversity and inclusion policies are important (Glassdoor, 2022).

• 18–34 year olds said they would consider turning down or leaving a job if they thought (Indeed & Glassdoor, 2023):

• • their manager didn’t support DEI initiatives (72%)
  • there was a gender imbalance in the company’s leadership (67%)
  • the company’s leadership was lacking in racial/ethnic diversity (65%)

• 70% of employees view DEI training as important (61%) or very important (9%), compared to 30% that consider DEI training as only somewhat important (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021).

• 37% of employers say candidates expect to learn about a company’s DEI efforts (Monster, 2022).

• Only 5% of recruiters consider DEI to be among their top 3 priorities (Monster, 2023).

Views on workplace diversity by racial/ethnic group

• Racial/ethnic minorities are more likely than the aggregate (74% of all respondents) to think a company’s commitment to DEI is important (Indeed & Glassdoor, 2023):

• • Hispanics (77%)
  • Blacks (79%)
  • Asian American/Pacific Islanders (82%)

• 80% of Black workers surveyed said they’d consider turning down or leaving a job if their manager didn’t support DEI initiatives (Indeed & Glassdoor, 2023).

 

• The importance of DEI when choosing a job matters more for (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022):

• • younger than older white workers (77% of Millennials and Gen Zers, compared to 67% of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers).
  • younger than older Hispanic workers (82% of Millennials and Gen Zers, compared to 69% of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers).
  • older than younger Black workers (84% of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, compared to 77% of Millennials and Gen Zers).

Views on workplace diversity by generation

• Young workers are more likely than older workers to say DEI is somewhat or very important when looking for a new job (80% of 18–34 year olds, compared to 74% of 35–54 year olds and 61% of workers over 65) (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022).

• 53% of Gen Z recruiters emphasize building a diverse workforce (Monster, 2022).

• Men and women differ more in their views of DEI among older than younger generations. When asked if DEI is either somewhat or very important when choosing a job (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022),

• • 70% of women and 56% of men in the Baby Boomer generation said yes
  • 76% of women and 69% of men in the Gen X generation said yes
  • 79% of both Millennial men and women said yes
  • 76% women and 77% men (not statistically different) in the Gen Z generation said yes

 

The state of workplace diversity in 2023 (22 statistics)

Several diversity landmarks have been achieved in 2022, such as the growing number of minority CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. But while the US population is becoming more diverse, diversity at companies is lacking, not to mention equity and inclusion.

How diverse are workplaces today?

• Gen Z is more diverse than previous generations (Parker and Igielnik, 2020).

• • Gen Z is 52% white, 25% Hispanic, 14% Black, 6% Asian, and 5% other.
  • When Boomers were the same age as Gen Zers are today, 82% identified as white (compared to 52% of Gen Zers today).

• As of January 2023, 10.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women (Hinchliffe, 2023).

• As of 2022, there are only 6 Fortune 500 companies with a Black CEO (McGlauflin, 2022).

• Only 1 in 4 C-suite leaders is a woman (Thomas et al., 2022).

• Only 1 in 20 C-suite leaders is a woman of color (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 32% of women in technical and engineering jobs are the only woman in the room at work (Thomas et al., 2022).

• The average US company is projected to reach gender parity among executives in 29 years (Dixon-Fyle et al., 2020).

How equitable and inclusive are workplaces today?

• 43% of US employees have either witnessed or experienced discrimination at work, including racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia (Glassdoor, 2022).

• 47% of Black and 49% of Hispanic workers have quit their job after witnessing or experiencing discrimination at work (Glassdoor, 2020).

• Women earn 82 cents for every dollar men earn (Jones, 2021).

• For every 100 men who are promoted from entry level to manager (Thomas et al., 2022),

• • 87 women are promoted (the broken rung)
  • 82 women of color are promoted
  • 75 Latinas are promoted

• Women in leadership are 2 times more likely than men in equivalent positions to be mistaken for someone more junior (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 37% of women leaders have reported a coworker taking credit for their idea vs. 27% of men leaders in the same situation (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 12% of women leaders (compared to 6% of men leaders) have had someone say or imply that they’re not qualified (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 39% of women leaders have had their judgment questioned, compared to 28% of men leaders, with the number being especially high for Black women leaders (55%) (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 29% of women working on-site report experiencing microaggressions, compared to 19% of women working remotely (Thomas et al., 2022).

• Globally, the percentage of women hired into leadership roles has increased from 33% in 2016 to 37% in 2022 (World Economic Forum, 2022) .

• Women in leadership are 2 times as likely as men in leadership to spend time on DEI work (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 52% of female leaders (senior managers or higher) are responsible for all of their family’s housework and childcare, whereas only 13% of male leaders are their family’s main caretaker (Thomas et al., 2022).

• The Hershey Company is a special case where women, Black, Latinx, and Asian employees earn the same salaries as white men (Petross, 2021).

• 71% of employees would be more willing to share their experiences and thoughts on diversity and inclusion if they could do so anonymously (Glassdoor, 2020).

• 15% of companies are extremely confident that their employees feel belonging, inclusion, and psychological safety, compared to (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021):

• • 61% that feel only somewhat confident
  • 24% that feel somewhat unconfident

Workplace diversity efforts (45 statistics)

Workplace diversity efforts skyrocketed between 2019 and 2020 but have since either slowed or stalled in the US. These statistics demonstrate that while employers and employees have good intentions, more needs to be done to fund, implement, and track diversity and inclusion.

General status of DEI efforts

• While 21% of companies reported exceeding industry norms regarding DEI, 49% felt they were on par and 30% felt they were below industry norms (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021).

• In 2020, companies globally spent $7.5 billion on DEI-related efforts (Global Industry Analysts, Inc., 2021).

• Global spending on DEI-related efforts is projected to be $15.4 billion by 2026 (Global Industry Analysts, Inc., 2021).

• In 2021, workers reported on their organization’s DEI efforts, saying their company was doing (CNBC, 2021):

• • “a lot” (33%)
  • “some” (37%)
  • “just a little” (14%)
  • “nothing at all” (12%)

• When asked in 2021 how much of their company’s 2022 budget was allocated to DEI, workers responded that their company would (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021):

• • direct fewer resources and budgeting to DEI (2%)
  • direct the same amount of resources and budget toward DEI (19%)
  • allocate more budget and resources to DEI (79%)

• HR professionals reported that DEI (MacKenzie, 2021):

• • has always been important (37%)
  • became important before 2020 (27%)
  • became important in 2020 (18%)

• When asked how COVID-19 has affected DEI efforts, workers reported that the pandemic (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021):

• • boosted commitment to DEI (32%)
  • had no effect on DEI efforts (50%)
  • negatively affected (such as by complicating or delaying) DEI efforts (18%)

• The top 5 metropolitan areas (defined by labor force size) that provide the greatest access to DEI programs are (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022):

• • Seattle (73% of companies on Glassdoor)
  • Las Vegas (71%)
  • San Francisco (70%)
  • Boston (68%)
  • Charlotte (66%)

• 25% of business leaders feel prepared to incorporate and measure the outcomes of DEI in everyday work (Hatfield and Kirby, 2023).

• Most companies (60%) don’t have any workers whose primary job is to drive DEI (DEI-dedicated roles), while 25% have one and 15% have more than one DEI-dedicated role (Blanche et al., 2022).

• Compared to 29% in 2019, 39% of companies in 2020 offered DEI programs as a benefit (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022).

• Down from 43% in 2021, 41% of companies on Glassdoor provide access to DEI programs as a benefit in 2022 (Terrazas and Johnson, 2022).

• 47% of recruiters plan to increase DEI efforts in 2023 (Monster, 2023).

Types of DEI efforts

• 41% of companies have a formal DEI policy (Blanche et al., 2022).

• 42% of companies that have a DEI policy don’t have a documented process for enforcing it (Blanche et al., 2022).

• 90% of companies have diversity goals (Syndio, 2022).

• 60% of companies hold DEI training (Blanche et al., 2022).

• 70% of companies purposefully source underrepresented candidates (Blanche et al., 2022).

• 18% of companies have an anonymous screening process (Blanche et al., 2022).

• 56% of companies have a DEI council or committee (Blanche et al., 2022).

• 18% of respondents named equity in compensation as one of the top 3 components of their company’s DEI strategy (MacKenzie, 2021).

• The main components of companies’ DEI strategies in 2021 included achieving (MacKenzie, 2021):

• • diversity throughout the company (65% of respondents placed this in their top 3)
  • equity in opportunity, contribution, and advancement (45%)
  • team inclusivity (26%)
  • diversity at the management level (25%)

• The top DEI priorities in 2022 were (Monster, 2022):

• • building a diverse workforce (39% of employers)
  • gender pay equity (36%)
  • creating systems/processes to promote DEI, such as mentorship programs (28%)

• More Boomer recruiters (46%) emphasize gender pay equity, compared to 36% across all generations (Monster, 2022).

• 67% of Gen Z recruiters make efforts to recruit from diverse organizations, such as (Monster, 2022):

• • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  • community colleges
  • trade schools
  • local organizations that support underrepresented groups

DEI stakeholders

• Conversations advocating for increased DEI usually start with (MacKenzie, 2021):

• • executives/management (47% of companies)
  • HR representatives (17%)
  • non-HR employees (16%)

• Entry level workers (29%) were more likely than executives (22%) to think that management should be accountable for DEI initiative outcomes (MacKenzie, 2021).

• Around 39% of workers, from entry to executive levels, believe that everyone should be responsible for DEI initiatives (MacKenzie, 2021).

• 24% of respondents believe that HR should be responsible for executing DEI initiatives (MacKenzie, 2021).

Measuring DEI progress

• When asked to name DEI metrics their organization measures, companies replied that they collect data regarding (MacKenzie, 2021):

• • demographics of the entire company (53% of companies put it in their top 3 choices)
  • employee engagement and retention (31%)
  • promotions and advancement to ensure equity (29%)
  • representation at the executive/management level (24%)

• Companies measure and analyze many metrics of diversity, including (Syndio, 2022):

• • gender (81% of companies)
  • age (65%)
  • race (65%)
  • disability status (42%)
  • veteran status (40%)
  • caretaking responsibility (12%)
  • refugee status (11%)

• Companies update employees on DEI goals and progress (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021):

• • every two years (33% of companies)
  • every year (30%)
  • every quarter (29%)
  • more than once per quarter (8%)

• 24% of companies don’t measure the progress of their equity commitments (Hatfield and Kirby, 2023).

• While 93% of companies discuss meeting business goals in manager performance evaluations, only 34% of companies report progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their performance evaluations (Thomas et al., 2022).

• 40% of women leaders say that DEI work isn’t acknowledged in their performance reviews (Thomas et al., 2022).

Areas for improvement in DEI

• 11% of recruiters say that DEI programs are the first areas to be cut when reducing costs, along with company events and bonuses (Monster, 2023).

• 30% of US employees reported that their employer doesn’t hold the same values regarding DEI (Glassdoor, 2022).

• 46% of companies report that leadership isn’t held accountable if workplace equity initiatives fail (Syndio, 2022).

• DEI drivers (16%), HR professionals (20%), and employees (17%) are more likely than business leaders (11%) to say that leadership communicates about DEI infrequently or not at all (PwC, 2022).

• Most companies (89%) have a formal DEI strategy (while the other 11% don’t but plan to implement one within the next year) (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021).

• 43% of companies have dedicated resources and a budget for their DEI efforts while 57% do not (Traliant and WBR Insights, 2021).

• 56% of companies recruit with DEI initiatives in mind, while 24% don’t but plan on emphasizing DEI when hiring in the future (MacKenzie, 2021).

• Women leaders are more than 1.5 times as likely as men in equivalent positions to have left a job to work for a company that was more committed to DEI (Thomas et al., 2022).

• Minority groups (71% of Black and 72% of Hispanic employees) are more likely than white employees (58%) to think their employer should do more to increase workplace diversity (Glassdoor, 2022).

• Women (71%) are less likely men (77%) to think that their company is making meaningful progress in DEI (MacKenzie, 2021).

References