U.S. Employees Say Organizations Fall Short on Diversity and Inclusion Action

New Eagle Hill Consulting Research Finds Most Employees Engaged in Productive Conversations About Race, Ethnicity and Bias

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Eagle Hill Consulting

Oct 14, 2021, 14:00 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Eagle Hill Consulting indicates that many employers are talking about diversity and inclusion (D&I) as a priority, but haven't demonstrated its importance through actions. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. employees say productive conversations are happening on race, ethnicity and bias in the workplace. But only 10 percent say they see D&I representatives demonstrating the importance through action.

These findings are detailed in the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Experience Survey 2021 conducted by Ipsos. Read the research here.

"Many business leaders now understand the importance and value of diversity and inclusion, and they have made significant investments to build or strengthen their D&I initiatives," says Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting. "But our research finds that workers believe that employers haven't yet taken the actions needed to drive meaningful D&I progress."

"Part of the disconnect may be tied to how D&I staff roles are defined within organizations. Often, staff are tasked with transactional or compliance D&I efforts rather than driving organizational change. Whatever the cause, employers must find ways to move from words to action, otherwise they risk damaging employee engagement and their reputation while missing the business performance upsides of a diverse and inclusive workplace," Jezior said.

Additional findings are as follows:

Most employees (58 percent) are engaging in productive conversations about race, ethnicity and bias at work. More Millennials (65 percent) and Centennials (62 percent) report having productive conversations about these issues than GenXers (55 percent) and Baby Boomers (47 percent).
Employees say their organizations are not doing enough to demonstrate the importance of diversity and inclusion, and they see a gap between employers' intentions and actions. Most employees (83 percent) say their organization places importance on D&I, but 22 percent cannot point to anyone in the organization who demonstrates that D&I is important through their actions.
Employees say that less than 1 in 3 (31 percent) of leaders are demonstrating the importance of D&I in their everyday actions.

Read here about key actions employers can take to strengthen diversity and inclusion programs.

The Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Experience 2021 Survey included 1,003 respondents from a random sample of employees across the U.S. The survey polled respondents on aspects of employee experience including technology, diversity, employee engagement, and customer service.

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is a woman-owned business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Strategy & Performance, Talent, and Change. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, from financial services to healthcare to media & entertainment. Eagle Hill has offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Boston, MA and Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting