50% of employees think their race, gender, or ethnicity has hindered them in securing a job

November 03, 2022 11:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lever, an Employ Inc. brand and leading Talent Acquisition Suite, today released the 2022 DEI Through the Recruiting Lifecycle Report, highlighting how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) impacts the employee lifecycle from initial hiring through long-term employment.

This insightful report finds that many candidates experience biases during the hiring process, with 50% of employees believing their race, gender, or ethnicity has hindered them in securing a job. Black (59%), Asian (59%), and Hispanic (50.5%) employees were more likely than White employees (46%) to report hiring biases. The report also reveals 62% of employees believe they were interviewed for a job simply so that the company could meet diversity requirements. This is particularly true for Hispanic (71%) and Black employees (71%). Employer data also supports this perspective, as 66% of employers acknowledge candidates are interviewed to meet diversity quotas.

“DEI has come to the forefront for many companies, and while numerous organizations are making positive strides, employees and candidates are still unsure about bringing their true selves to work,” said Jessica Green, SVP, Customer Success at Lever. “Employers must reevaluate their DEI efforts to ensure their policies are making employees and candidates feel included, welcome, and comfortable. One-off DEI initiatives don’t cut it for employees or candidates, and inclusive and equitable practices need to be ingrained into the fabric of the company.”

Additional findings from the report include:

  • Employees and employers agree there are discrimination and bias issues within their organizations
    • 46% of employees think their organization has discrimination or bias in the workplace, and 51% of employers agree.
      – Millennials (47%) and Gen Xers (47%) are the most likely to think their organization has an issue with discrimination or bias.
    • 40% of employees have felt discriminated against at their company due to race, gender, or ethnicity.
      – Hispanic employees (51.5%) are most likely to have felt discriminated against, followed by Asian employees (46%), Black employees (36%), and White employees (36%).
  • DEI is an important part of the recruiting and hiring process
    • 81% of candidates check a company’s website for their stance on DEI before applying.
    • 71% review job postings to ensure inclusive language is used.
    • 32% of employees think their company is less focused on diversity than it appeared in the hiring process.
    • 44% of employees have felt that because of their gender, ethnicity, or race they are overly promoted on company materials, so their company appears more diverse.
  • Employers think they’re doing enough, but many employees believe DEI is just a checkbox for their company
    • 50% of employees think their organization cares about DEI, and 39% think their organization views DEI as a checkbox.
    • 54% of employers have increased their investments in DEI over the past year, while 28% of employers’ investments in DEI has stayed the same.

To learn more about Lever’s 2022 DEI Through the Recruiting Lifecycle, download the full report here.

About Employ Inc.

Employ Inc. empowers organizations of all sizes to overcome their greatest recruiting and talent acquisition challenges. Offering a combination of purpose-built, intelligent technologies, services, and industry expertise, Employ provides SMB to global enterprises with a single solution for recruiting and growing a diverse workforce. Through its JazzHR, Lever, Jobvite, and NXTThing RPO brands, Employ serves more than 18,000 customers across industries. For more information, visit www.employinc.com.