Nine in 10 (90 per cent) U.S. employees say they’ve personally benefitted from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at work, according to a new survey by Benevity Inc.
The survey, which polled 1,000 full-time employees, found 62 per cent said employers should dedicate more effort to DEI given the current period of economic uncertainty. Indeed, two-thirds (66 per cent) believe their company should commit more time and resources to DEI initiatives than they currently do, compared to just five per cent who said the opposite.
The vast majority (95 per cent) of respondents said they weigh a prospective employer’s DEI efforts when choosing between job offers with similar salaries and benefits. More than 90 per cent of respondents agreed companies with strong DEI commitments are more trustworthy to customers and employees and 87 per cent agreed they’d feel more loyal to a company with a proven track record of prioritizing DEI.
Read: Report finds DEI increasingly important in talent attraction, retention efforts
The survey also found 70 per cent of respondents said they’ve worked for a company offering employee resource groups or affinity groups at some point in their careers. Among these respondents, 62 per cent said they’ve participated in these groups.
Among respondents who’ve been ERG members, more than three-quarters (78 per cent) said they joined an ERG to connect with colleagues with similar lived experiences, while more than half said they joined to learn from colleagues with a different lived experience (57 per cent) and to become or be a better ally to diverse colleagues (52 per cent).
Respondents noted ERGs/affinity groups help make the workplace more equitable and inclusive (97 per cent), support employee well-being at work (93 per cent), unify the workplace (92 per cent), can have a greater impact on inclusivity than traditional DEI and unconscious bias training (91 per cent) and contribute to a sense of community and belonging at work (88 per cent).