The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace: Statistics You Should Know
ByNikolina Cveticanin
March 07,2023
Diversity and inclusion are some of the most important policies that can not only improve the working environment and enhance employee engagement but significantly contribute to all other aspects of any business. The benefits are numerous, and we will discuss them as we unveil some of the most interesting diversity in the workplace statistics.
Being a diverse company means hiring people of different ethnicities, gender, age, religion, etc. Companies that have successfully implemented D&I initiatives are often seen as more desirable for employees due to their broader perspective and the positive attitude they cherish. We have done our research, and these are some of the reasons everyone should embrace diversity.
Editor’s Choice of Diversity in the Workplace Statistics
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In 2019, millennials accounted for 35% of the US labor force.
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Only 8% of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies are female.
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Diverse companies are 70% more likely to acquire new markets.
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46% of Hispanic and 39% of black women earn less than $15 an hour.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, fathers who worked remotely were promoted three times more than women in the same position.
General Workplace Diversity Data and Stats
In 2020, only 17.9% of persons with disabilities were employed in the US.
(US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Based on the report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities grew compared to the previous year. In 2019, the percentage of employed persons with disabilities in the US was 19.3. However, those numbers dropped to 17.9 the following year.
Regarding people without disabilities, the report stated 66.3% of them were employed during 2019, but the numbers decreased to 61.8% in 2020. These rates show that there is still much work to be done to overcome the lack of diversity in the workplace, and statistics will need to include more people with disabilities in the workforce going forward.
By 2024, it’s expected that 24.8% of the US workforce will be employees older than 55.
(Deloitte)
It’s not a secret that the US workforce is aging each year. Research on shifting workforce demographics, conducted by Deloitte, suggests that by 2024 employees aged 55+ will make up 24.8% of the workforce. This might not mean much to you, but it is a severe increase if we go back to 1994 when this percentage was significantly lower, or to be precise, 11.9%.
The research also projects that the US workforce diversity statistics are about to change and, by 2024, less than two-thirds of the labor force will be defined as “white non-Hispanic.” Back in 1994, over 75% of the labor force fell into that category.
In 2019, millennials accounted for 35% of the US labor force.
(Pew Research Center)
Millennials are all those born between 1981 and 1996, and back in 2019, they accounted for over a third of the US labor force. In 2016, the millennial generation surpassed Generation Xers and became the largest population in the US labor force.
According to research from 2019, Millennials are expected to comprise 75% of the global workforce by 2025.
Gender Diversity in the Workplace Statistics
Only 8% of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies are female.
(Statista)
The gap between male and female leadership roles has always been a thing, and there are multiple statistics to confirm that. However, it looks like things are changing for the better. As Statista confirmed earlier this year, there’s been a new record when it comes to female CEOs. As of June 14, 2021, there were 41 female CEOs employed at Fortune 500 companies. According to the statistics, this wasn’t the only record that got broken. For the first time ever, two black women are running America's 500 highest-grossing companies, giving us hope that gender diversity on executive boards might become a reality in the not-so-distant future.
In terms of the median salary in the US, women earn around 18% less than men.
(PayScale)
The gap between the leadership roles isn’t the only hurdle that women are facing in business nowadays. PayScale, a company that helps employers and employees understand the appropriate pay for every position, reviewed these issues in its Gender Pay Gap Report for 2021. According to this report, women earn only $0.82 for every dollar a man makes. Although it might sound discouraging, this is a slight improvement compared to 2020, when they earned one cent less, as per employment diversity statistics. Also, bear in mind these are uncontrolled pay gap statistics - when doing the same job with the same qualifications, the numbers are less dire: women earn 98 cents for every dollar a man does.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, fathers who worked remotely were promoted three times more than women in the same position.
(CNBC)
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of the business as we know it. Many had to adapt to the new reality and switch to their home offices instead. According to a CNBC report, 34% of men with children working from home received some kind of promotion during this period.
On the other hand, women’s jobs have been hit much harder by the pandemic. According to an analysis conducted by the National Women’s Law Center, of the 1.1 million workers ages 20 and over, who left the labor force between August and September of 2020, 865,000 were women.
Racial and Cultural Diversity in the Workplace Statistics
46% of Hispanic and 39% of black women earn less than $15 an hour.
(The Washington Post)
In 2019, around 39 million people earned less than $15 per hour. These 39 million employees made about 28% of the workforce at the time, and the majority of the low-wage category consisted of Hispanic and black women. In fact, they were more than 2x as likely as white men to fall into this wage category.
Based on the Washington Post’s research on diversity in the workplace, statistics haven’t really changed since 2019. Roughly 46% of Hispanic women and 39% of Black women still make less than $15 an hour. On the other hand, only 18% of White and Asian men hover around this wage bracket.
More than 90% of all Google employees are white or Asian men.
(Statista)
According to Statista, the distribution of Google employees in the US from 2014 to 2021 does not look very racially or gender-diverse. The data for 2021 shows that white men account for 50.4% of employees, with Asian men following with 42.3%. On the flip side, only 4.4% of the employees are black men and women. If you look at the timeline of these statistics on diversity in the workplace, you will see the Asian population is experiencing steady growth, while the white population dropped from 64.5% in 2014 to 50.4% in 2021.
In 2019, black people held only 3.2% of senior leadership roles in large organizations in the US.
(Coqual)
“Being Black in Corporate America” is the name of Coqual’s intersectional exploration aimed to show if and how things have changed for the black people in the US during the past few years. The research on the representation of black adults in the US has shown that only 3.2% of black people held senior leadership roles in major companies, with just 0.8% of them being Fortune 500 CEOs.
Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace Statistics
Diverse companies produce 19% more revenue than those with non-diverse leadership.
(Forbes)
A study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), published in 2018, has found that diverse leadership increases the bottom line for companies. According to the study, increasing the diversity of leadership teams can lead to improved financial performance and better innovation. The study included 1,700 companies of all sizes across eight different countries. These findings are important as they show that diversity isn’t just an inclusion metric but an integral part of any successful business.
In 2019, gender-diverse companies were 25% more likely to outperform their competitors.
(McKinsey)
Various diversity in the workplace stats show just how important diversity is and how it can help boost the overall performance of businesses of all sizes. Based on the findings from McKinsey’s research in 2019, companies with gender diversity have 25% higher chances to achieve higher profits than those with less gender diversity on the executive boards.
Ethnic diversity in leadership teams is another vital factor. According to the report, companies implementing ethnic and cultural diversity on the executive level have a 36% likelihood of outperforming the competition.
Diverse companies are 70% more likely to acquire new markets.
(Harvard Business Review) (Josh Bersin)
Establishing a diverse workplace is vital for all modern organizations, and there are many diversity in the workplace statistics that prove this. Diverse companies also have 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee. They are also far better at capturing new markets when compared to the companies that do not practice diversity hiring.
80% of US job candidates look for inclusion when choosing an employer.
(Deloitte)
Salary and working hours aren't the only deciding factor when it comes to choosing a new employer. Back in 2017, Deloitte published a research paper that surveyed more than 1,300 full-time employees from a range of organizations all across the US. The paper showed just how important diversity and inclusion initiatives are by showing that four-fifths of all employees look for an inclusive workplace. 39% of respondents confirmed they would quit their current job if they found a more inclusive working environment, while 23% indicated they already left a job for that very reason.
FAQ
Is diversity in the workplace increasing?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US workforce population will continue to change and improve across nearly all demographic categories in years to come. By 2024, the share of women in the workforce is projected to rise to 47.2%. This isn’t the only change that awaits us. The age diversity in the workplace statistics show that workers are getting older on average, and by 2024, the number of employees who are 55 or older will significantly increase.
What problems can arise in a diverse workplace?
Although there are multiple benefits to it, there are also some difficulties a diverse workplace might face. Some of the most common problems are communication issues, cultural misunderstandings, and lack of consensus. Building diverse organizations isn’t just important for metrics. It is supposed to bring people together and help a company grow. That is why it is crucial to implement those measures properly and provide employees with diversity training programs to help them overcome those issues.
What are the four types of diversity?
While going through various diversity and inclusion statistics, we could see that there are four different types of diversity. Those include:
- Internal diversity - race, age, gender, ethnicity, physical ability, mental ability, etc.
- External diversity - education, religious beliefs, citizenship, appearance, etc.
- Organizational diversity - job function, employment status, place of work, etc.
- Worldview diversity - moral beliefs, political leanings, etc.
How does age diversity affect the workplace?
Age diversity is one of the essential parts of an effective and inclusive workplace, and there are many benefits to it. Age diversity can reduce the employee turnover rate, improve performance and brand reputation, and offer a wide variety of skill sets. As many of the diversity in the workplace statistics we inspected in the article show, having mixed-aged work teams brings a variety of experiences and boosts innovation. Each generation brings some unique skill sets to the organization, and by combining those, you can straighten your business strategy and grow your company’s profits.
Sources
More From Our Blog
Women account for 50.8% of the US population, hold 57% of all undergraduate degrees, and approximately 60% of all master’s degrees. And even though they hold about 52% of all management-level jobs, American women cannot keep pace with men in terms of representation when it comes to top leadership roles.
As male vs. female CEO statistics show, it’s the profit and loss roles or P&L responsibilities such as leading a brand, unit, or division, that set executives on the track to becoming a CEO.
On the other hand, women who advance into C-suites - the “chief” jobs in companies - typically take on the roles such as head of human resources, legal, or administration. Although all of these functions are extremely important, the line of work they focus on doesn’t involve profit-generating responsibilities, which rarely makes them a path to running a company.
Why does the percentage of CEOs that are female remain low in all parts of the world? There isn’t a simple answer to this question. Several studies have shown that it’s the fusion of work-life constraints, early professional trade-offs, and firmly established attitudes towards women in power and the skills and traits that make a good leader that can explain why the careers of equally ambitious and capable men and women often take such different turns.
Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting findings.
Male vs Female CEO Statistics - Editor’s Choice
Female CEOs are running 41 Fortune 500 companies.
There are two Black women among the Fortune 500 CEOs.
Women made up only 5% of the CEOs appointed in 2020 globally.
At the CEO level, men outnumber women by approximately 17 to one.
59% of male employees aspire to become CEOs versus 40% of women.
77% of women say the biggest obstacle to gender equity at the workplace is the lack of information on how to advance.
Between 2015 and 2020, the share of women in senior vice president roles in the US increased from 23% to 28%.
(McKinsey & Company)
Over the same period, the percentage of women in the C-suite went up from 17% to 21%. All women, especially those of color, remained significantly outnumbered in senior management positions. However, prior to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the representation of female workers in corporate America was slowly trending in the right direction.
According to 2020 statistics on female CEOs in the United States, 21% of C-suite members were women.
(McKinsey & Company)
Based on the survey results published by McKinsey & Company, there’s a leaky pipeline for women in leadership. In 2020, female workers accounted for 47% of entry-level positions, 38% of management roles, and 33% senior management/director roles. Women were entrusted with under one third (29%) of all vice president positions in American organizations.
For every 100 men who got promoted to a managerial role, only 85 women advanced to the same position, based on the 2020 data.
(McKinsey & Company)
This gap was even larger for women of color as only 71 Latinas, and 58 Black women received a promotion. Consequently, women remained underrepresented at the managerial level holding just 38% of manager positions, while men accounted for 62%.
Male vs female CEO statistics from 2020 indicate that 39% of senior-level women burned out compared to 29% of men.
(McKinsey & Company)
Furthermore, 36% of women felt pressured to work more, in comparison with 27% of men. At the same time, 54% of C-suite women reported that they constantly felt exhausted, and so did 41% of men in similar positions.
More than 50% of women in senior leadership roles promote gender and racial equality at work, in comparison with approximately 40% of male top executives.
(McKinsey & Company)
Women in leadership positions are more likely than men in senior-level roles to take a public stand on racial and gender diversity and champion the advancement of employee-friendly programs and policies. Women CEOs are also more likely to sponsor and mentor other female workers. According to the results of a recent survey, 38% of women in senior-level positions currently mentor or sponsor at least one woman of color, compared to only 23% of men in the same roles.
Female CEOs are running 41 Fortune 500 companies.
(Fortune, Statista)
In 2021, the number of women appointed to CEO positions in America's 500 highest-grossing companies reached an all-time high. However, the new record still only translates to approximately 8% of female representation at the top of the country's largest public businesses.
On the plus side, the number of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies almost doubled in comparison with 2018 when there were 24 females leading the nation’s biggest businesses. Calls for diversity and inclusion in the highest echelons of America’s business world are starting to bear fruit as the number of female Fortune 500 chief executive officers increased for the third consecutive year.
The top five biggest female-led Fortune 500 businesses as of August 2021 are CVS Health (rank four), Walgreens Boots Alliance (rank 16), General Motors (rank 22), Anthem (rank 23), and Citigroup (rank 33).
Speaking of women in leadership roles, statistics show that there are two Black women among the Fortune 500 CEOs.
(Fortune)
For the first time, two Black women are running Fortune 500 businesses - Roz Brewer of Walgreens Boots Alliance (rank 16) and Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA (rank 79).
Before Duckett and Brewer started their new jobs in 2021, only one Black woman - Ursula Burns, former Xerox chief - had ever been appointed CEO at a Fortune 500 business on a permanent basis. After Burnes stepped down from the role in 2017, and, with the exception of Bed Bath & Beyond's Mary Winston, who worked as interim chief for a few months in 2019, Black female chief executive officers have been missing from the Fortune 500 list ever since.
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is the first woman to run a major Wall Street bank.
(Fortune)
Fraser’s appointment marked huge progress for the financial industry. Much like Dick's Sporting Goods chief Lauren Hobart, Clorox chief Linda Rendle, new Coty CEO Sue Nabi, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Roz Brewer, Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA, and CVS’s CEO Karen Lynch, Fraser took over from a male CEO.
Statistics on Fortune 500 CEOs by gender reveal that there were only 37 female and 463 male chiefs leading America’s highest earning businesses in 2000.
(Fortune)
The number of women in CEO positions in the Fortune 500 hasn’t been growing steadily throughout the last two decades. There were 24 female chiefs in 2015, 21 women CEOs in 2016, and 32 women running Fortune 500 businesses in 2017, while that number dropped to 24 in 2018.
At the median, 16 female CEOs earned $13.6 million in 2020, in comparison to $12.6 million for the 326 men included in a study.
(Equilar)
According to a study published in May 2021 comparing a male CEO salary vs. a female CEO salary, women have outpaced men in total pay but remained underrepresented in executive positions. Equilar’s study indicates that Lisa Su, the chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices, was the highest-paid woman for the second consecutive year and the highest-paid CEO overall in 2020.
Globally, women made up only 5% of the CEOs appointed in 2020.
(Heidrick & Struggles)
The highest percentage of newly-appointed female CEOs was in Ireland (15%), while the lowest was in Brazil (0%).
This is according to a paper that analyzed the backgrounds of chief executives leading 965 of the largest companies in 20 markets around the world. It sought to identify the skills and experience that shaped their path to the top while taking different male vs. female CEO statistics into account.
At the CEO level, men outnumber women by approximately 17 to one.
(Morningstar)
According to a study that explored the gender gap in US companies, the number of male executive officers is seven times higher than the number of women holding the same positions. More than 50% of the companies analyzed didn’t have a single female on their lists of executive officers. Jackie Cook, the author of the Morningstar report, found that online retail giant Amazon didn’t have any women among its highest-paid executives as of 2020.
Women who negotiate for raises and promotions are 30% more likely to be considered as "too aggressive" or "intimidating".
(Business Insider)
Speaking of male managers vs. female managers, statistics reveal that women who don’t negotiate at all are 67% less likely to receive the same negative feedback.
The proportion of women in senior management roles increased from 20% in 2011 to 29% in 2020, globally.
(Grant Thornton)
As 2019 saw a jump of 5% compared to 2018 (amounting to a total of 29%), 2020 represents a leveling off of the progress made during the previous year. This lack of movement doesn’t necessarily reflect a failure of companies to address the existing gender gap.
Globally, the proportion of companies with at least one woman in senior management was 87% in 2020.
(Grant Thornton)
The number of female CEOs and senior managers has risen by almost 20 percentage points over the last few years. For comparison, this figure stood at 68% in 2015 and 68% in 2017.
77% of women say the biggest obstacle to gender equity in the workplace is the lack of information on how to advance.
(Working Mother Research Institute)
Only 41% of female survey participants, as opposed to 64% of male respondents, said they have a network of coaches, mentors, and sponsors offering them career guidance.
37% of women versus 64% of men said that their companies provide information on career paths that lead to executive roles.
(Working Mother Research Institute)
Additionally, women CEO statistics indicate that 74% of female employees understand what the specific requirements are for advancing to the highest-paying roles in their companies even though they don’t receive this type of information directly.
60% of women believe they have the same opportunities to advance as anyone else at their workplace versus 74% of men.
(Working Mother Research Institute)
Similarly, 65% of women express they are satisfied with the way their careers are progressing, and so do 78% of men.
Male vs female CEO stats reveal that 59% of male employees aspire to become chief executives versus 40% of women.
(Working Mother Research Institute)
Of those women who aspire to become CEOs, 6% are first-level managers (as opposed to 13% of men) and 39% are executives. The same goes for 40% of men hoping to take on the role of chief executive officer.
Businesses with high representations of women in leadership roles had a 35% higher return on equity and 34% higher total shareholder return in comparison with male-dominated companies.
(Catalyst)
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