workplace equity
commit to employment equity and ethics.
In an effort to sustain a more equitable workforce, we ask companies to embrace diversity and combat discrimination.
In the workplace, systemic issues can affect women, communities of color, older professionals and young people. Whether hiring, managing or firing, we encourage employers to demonstrate ethical employment practices at every turn.
Now is the time to take a stand.
“Workforce discrimination occurs in hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, trainings, benefits and other terms or conditions of employment.”
— U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
discrimination remains a pervasive and costly problem for workers, their families and our economy.
The issues
Gender bias.
From pay inequity to harassment, women today still encounter bias and discrimination at work. Transgender and non-binary people face exceptional challenges—especially during the application and hiring process.
NBC News: 'Historic and Unprecedented': Women Have Been Hit Hardest by Coronavirus Layoffs
NPR: Women Bear The Brunt Of Coronavirus Job Losses
Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Employment Shock Hits Women Harder Than Men
pay inequity.
Salary history and credit checks can hurt employment outcomes for groups that historically face discrimination in the labor force—including women and minorities.
Wall Street Journal: Study Finds Salary-History Bans Boost Pay for African-Americans, Women
Forbes: Research Finds Salary History Bans Help Women And Black Workers
RACial injustice.
Workplace racial discrimination complaints identify unfair job assignments, slower promotions, overt slurs and demotions or terminations. Workers of color also experience higher rates of underemployment than white Americans.
Vox: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal: Data Shows it’s Still a Huge Problem
Harvard Business Review: Confronting Racism at Work: A Reading List
Business Insider: Pandemic Layoffs Exacerbated Inequality
Assignments and promotions.
Black Americans still face obstacles to advancement that other minorities and white women don’t experience. They are less likely than their white peers to be promoted or offered professional development opportunities.
Harvard Business Review: Toward a Racially Just Workplace
Forbes: Black Employees Allege Racial Discrimination At Facebook In New Legal Complaint
ageism.
Assumptions about capabilities, entitlement and pay expectations curtail the hiring and heighten the firing of younger and older Americans. Job seekers over age 50 are particularly vulnerable.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: The Older American Worker - Age Discrimination in Employment
Forbes: Older Female Employees Face Double Jeopardy During Covid-19 Layoffs
The Guardian: Gender Pay Gap Begins for Students Straight After University
position and tenure.
Hasty layoff decisions and ‘favoritism’ can come at the cost of diversity and inclusion. The ‘last hired, first fired’ approach hurts women, minorities and young people more than other groups.
Harvard Business Review: Research: U.S. Unemployment Rising Faster for Women and People of Color
Fortune: New Study Reveals That Diversity and Inclusion May Be the Key to Beating the Next Recession
