81 Diversity Facts That Will Definitely Surprise You

Diversity is a moral concept that entails more than recognizing or tolerating differences.

Individuals and communities need to be recognized for their individuality and distinctions, diversity is an active appreciation and affirmation of this. We can see, cultivate, and use the strengths of all people by making distinctions obvious.

Racial diversity and ethnicity are critical considerations when it comes to workforce diversity. A race is a person's biological identity, including physical features such as skin color, hair type, and other characteristics. A person's race may have an impact on things like life expectancy and how the criminal justice system treats them.

It's also crucial to embrace and safeguard diversity since respecting differences fosters an environment that promotes equity and mutual respect, while dehumanization and oppression are incompatible.

Ethnicity refers to a person's cultural background. It covers a wide range of racial and ethnic identities, such as the ethnic majority and racial majorities. It's about cultural or geographic history, not just biology.

Read below to know more interesting facts.

Importance Of Diversity

We think of ethnicity and culture when we hear the word 'diversity.' Of course, race and culture are important considerations when discussing ethnic diversity. However, diversity is a far broader concept. Diversity is omnipresent in all aspects of our existence, such as gender diversity and workplace diversity; it performs a crucial role, almost as important as ensuring our survival.

Companies that scored higher on the inclusiveness scale were 1.7 times more likely to be market innovators and 1.8 times more likely to be change-ready.

According to McKinsey's research, organizations in the top quartile for executive gender diversity were 25% more likely to earn higher profits. The survey also demonstrates that organizations with more than 30% female executives outperform those with fewer or no women executives.

Sexuality or sexual orientation refers to a person's attraction to other people. Although it is personal, employees must feel free to discuss their sexuality with their coworkers without fear of discrimination or harassment.

Inclusive cultures produce better business decisions 87% of the time, and they make them twice as quickly and in half the number of meetings. In addition, decisions taken and implemented by diverse employees produced 60% better results, significantly increasing business performance.

Businesses must address issues like the gender pay gap, where women are consistently paid less for the same employment as their male counterparts, in order to truly be gender diverse.

Diverse companies must examine constraints that both genders face when contributing to the workforce to determine how they may remove some of those restrictions for their employees to be successful.

Examples & Types Of Diversity

Some examples of workforce diversity in our regular lives include race, ethnicity, relationship status, job function, place of work, political beliefs, and others.

According to a Glassdoor study, a diverse workplace is crucial when evaluating firms and job offers, with nearly one-third of respondents saying they would not apply to a position at a company where diversity is lacking.

More women in C-level roles result in a 34 % increase in shareholder returns. In addition, higher incomes are associated with a greater female presence in the C-suite.

The United States' GDP would increase by $25 billion if just 1% more persons with disabilities were hired. Unfortunately, people with disabilities had a 7.3 % unemployment rate, which is more than double the pre-pandemic rate of 3.5 % for the overall population.

Cognitive diversity has been shown to increase team innovation by 20%.

Disadvantages Of Diversity

Bringing together cultural diversity can pose some difficulties such as communication impediments, differing communication styles or preferences on your team, or hearing loss. Diverse viewpoints, attitudes, and ideas are beneficial for a company's success, yet they also hinder decision-making and movement toward goals.

Companies with 'two-dimensional' diversity (based on both gender and ethnicity) are 45% more likely to obtain a higher market share and 70% more likely to have broken into a new market in the previous year.

Focusing simply on gender, color, LGBTQIA+ identity, or any other single attribute will only get you so far in helping your company and workers succeed.

Many religions are practiced and followed by people all around the world. Many employees also follow their own religious beliefs. It's critical to be aware of your company's religious unconscious prejudices if you want to embrace diversity in the workplace.

According to McKinsey, evenly diversifying the workforce may boost GDP by 26%.

Organizations that embrace diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their peers. In addition, profits and investment rates will rise as a result of diverse teams, benefiting both employees and the company.

An increase of 1% in workplace diversity similarities between the top and lower management increases firm efficiency by $729 to $1590 per team member each year.

According to workplace statistics, 80% of the workforce prefers to work for a firm that supports a diverse workforce, equality, and inclusion.

Effects Of Diversity

Millennial employees believe their company is more inventive when it has a diverse and inclusive culture, with 74% actively looking for diversity and inclusion initiatives when evaluating possible employers.

61% of employees have personally witnessed or experienced workplace prejudice.

The global average wage discrepancy between men and women is 17%, but it can range from 3 to 51 %. So, to diversify the workplace as a whole, gender diversity and gender income equality are required.

Generations, for example, are divided into Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y, and Z, and Millennials. Although it is obvious that persons of the same age group do not always think the same way, age does define some similarities.

The global GDP could increase by $28 trillion if diverse companies globally promote gender diversity and fully equalize all genders' participation in the workplace.

Women make up only 23% of executive-level managers (C-suites), and only four percent of those women are women of color.

Employees in a company belong to varied socioeconomic backgrounds and have different perspectives on various aspects, including money, social position, education, and so on. Someone who grew up in poverty, for example, may have a different perspective than someone who comes from a wealthy home.

Only around 40% of companies have fully developed diversity efforts. According to a poll conducted by the HR Research Institute in 2021, only 41% of HR professionals believe their organizations' DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) activities are advanced or expert.

Around 20% of respondents said that programs were just getting started in their companies, while 10% quoted little or nothing has been done to promote DEI.

Causes Of Diversity

Only 12% of companies assign managers to the task of seeking diverse individuals. Only 12% of leadership positions and 11% of recruiters are in charge of sourcing or recruiting people from different ethnic groups.

According to a UCLA Williams Institute poll of 935 LGBT workers conducted in May 2021, 46% of them have been treated unfairly at work. This includes being passed over for a job, getting fired, and being harassed. A third of LGBT employees have quit a job due to discrimination.

In the USA, around 8.1 million workers identify as LGBT. Nearly half of those living in one of the 27 states where discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal, making it more difficult for these workers to combat prejudice.

A higher percentage of employees than you might imagine have left a job due to what they perceive to be unfair treatment at work. According to Glassdoor, 47% of black employees and 49% of Hispanic employees have taken this action. In comparison, white employees make up 38% of the labor force.

50% of employees in the United States want their company to put more effort into promoting ethnic diversity and inclusion efforts in the workplace.

When compared to less inclusive, more monolithic work environments, diverse companies generate 2.3 times higher cash flow per team member.

Most individuals believe that impairment is solely related to physical movement. Workers, on the other hand, may have disabilities ranging from visual and movement impairments to learning problems and mental health issues. If you wish to promote diverse teams, you must make accommodations for those with disabilities.

Between 1999 and 2019, the number of women in the US workforce increased by 18.5 %, while the number of people of color increased by 26%.

Recognize the competitive advantage and benefits that come with creating a company culture that fosters an environment where employees of various colors, ethnicities, age diversity, gender, and sexual orientation feel their views are accepted, heard, and respected. Diversity is not only a wise business option, but it is also a requirement.

FAQs

What does diversity add to our lives?

As a mixture of many cultures, customs, and beliefs gained over time, diversity improves our lives. People of diverse counterparts, including races, ethnic minorities, religions, and social groups, can communicate and learn from one another thanks to diversity and inclusion initiatives.

It teaches us to respect others, not just our own kind of people. It motivates people to live, think critically, and adjust to their surroundings.

What causes diversity?

Ethnically and racially, the population is getting more diversified. Civil rights and anti-discrimination laws have been enforced for decades, resulting in a climate of tolerance for individual differences.

The population's median age has also risen, implying that more elderly people are working. Finally, diverse companies want to reach customers in the global marketplace, which necessitates hiring diverse teams who are familiar with consumer culture in nations other than the United States.

What is age-based diversity?

Age diversity means accepting people of various ages. Companies can take steps to adapt to an aging population and avoid workplace ageism.

Taking a step further, diverse companies should strive to become age-savvy employers by employing inclusive culture and retention tactics for those aged 50 and up. Employers can create a productive and inclusive work culture by developing an age-diverse workplace.

What is the effect of diversity?

It allows people to interact with people from diverse cultures, traditions, and languages, as well as create fresh ideas and perceptions. It assists people in gaining new experiences and strengthening interpersonal relationships.

What are the five key areas of diversity?

The five key areas are race or ethnicity, sex (including gender and sexual orientation), age, disability, and culture (including faith and religion).

What are the seven types of diversity?

The seven types of diversity are race or ethnicity, age or generation, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual beliefs, disability, and finally socioeconomic status.

What are the three advantages of diversity?

More ideas and procedures are possible in a diversified workplace. This means that employees have a larger range of abilities, a variety of experiences and viewpoints, which can lead to increased productivity as well provides a competitive advantage.

Increased creativity is possible when people from different cultures and backgrounds collaborate. As there are more people with different viewpoints and solutions to problems, increasing the chances of finding a feasible solution to a problem at work.

Companies can deal with the several intricacies of a transnational marketplace by having a varied range of cultures in the workplace. If a corporation does business with China, for example, having a Mandarin-speaking team member is an asset that can lead to stronger working relations.

Why is diversity so important?

Diversity means acceptance and inclusion of employees from different backgrounds. An equally diversifying workplace is an important factor because it recognizes each employee's unique qualities and the possibilities they provide.

What are the four types of diversity?

Internal refers to qualities such as race, age, gender, national origin, ethnicity, sexual appearance, a physical and mental aptitude that people are born with and cannot change.

Interests, citizenship, education, religious participation, relationship status, financial status, and other qualities that characterize a person but can be altered are examples of external attributes that define a person but can be changed.

Organizational refers to the organization to which a person belongs and variables that make up that organization, such as job function, leadership positions, work location, department, seniority, union affiliation, and so on.

Reality Views is how our views, experiences, and feelings shape our world. Reality views are strongly connected to politics, history, and cultural events.