A Third of Workers Believe Being a Man Makes It Easier to Succeed at Work

Few concepts have had a more rapid rise than Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Searches for ‘DEI’ have increased more than 300% since 2018, but does that growth in interest translate into consensus - or meaningful change?

Moneyzine has analysed new data showing that while DEI policies are largely seen as positive, Americans still disagree about how important the concept should be.

What do Americans think of DEI?

A large survey explored American workers’ perception of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies in the workplace. The headline finding is simple: a majority (56%) of workers say DEI is a good thing, and an even higher proportion say that policies to ensure everyone is treated fairly are somewhat or very positive (72%).

However, a demographic breakdown reveals more complexity. White people are more than 2x more likely to say DEI is a bad thing (21%) than any racial minority, with 10% of Asians, 9% of Hispanics and just 1% of Black people saying DEI is bad. Men are also more likely to see DEI as a bad thing (23%) compared to women (9%).

The attention economy

Further rifts are revealed when workers are asked about their employers’ attitude to DEI. 28% of Black people say their employer pays too little attention to DEI - and just 3% say their employer pays too little attention to it. In contrast, 11% of White people say too little attention is paid to DEI - and 16% say too much.

This data correlates almost perfectly with other data looking at how identity categories impact workplace success. White people are more likely to say DEI receives too much attention, and ‘being white’ is widely seen to make it easier to succeed at work. In fact, 31% of people believe that being white makes it easier to succeed at work, in comparison to 25% that believes being black makes it more difficult.

We see a similar pattern across gender lines. Women are 5 percentage points more likely to say DEI is given too little attention, and ‘being a woman’ is to make it harder to succeed at work by 28%. In comparison, 36% believe being a man at work makes succeeding easier.

Republicans are torn over DEI

However, the most striking finding is not about fixed characteristics but political allegiance. Many pundits' belief that the Republican Party is ideologically opposed to DEI. However, while Republicans are more than 3x more likely to say DEI gets too much attention than too little (24% vs 7%), the data suggests the party is actually split exactly down the middle on the issue.

30% of Republicans say DEI is a bad thing, while 30% say it is a good thing. While this is in stark contrast to the Democratic Party, where 78% say DEI is good and just 4% say the opposite, the finding speaks to a surprising lack of consensus.

This data suggests it is not the implementation of DEI policies that creates friction. Rather, it is the question of how much attention should be paid to the concept which causes the greatest disagreements.

Jonathan Merry, CEO of Moneyzine.com