Atlassian’s 2017 State of Diversity Report released an interesting review of its most recent survey. Under the new Trump administration, some people have feared that that value of diversity and inclusion programs would wane due to political rhetoric and possible employee backlash. While this may have been the early perception, reality has now set in and, it turns out, many people are still on board.
According to Fast Company “More than one-third of tech workers surveyed fear the administration will hinder their company’s diversity efforts. However, nearly half (48%) of workers said the election made them care more about diversity. That’s important because the majority of respondents (57%) ranked individuals ahead of companies as having the most potential to impact diversity and inclusion.”
Great right? Well not so fast.
Although almost half of he surveyed employees support diversity, many people believe their company’s diversity and inclusion program is already working. “Eighty-three percent say their company is already diverse, and 79% think the average team at their company has a diverse set of team members.” These numbers are very troubling when you consider the fact that Latino and black employees in tech barely represent 5%.
Obviously there is a disconnect here between reality and perception, and while employees may very well support it, their idea of an acceptable diversity numbers may not.