The study, “Diversity in the Workplace,” was designed to gauge the frequency, severity and occasion for perceptions of discrimination or unfair treatment and how diversity impacts hiring, compensation and career advancement. It focused on seven diverse segments including Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, workers with disabilities, women, mature workers age 50 or older and Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender workers.
“Of the segments surveyed, Asian workers were among the most likely to categorize the discrimination or unfair treatment as severe at 26 percent,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. “Employers can’t afford to have any degree of discrimination or unfair treatment in the workplace. Companies need to evaluate their diversity programs to ensure that their environment is one where workers feel valued and safe and can focus their energy on the job at hand rather than on negative situations.”
Frequency of Discrimination or Unfair Treatment in the Workplace
One-in-five (22 percent) of Asian workers said they experience discrimination or unfair treatment at least once a week. Twenty percent said once a month and 44 percent say it happens occasionally (defined as one to three times per year).
Discriminating or Unfair Behaviors
The most common incidents of discrimination or unfair treatment reported by Asian workers include:
• Not having concerns addressed or taken seriously (51 percent)
• Not receiving credit for one’s work (48 percent)
• Being overlooked for a promotion (48 percent)
• Co-workers were talking behind their backs (43 percent)
• Not being assigned to projects that will help worker to gain more visibility in the company (38 percent)
• Feeling ideas or input are generally ignored (35 percent)
Reporting of Discrimination or Unfair Treatment
Unfortunately, Asian workers are the least likely among all the diverse segments surveyed to report discrimination or unfair treatment. Eighty-three percent of Asian workers who experienced discrimination or unfair treatment said they did not report the incident, compared to an average of 50 percent of all diverse workers. Seventy-four percent of Asian workers said they didn’t think reporting the incident would make a difference while 48 percent feared being labeled as a trouble-maker and 22 percent feared losing their jobs.
Most of the Asian workers who reported discrimination or unfair treatment did so by bringing it to the attention of Human Resources (7 percent). Another 10 percent reported it either to their direct supervisors or senior management. While 24 percent of those who made a claim felt it was taken seriously, in 76 percent of the cases, the offender was not held accountable. Only 3 percent of Asian workers ever took legal action against their employer.
When asked why those being discriminated against stay with their current employer, more than half of Asian workers (59 percent) say they couldn’t afford to quit.
Diversity - Hiring and Firing
Asian workers are fairly divided on their views regarding whether the diversity of their background influences whether someone will hire them. While 55 percent of Asian workers say they feel their diverse background has no influence, 19 percent say it works in their favor and 26 percent say it works against them.
In terms of involuntary termination, 8 percent of Asian workers say they believed they had been fired at some point in their career based on their diverse background.
“There are an estimated 14.4 million Asian Americans in the nation, according to U.S. Census data,” said Nina Ramsey, senior vice president of Human Resources at Kelly Services. “Employers need to ensure that as they are tapping into this growing segment of the population to build their workforce, that they are also evaluating the effectiveness of both the quality and the implementation of their diversity policies and programs.”
Pay and Career Advancement
One-in-five (23 percent) Asian workers feel they are paid less than Caucasian co-workers who have the same skills and experience; 4 percent feel they are paid more; and 69 percent feel they are paid the same.
When asked about career advancement, less than 1 percent of Asian workers feel they have more opportunities compared to Caucasian co-workers who have the same skills and experiences; 34 percent feel they have fewer opportunities; and 60 percent feel it’s the same. However, Asian workers are the most satisfied with their career progress (76 percent) compared to the other diverse segments surveyed.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com and Kelly Services among 953 Workers (age 18+ within the United States, employed full-time or part-time) with 156 being Diverse Asian Workers (age 18+ within the United States, employed full-time or part-time) between March 15 and March 21, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 953 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. With a pure probability sample of 156 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 7.9 percentage points. Sampling error for data from subsamples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Kelly Services
Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Mich., offering human resource solutions that include temporary staffing services, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement. Kelly operates in 33 countries and territories. Kelly provides employment to more than 750,000 employees annually, with skills including office services, accounting, engineering, information technology, law, science, marketing, creative services, light industrial, education, and health care. Revenue in 2006 was $5.5 billion. Visit www.kellyservices.com.
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 21 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,100 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 150 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 20 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.
Kelly Services Media Contact
Renee Walker
(P) (248) 244-4305
(E) renee_walker@kellyservices.com
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com