Race, Age and Gender in the Workplace

Level Playing Field Institute’s Race, Age and Gender in the Workplace Survey shows that conversations about race, age and gender increased since the historic 2008 presidential primaries irrespective of whether they are discouraged by company policy.

Read about the impact of these conversations on workplace relations and what actions survey participants and LPFI recommends to employers in order to improve race, age and gender relations in the workplace.

Excerpt

Many would like to believe that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are proof that if a woman or African American can be a viable candidate for the most important job in the country, there must be a level playing fi eld in workplaces across the United States. Unfortunately, instead of being indicative of a post civil rights era, reactions to their historic candidacies prove that biases and stereotypes continue to exist. Nowhere is this proof more apparent than in conversations about race, age and gender.

Whether companies encourage or prohibit conversations about race, age, gender and other demographics, they occur in workplaces every day – more so after the 2008 presidential primaries. 

The Race, Age and Gender in the Workplace Survey, a national study conducted by the Level Playing Field Institute in August 2008, shows that: 25.8% of employees have heard more conversations about race, 20.5% have heard more conversations about gender, 18.2% have heard more conversations about age since Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain’s candidacies.

Download the Executive Summary