New Study: 84% of Employees Report Lack of Progress on Building a More Equitable Workplace for People of Color

New Hue report finds BIPOC workers experienced an increase in racial discrimination, job loss and financial hardship three times the rate of their white counterparts in 2021

NEW YORK--()--Hue, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to building equity and prosperity for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) communities, today released its second “A State of Inequity: Unsafe. Unheard. Unvalued.” report, revealing a rise in workplace discrimination among BIPOC employees in 2021.

Key findings include:

  • BIPOC employees report experiencing discrimination at work, leading to job loss, loss of empowerment and higher levels of burnout
    • 40% of BIPOC employees report experiencing workplace discrimination related to their race/ethnicity
    • Nearly 30% of BIPOC employees say they have experienced job loss due to race-related discrimination
    • At least one-third of BIPOC (32%), Hispanic (35%) and multiracial (33%) professionals say they do not feel empowered to speak out against workplace discrimination they’ve witnessed or experienced based on their race/ethnicity.
    • Marginalized professionals experienced workplace burnout and exhaustion at higher rates than their White counterparts - 44% of BIPOC, 47% of Hispanics and East Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 41% of African Americans
  • Employees and HR professionals have widely differing opinions on the effectiveness of workplace diversity training efforts
    • 84% of employees report a lack of meaningful progress on building a more equitable environment for employees of color over the past six months.
    • Yet 82% of HR professionals say their industry does a good job of implementing diversity-related initiatives.
  • Representation in the workplace remains essential - and motivating - to BIPOC professionals , particularly those at mid-career or senior levels
    • Nearly 80% of all BIPOC employees say they are motivated at work by seeing others who look like them or are from the same racial/ethnic background as them in the workplace.

“In the nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BIPOC employee workplace experience continues to be one of discrimination, under-representation and a lack of action to address these issues,” said Hue founder and president Fahad Khawaja. “While America’s workplace has a long way to go for BIPOC workers, we believe that outlining these gaps and challenges can pave the way for the substantive change required for creating greater equity and prosperity and improving the collective workplace health and wealth opportunities for our communities.”

Methodology

This year's “A State of Inequity” report combines data from two online surveys conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Hue (via its Harris On Demand omnibus product) in the United States in December 2021 and January 2022. Total number of respondents from the two survey periods is 2,866 adults (aged 18 and over).

About Hue

Hue is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization building equity and prosperity for the health and wealth of our communities, building a global network of employers and Black, Indigenous, People of color (BIPOC) talent to amplify voices, increase visibility, create economic and employment opportunities, and pave career paths. To learn more, contact comms@wearehue.org, visit www.wearehue.org, and follow Hue on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contacts

Christian Potts, Archetype
christian.potts@archetype.co
781-964-6093

Release Summary

New report from Hue reveals a rise in workplace discrimination among BIPOC employees in 2021.

Contacts

Christian Potts, Archetype
christian.potts@archetype.co
781-964-6093