Research Highlights Impact of DEI

Candidates experience bias during the hiring process, with 50% of employees believing their race, gender or ethnicity hindered them in securing employment, according to a study by talent acquisition suite Lever.

The report said many candidates experienced bias within the hiring process, with 50% of employees believing their race, gender or ethnicity hindered them in securing employment.

Black, Asian and Hispanic employees were more likely than White employees to report hiring biases. In addition, 62% of employees believed they were interviewed for a job simply so the company could meet diversity requirements. Indeed, 66% of employers acknowledged some candidates are interviewed for that reason. Because of this, Lever said it saw the clear importance of DEI initiatives, or the lack thereof, on both candidates and employees.

Additional Findings

The study also found that DEI impacts candidates in both the recruiting and hiring processes. A large portion of people researched a companies’ DEI strategy on their website and looked for inclusive language in job postings before applying, the report said.

However, once hired, employees found their company was less focused on diversity than it appeared during the hiring process. According to the report, employers and employees alike agreed that discrimination and bias issues exist within their organizations. Employees also believed that DEI was merely a checkbox for their company. Despite that, employers think they’re doing enough, with 54% of them having increased their investments in DEI over the past year.

“Employers must reevaluate their DEI efforts to ensure their policies are making employees and candidates feel included, welcome and comfortable,” said Lever Senior Vice President of Customer Success Jessica Green. “One-off DEI initiatives don’t cut it for employees or candidates, and inclusive and equitable practices need to be ingrained into the fabric of the company.”

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