Dive Brief:
- When asked if they ever witnessed or experienced discrimination at work, 36% of 4,800 tech workers said they had and 64% said they hadn't, a new Blind survey found.
- The survey broke down the results for 12 top tech companies. Workers at eBay, Cisco and Intel reported higher numbers of witnessing or experiencing discrimination, with 44% at eBay, 39% at Cisco and 39% at Intel. Google, Uber and Facebook employees reported the lowest numbers: 31% of Google employees witnessed or experienced discrimination, with Uber and Facebook dropping to 27% and 22%.
- Blind said the survey results were positive since the majority of respondents said they hadn't experienced discrimination in the workplace, but it did conclude the numbers left room for improvement.
Dive Insight:
The tech sector hasn't exactly modeled tolerance and inclusion for the rest of the business world, but if most tech workers in the Blind survey said they haven't witnessed or experienced discrimination, that could bode well for the industry. But pressing evidence of its persistent history of discrimination keeps on coming, suggesting that there's still work to be done.
That work can start with workplace culture. Organizational culture is central to workplace behavior. In work environments where claims of discrimination are rampant and misconduct is allowed to fester, a culture change may be necessary. HR can lead the construction of an ethical workplace focused on respect, tolerance, fairness and inclusion.
To maintain an ethical culture, employers must hold all workers — from the chief officer down — accountable for their behavior. Jamie Notter, co-founder and consultant at Human Workplaces, told HR Dive in an interview that managers can't say one thing but then let people behave in ways that are the opposite of what's stated. Taking this viewpoint one step further, organizational leaders can't look the other way when employees witness, experience and report misconduct — or else your top performers may be driven away.
