Despite efforts to drag corporate America’s diversity efforts into politicized culture wars, more companies are publishing their DEI data. Last year, 154 Fortune 500 companies released diversity disclosures, nearly double the 79 of 2022, according to a report from marketing firm Purpose Brand.
The DEI data holistically provide an inside look at how leading public companies value and measure equitable and inclusive workplaces and provide a cross-sector benchmark for diversity initiatives.
Of note, roughly 85% of companies now separate U.S. gender and racial representation rather than combining them. Among them, 80% spell out the share of people of color in senior management or board roles. Apple, No. 4 on the 2023 Fortune 500 ranking, provides a racial breakdown of its U.S. workforce for tech, non-tech, retail, and leadership positions.
However, only 36 companies share new hire stats for people of color, which may be because companies have pulled back on hiring and, as a result, seen the share of diverse recruits shrink considerably. AT&T, No. 30 on the 2023 Fortune 500, is among the cohort publishing new hire stats by race. Per its report, white employees made up the majority of new hires, 32%, followed by Black employees, 26.1%, and Hispanics, 20.9%. Of the 36 companies that delineate new hire demographics by race and ethnicity, just one-third hired more than 50% of people of color.
Another trend: Companies are sharing the promotional practices they’ve employed to elevate people of color. Still, that number was meager, with just 12 companies disclosing internal promotion statistics. And just four exceeded the 50% mark for people of color.
The diversity reports published in 2024 will likely reflect the broader industry trend of companies assessing and reassessing verbiage and DEI endeavors that could open themselves to legal risks, such as the mention of diversity-related performance bonuses or talk of efforts that cater exclusively to a protected class. That is if they even have such efforts to showcase. Already, several large law firms and banking giants have either cut or expanded their diversity fellowships after threats of legal action.
Ruth Umoh
@ruthumohnews
ruth.umoh@fortune.com
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