NYC Diversity Still an Issue

March 5, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than half of those looking for jobs in the New York area say workplace diversity is more of an issue in the Big Apple than in other parts of the country, a new survey found.

However, the survey, by The New York Times Job Market, the newspaper’s recruitment services unit, found that only 42% of hiring managers made the same claim.

At least one survey statistic seems to support the claim: New Jersey and Long Island hiring managers were more likely to associate diversity and affirmative action than those in New York City.

The respondents were least likely to associate “quotas” and “red tape” with diversity, although job seekers connected the two more often than hiring managers, according to the Times survey.

Generally, asked what they associated with diversity, the respondents listed:

  • equal opportunity, listed by 94% of hiring managers and 90% of job seekers,
  • fairness, mentioned by 90% of hiring managers and 86% of job seekers,
  • affirmative action named by two thirds of hiring managers and 71% of job seekers,
  • good corporate publicity, cited by 65% of  hiring managers and 66% of job seekers,
  • quotas, mentioned by 26% of hiring managers and 39% of job seekers, and
  • red tape, by 9% of hiring managers and 30% of job seekers

Respondents defined diversity by the following different groups working together: 

  • races,
  • ethnic backgrounds,
  • ages,
  • genders,
  • cultures,
  • nationalities,
  • religions,
  • educational backgrounds,
  • disabilities, and
  • sexual orientations

Some respondents also thought of workplace diversity in terms of different types of jobs, varied skill sets or capabilities of employees.

These findings are part of the first report of a three-part Times series on workplace diversity based on surveys of job seekers and hiring managers.


 

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