Workplace survey addresses behaviors counterproductive to hiring, retaining diverse talent

A regional workplace climate study uses a systems lens to address institutional behaviors that prove counterproductive to attracting, retaining and promoting diverse talent with a focus on women of color.

Sisters Who Lead, a regional affinity and wellness movement for women of color, released its report, "From Knowing to Doing Better: Closing the Opportunity Gap for Women of Color in the Workplace through Transformed Systems Behavior." The report follows the group's 2017 publication, "Invisible Walls, Ceilings and Floors," which detailed implicit and explicit barriers to career advancement for women of color.

Sisters Who Lead is an initiative of GVSU's Division of Inclusion and Equity. Women engaged in the group's mission live in six West Michigan counties: Allegan, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon.

Shannon Cohen, co-founder of Sisters Who Lead, said the 2020 study aims to prepare West Michigan companies for the changing face of talent and the future of work. The Sisters Who Lead study references a Harvard Business Review study that reported women of color are projected to become the majority of the U.S workforce by 2060.

Cohen said the 2020 Sisters Who Lead regional climate study provides a deeper look at the connection between gender and race and delves deeper than workplace surveys from McKinsey and Company, and LeanIn. While researchers Cohen and Pat Sosa VerDuin aligned questions with McKinsey and LeanIn surveys to offer national comparative data, the Sisters Who Lead study elevates the importance of psychological safety in data collection.

The Sisters Who Lead study used community-based participatory research, with support from the Calvin University Center for Social Research.

Highlights are listed below.

• 60% hold a master's or doctoral degree

• 27% were managers; 9.8 percent had titles of senior vice president, vice president or higher

• 80% expressed ambition to be promoted to the next level

• 75% agreed their race made it harder to receive a promotion

• 75% said they were often the only woman of color in the room

• 40% said they were likely or very likely to leave their position within two years

Report authors not only highlighted gaps, but centered the voices of women of color as architects in providing regional employers tangible strategies to rethink talent engagement, recruitment, and promotion of women of color, such as expanding social capital and rethinking referral-based hiring practices

VerDuin, a co-founder of Sisters Who Lead, said three-quarters of all career opportunities result from "someone who knows someone."

"You cannot attract, hire and retain women of color if you have no meaningful relationships with women of color," VerDuin said. "Your network is a reflection of your relationships."

Only 30 percent of survey respondents said their organizations have diverse hiring policies. VerDuin said implementing best practices for hiring, like tracking outcomes to check for bias, should include consistent criteria when considering women of color.

Purchase report

Copies of the 2020 report are available for $25; visit sisterswholead.com for details. Proceeds from sales will support four Sisters Who Lead affinity groups. View an executive summary and digital lookbook online at no charge online at sisterswholead.com.