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China is much more aware than other Asian countries and regions that Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) in the workplace helps boost innovation, a key driver for economic growth, as revealed in the latest findings of leading recruitment experts Hays.
Results of the 2019 Hays Asia Diversity & Inclusion Report, released on Oct 16, suggests that 70 percent of Mainland China’s working professionals recognised that D&I in the workplace brings positive impact to innovation, conspicuously above the Asian average of 59 percent.
The report also finds employees in Mainland China selected “company culture” as the top choice for the third consecutive year when asked where D&I can have the most positive impact. 80 percent of Chinese respondents did so, besting the Asian average of 76 percent.
These latest findings suggest China and the whole of Asia have witnessed impressive advances in D&I, and Hays expects to see companies across the region advance their understanding of how D&I can benefit their organisations.
The findings show that employers and employees alike have developed an even greater understanding of not only the moral necessity of their organisations reflecting society, but also how critical diversity of thought is to the way a successful business is run.
However, a few results highlighted by the report may raise concerns for Mainland China’s workplaces. In 2018, 25 percent of respondents felt their career progression had been limited due to diversity and inclusion-related issues. In 2019, this number rose to 32 percent, with only 43 percent saying that their chances of being selected for a job were not affected – the lowest figure across Asia.
44 percent of respondents in Mainland China said their age was a factor in not being selected for a job, the highest figure across Asia. A further 25 percent of respondents said their gender was the cause of not being selected for a job, also the highest figure across Asia.
When it comes to equality in the workplace, 17 percent believed that gender affected their career progression opportunities – again the highest number across Asia, up from 10 percent in 2018. 12 percent felt that they were not paid or rewarded in an equal manner to their colleagues with comparable capabilities.
Simon Lance, Managing Director at Hays Greater Mainland China commented, “The Chinese government has long considered D&I a key step in driving both the country and its economy to the top of the world stage, and these results are proof of the country’s growing understanding of the extent of positive impact it can have. While a gap does remain, a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of both men and women in the workplace will help organisations better inform their diversity policies and actions and boost their potential for innovation.”
Understanding of equality prevalent
The findings of the 2019/2020 version of this annual report are based on survey responses from nearly 2,000 working professionals based in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. 87 percent of respondents were born in Asia, 54 percent were female, and 39 percent held managerial positions. The survey covered personal experiences of the respondents with D&I in their workplaces, as well as their perceptions of its application within—and impact on—their organisations.
D&I is about a range of diversity traits - not just gender.
Perceptions of equality remain relatively high as well, with 38 percent of respondents feeling they had the same career opportunities for career progression as equally capable peers, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender or socio-economic background. 35 percent felt their chances were ‘somewhat equal’.
Slow but improving diversity
Last year, 39 percent of respondents across Asia said their line mangers were female. This year, the number has marginally moved up to 40 percent.
Overall, 57 percent of respondents across Asia believed their organisations had diverse leadership teams, a potentially higher regional average that was brought down by Japan’s low score of only 27 percent who agreed. Mainland China scored the highest, with 70 percent in agreement.
Across the region, however, only 40 percent of respondents said there has not been any occasion where they felt excluded from participation at work because of their age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or socio-economic background. This leaves one third of respondents having faced some form of discrimination, with over half saying this happened to them in the last year.
Perception of leadership bias at a high
Despite relatively high diversity within leadership teams, the role of leaders in D&I continues to come under the microscope. 60 percent of respondents believed that employees in leadership positions were biased when promoting others who look, think or act like them, while 59 percent felt this way about hiring processes.
This perception is further cemented by 72 percent of respondents who believe that unconscious bias training for leadership has a direct positive impact on the hiring of more diverse talent. However, only 49 percent of organisations in Asia provided such training – a figure skewed by the high 64 percent in Mainland China.
