As The Economist kicks off its global summit on LGBT rights in the workplace, new research yields insights about which employee groups are best poised to drive positive change
NEW YORK, March 16, 2017—Today, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) unveiled a snapshot of its latest research around the status of LGBT people in the business world. The report, entitled Pride and Prejudice: Agents of change, is being released in conjunction with The Economist Events’ second annual Pride & Prejudice Summit, a global 24-hour event being held on March 23rd in Hong Kong, London and New York. Participants will include key speakers from companies including IBM, TD Bank, Warby Parker, Goldman Sachs, Anheuser Busch, Prezi, and other high-profile government officials.
The Agents of change report, aligned to many of the topics being debated at the summit, was based on a global survey of more than 1,000 executives. Among its findings:
- When asked to identify which employee cohort is most likely to guide company thinking on LGBT diversity and inclusion, respondents chose young employees and the C-suite as the top two groups, with 27 percent and 24 percent, respectively
- Yet, only 16 percent chose the C-suite as the group most likely to support LGBT workplace diversity and inclusion, ranking this group a distant fourth place
- 40 percent of junior staff said they don’t know who guides company thinking on LGBT diversity and inclusion, while only 16 percent of C-suite respondents said they don’t know
- 33 percent of C-suite members—versus only 13 percent of junior workers—said broader company leadership is most eager to support LGBT workplace diversity and inclusion
- 37 percent of millennials believe there is a potential ROI/business opportunity in enacting LGBT-friendly workplace policies and practices—eight points higher than average
“The results indicate that there is a gap between the views of company leaders and the messages reaching lower-level workers—one that even the most inclusion-minded bosses may struggle to bridge,” says Michael Gold, EIU editor and author of the report. “Young workers are particularly keen on diversity and inclusion and want their companies to be too, from the top leadership on down.”
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s analysis of the survey findings has led to the creation of a suggested framework for achieving positive change for LGBT employees through three workplace groups: C-suite leaders, young people and women.
“We look forward to releasing the complete report around these findings on March 23 during the Pride & Prejudice event,” says Mr Gold.
For more information on The Economist Intelligence Unit’s report Pride and Prejudice: Agents of change, visit www.eiu.com.
For more information and updates on Pride and Prejudice or to register for the summit, visit pride.economist.com.
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About The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. The Economist Intelligence Unit helps executives make better decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information can be found at www.eiu.com.
About The Economist Events
We gather the world’s top thinkers to build insight and exchange views on the issues that define our world. With a uniquely global perspective, we create over 100 unusually high-level and engaging live and virtual events each year. Our aim is to bring clarity to complex problems, inspire ideas and to help our audiences make better decisions.
