Minorities unfairly targeted for layoffs says

Minorities unfairly targeted for layoffs says workplacediversity.com survey

Diversity initiatives have not affected the belief that minorities are the last hired and first fired, according to a recent survey by WorkplaceDiversity.com, a job search web site for experienced diversity talent.


Answered by people who visited www.WorkplaceDiversity.com in December, the survey found that 72 percent of respondents believe that minorities are unfairly targeted for layoffs. Fifty-nine percent gave racial and gender bias
as the primary reason for the unfair treatment, followed by the lack of minorities in decision-making positions. In addition, nearly 70 percent of respondents believe that ethnicity and gender are disadvantages in seeking
employment in this current job market.

One possible reason for the belief that minorities are unfairly targeted is that organizations' diversity initiatives and goals may still be unclear to
employees. According to the WorkplaceDiversity.com survey, 76 percent of respondents indicated that employers do not have clearly defined or communicated equal opportunity or workplace diversity programs.

In this economy, employers must do a better job of showing employees and the public that layoff decisions are based on sound financial reasons and not race or gender, said Dan Honig, chief operating officer of WorkplaceDiversity.com. Despite diversity initiatives, people still believe that minorities are the last hired and first fired. Added Honig, Companies must further support and empower their diversity departments to enable them
to better communicate the commitment to workplace diversity and make employees more aware of the programs that will make that commitment a reality. Otherwise, said Honig, companies may make themselves vulnerable to even lower employee morale or possible discrimination
lawsuits.