The Pittsburgh Regional Diversity Survey asked southwestern Pennsylvania residents for their views on diversity in the workplace, region and their neighborhood. Of the 3,553 people who took the online survey, 78 percent are white, 13.2 percent are African American, 3.9 percent are Hispanic, 2.9 percent are Asian and 2.1 percent are of mixed race. Here are the key findings:
- Overall, 68 percent of all residents surveyed "strongly agree" there is value in a diverse workplace. But an opinion gap exists along racial lines: 80 percent of minorities strongly agree a diverse workplace has value compared with fewer than 64 percent of white workers.
- Fewer than 30 percent of workers describe their workplace as "very diverse." White workers are almost twice as likely as minorities to describe workplaces as "very diverse."
- Only half of workers overall describe their employer as being very committed to hiring minority workers. And only 42 percent see their employers as being very committed to advancing and promoting minority workers.
- Minorities are much less likely to hold their employer's commitment to diversity in high regard. For example, 55 percent of white workers feel their employer is very committed to hiring minorities while 34 percent of minority workers say the same about their employer.
- 73 percent of white workers say their race isn't a factor in getting a promotion while only 51 percent of minorities agree. And 31 percent of minorities see their race and ethnicity as a disadvantage in such decisions; only 13 percent of whites feel the same way.
- More than 86 percent of workers overall are satisfied to some degree with their job. But while 52 percent of white workers are very satisfied with their job, only 34 percent of minority workers feel the same way about theirs.