Ellevate Impact Survey: Diversity and Inclusion

The Ellevate Impact Survey is an annual survey of the members of the Ellevate community. You are reading "Section 5: Diversity and, for more information on other sections of the survey you can navigate here:

1. Results from Women Employees
2. Results from Business Owners
3. Thought Leadership
4. Board Leadership
5. Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion

We believe that companies and the economy perform better when women are engaged. We believe that diversity drives innovation, creativity, and better results. And the research backs this up. As part of our mission, we work closely with companies to further their diversity efforts from just “checking the diversity box” to actionable and sustainable solutions that are good for their business.

Almost half of the companies Ellevate members work for have internal women’s groups, and 4% of members in corporations say they don’t know if their companies have an employee resource group for women.

When it comes to how their companies manage diversity, women in the Ellevate community are, for the most part (47%), “somewhat satisfied.” 28% say their companies do a great job, and 20% are not satisfied at all. The biggest reasons for dissatisfaction are that there “hasn’t been much change in the gender breakdown of the higher ranks,” there is “a lot of talk and not much action,” and companies are still not fully implementing family-friendly policies like flexible work and parental leave.

[Related: Nearly Half of Our Members Think Negatively of Perks like Egg Freezing]

Although this pattern is consistent by industry, there are a few outliers. Women in management consulting, HR and staffing, and non-profit and philanthropy are the most dissatisfied with how their organizations manage diversity. Women in healthcare are the least familiar with their company's diversity initiatives, with 21% not knowing what their companies do in respect to this topic. It’s interesting to note that HR and staffing professionals are the most divisive in their opinions; a third of these women say they aren’t satisfied with their company's’ diversity initiatives, but 41% say their companies do a great job.

Creating Change

55% of Ellevate Members say Equal Pay and the gender achievement gap are the most important issues that need to be addressed regarding women. They believe the most impactful way of closing the gender achievement gap is by providing women with the network and resources they need to get to leadership positions. The next most popular choices to achieve this included “working with women who are in leadership positions to drive change within their business” and “working with companies to promote diversity internally and have transparent reporting.”

About the Ellevate Impact Survey:

The annual Ellevate Impact Survey is a compilation of the accomplishments of the Ellevate community. Every year, we survey hundreds of professional women who are leading the charge in their fields or making their way up the ranks. We do this for several reasons:

1. We believe women are an awesome force and we want to prove it.
2. We want to put to rest the idea that women aren’t ambitious and don’t want to get to the top.
3. We want to provide inspiration to all professional women out there who want to get ahead in their careers.
4. We want to show how industries, stages in your careers, and job functions, affect your career development and career priorities.

And yes, we want to brag about the fantastic women in our Network.

Read what women who work in companies, nonprofits, or the public sector and business owners had to say.