In October, Circa met with members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to discuss topics of importance to employers.
To prepare for the meeting, Circa polled its sphere of influence to gain insights into trends and topics of importance. Out of the slate of 10 proposed topics to those surveyed, the top priority of concerns for employers as ranked are:
- Workforce diversification and inclusion
- Pay equity analysis
- DEI training
- Addressing system barriers through equity initiatives
- Artificial intelligence in the hiring process
- Nondiscrimination in selection, hiring and other employment decisions
- Managing workplace disability accommodations
- Managing religious and medical exemption requests during COVID
- EEO demographic and pay data collections
- Dealing with violence, hatred, and bias in the workplace against underrepresented groups
Surveyed audience demographics
About half of the respondents were federal contractors with 51% having 50-1000 employees and 40% having more than 1000. Sixty-three percent are employed in HR, talent acquisition, compliance, and/or DEI. Most respondents were between 35-54 and 60% were white, with 25% minority representation and 18% having a disability.
A few survey comments shared
- Are the descriptions used for race and gender appropriate for the current generation? When will they be updated to reflect the blending of society and non-binary peoples?
- Too much focus on trying to fill a quota and less focus on competency. There should be equality of opportunities, not equality of results.
- How can we best educate executives on the ROI of pay equity and a diverse workforce?
Circa anticipates continuing to meet with EEOC to bring forth the voice of its employer audiences to support equal and fair employment in the US.
Cathy Hill
Vice President, Marketing
Circa
