59% say their employer made an effort to build more inclusive workplace culture.
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ (September 10, 2020) New Jerseyans, as a whole, very strongly believe their employers should play a role in promoting racial equity, with 74% saying yes and only 19% saying no, according to the fifth annual New Jersey State of Diversity SM Survey, commissioned by Taft Communications and the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA).
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Opinions did diverge sharply by political affiliation: 87% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans said their employers should play a role in promoting racial equity.
There were only small differences of opinion by race, age, or gender.
“As the national dialogue around racial justice and equity continues, this aspect of the poll provides clear evidence that employees see their employers playing a role,” said Taft President Ted Deutsch. “New Jersey employees want their employers to take action to build a more inclusive workplace culture. While it is complicated to navigate the most effective way to do so, and how to talk about this challenging issue, many employers are answering the call.”
“Leaving it solely up to government to come up with solutions to racial inequality is unworkable, and people across the Garden State want the private sector to play their part as well,” said Krista Jenkins, director of the poll and a professor of politics and government at FDU. “The strong support we see today is testament to belief that a multifaceted approach to racial equality is needed.”
Click to tweet: In light of recent events related to racism and inequality in the U.S., a new @FDUPoll survey from @taftcomms & @NJBIA sought information on various ways that New Jersey employers are responding. See the results: http://ow.ly/8OYD50BmoIm #diversity #racialequality
Click to tweet“This response fortunately is very much in line with businesses we hear from who are looking to take a proactive approach to champion racial equity, both in and out of the workplace,” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka. “NJBIA continues to work with businesses on such best practices through our Diversity and Inclusion Council, which generates a good exchange of ideas on this very subject.”
Since 2016, Taft has polled New Jerseyans to gain insights into the day-to-day reality of and public attitudes toward diversity in the state. This year’s poll was developed in conjunction with the NJBIA and conducted by the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll. The survey, fielded from June 18 to 29, is based on the responses of 506 randomly selected working adults in New Jersey.
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In light of recent events related to racism and inequality in the United States, the survey of working New Jerseyans sought information on various ways that New Jersey employers are responding.
- 59% of those surveyed said their employer made an effort to build a more inclusive workplace culture.
- 51% said their employer made a public statement about the importance of racial equality.
- 44% said their employee made a public commitment to increase efforts toward diversity in hiring.
- 24% said their employer made a financial donation to an organization that promotes racial equality.
Full 2020 poll results are available here. You can also view the results of the Taft New Jersey State of Diversity surveys from 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.
Methodology
This survey was conducted by the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll. Respondents were randomly contacted via cellular and landline telephones June 18-29, 2020, and those who indicated full-time or part-time employment were asked the questions highlighted in this release. Results have a margin of sampling error of +/- 5.2 points, including the design effect, for the 506 respondents included in this study.
About the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll
