Despite corporate efforts to improve diversity and inclusion,there's still a lot of work to be done. That's according toCultureAmp's report "Workplace Diversity, Inclusion, andIntersectionality," which finds that although diversity has led togrowth in talent pools, new perspectives, innovation, and betterperformance and profits, many companies have a long way togo to achieve anything close to workforce equality.

It should come as no surprise that straight white men continueto hold all the cards when it comes to businesses' decision-making.Fifty-seven percent of Latinx women and 56 percent of black womensay their views are not taken into account in decision-makingprocesses at work, with just 43 percent of the former and 44percent of the latter even feeling comfortable speaking up at work.By comparison, 69 percent of white males say they feel comfortablespeaking up.

It goes further than that, however. Only 60 percent of black andLatinx women believe that they can voice their opinion withoutnegative consequences—and just 54 percent of black women believethey have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Race is not the only factor driving inequality; disparitiesexist among age groups and between the sexes. Generation Z islikely to become the most diverse generation yet, especially as thepopulation ages. More straight white men are exiting the workforcetoday than entering it.

Parenthood experiences also divide the workforce, with nearlytwice as many men with children at work as women with children.According to the report, this finding raises questions about whatchoices women are making—"the notion that new mothers are optingout of returning to work after giving birth, due to a lack ofunderstanding of the differences between men and women in theworkforce."

Motherhood is a dividing factor not only between men and women,but also among women of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Saysthe report, "a 31-year-old white woman with no children will likelyhave a very different experience to a 42-year-old black woman withtwo children."

Identifying these differences so that companies can act on themis key to improving both inclusion and diversity at work, but thereis still much to be done to achieve equality.

From: BenefitsPro