"[The survey indicates] that companies need to do a better job of integrating diversity into every aspect of their operations"
 

One out of five (20 percent) U.S. workers claims that racial or ethnic discrimination exists in the workplace, according to a national survey by Hudson, reporting that they know of someone who has been denied a job, increased pay or promotion because of their ethnicity. That figure jumps to 31 percent for African-American workers, yet drops to 18 percent among white employees.

Further, nearly one out of four (23 percent) workers reports that they know someone who has been adversely affected at work because of their gender. While women are more likely than men to make this gender discrimination claim, African-American workers are more inclined to state this than women or other employee segments.

Additionally, almost one-quarter (23 percent) of employees polled report that they work for firms that do not actively promote diversity, with another 13 percent not sure if their firm has a formal diversity program.

Among the 64 percent of workers whose employers actively promote diversity, 18 percent state they know someone who has been discriminated against because of race or ethnicity and 20 percent state they know someone who has been discriminated against because of gender. Those figures increase to 29 percent and 32 percent, respectively, when looking at respondents working for companies without corporate diversity initiatives. Employees working for larger companies (over 500 employees) are the most likely (76 percent) to report that their organization promotes gender and ethnic diversity in the workplace.

"The Hudson survey demonstrates that diversity initiatives that were once perceived as 'soft' and 'expendable' play an increasingly significant role in corporate America," says Billy Dexter, president, Hudson Inclusion Solutions. "But despite this, many workers are not convinced of the effectiveness of their employers' efforts, indicating that companies need to do a better job of integrating diversity into every aspect of their operations."

* The data gathered from this survey is solely based on the responses to the questions in this survey.

The Hudson diversity survey is based on a national poll of 1,878 U.S. workers and was compiled by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm.