Omaha organizations have a long way to go when it comes to creating diverse and inclusive work environments, according to a recent assessment by University of Nebraska at Omaha researchers.
Emily Adams is an Industrial/Organizational Psychology student who worked on the assessment, which measured diversity and equity at nearly 40 Omaha organizations.
She tells NET News the study uncovered multiple indicators of non-representative workplaces, incluing that Black workers, who make up 7% of individual contributor level jobs, only make up around 3% of management-level positions.
"So you’d expect that if a group represents 7% of the individual contributor level, they’d probably also represent about 7% of the management level and then again 7% at the executive level,” Adams said. “But we don’t see that same kind of equal representation as we move up those levels.”
The study found the same under-representation for women, other people of color and gender minorities.
It was conducted as part of a Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s commitment to Opportunity, Diversity, and Equity or C.O.D.E initiative.