Workplace diversity, equity and inclusion efforts (DEI) are increasingly becoming part of national political debates. For a majority of employed U.S. adults (56 percent), focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. But opinions about DEI vary considerably along demographic and political lines.

Most workers have some experience with DEI measures at their workplace. About six-in-ten (61 percent) say their company or organization has policies that ensure fairness in hiring, pay or promotions, and 52 percent say they have training or meetings on DEI at work.

Smaller shares say their workplace has a staff member who promotes DEI (33 percent), that their workplace offers salary transparency (30 percent), and that it has affinity groups or employee resource groups based on a shared identity (26 percent). Majorities of those who have access to these measures say each has had a positive impact where they work.

This nationally representative survey of 5,902 U.S. workers, including 4,744 who are not self-employed, was conducted Feb. 6-12, 2023.

Other key findings from the DEI study revealed:

  • Relatively small shares of workers place a lot of importance on diversity at their workplace. Only about three-in-ten say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (32 percent) or ages (28 percent). Approximately a quarter say the same about having a workplace with about an equal mix of men and women (26 percent) and 18 percent say this about a mix of employees of different sexual orientations.

  • More than half of workers (54 percent) say their company or organization pays about the right amount of attention to increasing DEI.

  • Women are more likely than men to value DEI at work.

  • There are wide partisan differences in views of workplace DEI.

  • Half of workers say it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities.

  • Many say being a man or being White is an advantage where they work.