At AgCareers.com we recognize that as agriculture itself has diversified, so has its workforce. In response, we conducted a survey to capture employer’s efforts to address diversity within their organizations. The results of the Workplace Diversity Survey-2018 U.S. Edition shares details on the current state of workplace diversity in agriculture.
While the survey results contain a wealth of valuable information and insight, there were a few key findings that really stood out.
● Females are represented as diverse talent at 83% of organizations.
● 67% of organizations reported more than one race is represented by their employees.
● Employers are not easily able to identify diversity that is not outwardly visible such as religion, sexual preference and nationality.
• Fifty-three percent of organizations indicated that their recruiting strategies are aimed at increasing the diversity represented in their organization.
• Nearly 60% of organizations noted their primary purpose for recruiting diverse candidates was to build an environment of diverse perspectives and experiences.
• The most prevalent challenge to recruiting diverse talent was the lack of diverse applicants, followed by location of jobs.
• Only 24% of organizations report having strategies aimed specifically at retaining a diverse workforce.
• Yet, 65% of organizations reported that they do not have trouble retaining diverse employees.
• Thirty-six percent of organizations provide diversity training for all employees.
While the term “diversity” has historically been used to reference differences in race, as evident by the survey results, a more modern definition would encompass a host of demographics, as well as diversity of thought and experiences.
Also, survey data lends to the consensus that typically, employers do not focus on the demographics of an individual, rather they are hiring the best candidate for the job and report that diversity happens naturally.
As with most anything involving human capital, there is room for improvement around diversity in agriculture as the industry strives to foster diverse workplaces. Consideration should be given as to how more diverse talent can be prepared to excel within higher level roles at their organization. Additionally, human resource professionals and organizational leaders can utilize this report to assess how they address workplace diversity challenges and opportunities.
For a copy of the full report, you can download from www.agcareers.com/reports.cfm or contact agcareers@agcareers.com.
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