Now in its fourth year, The Workplace Equality Survey is carried out by Matrix Recruitment. The 2021 survey of more than 1,100 adults covers a wide range of workplace issues including discrimination, racism, gender pay gaps and the pandemic’s impact on the world of work.
Despite the huge numbers working remotely over the past 18 months, results from the survey highlighted that 46% of workers have experienced some form of workplace discrimination (compared to 38% in 2020). Almost one in five workers have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
The findings also highlighted that 50% of adults believe that Ireland has an issue with racism in the workplace, up from 43% in 2020. The majority of respondents (60%) also stated that ethnic minorities have fewer promotional opportunities than their colleagues. Almost all respondents, (88%) said that employers have a responsibility to their staff to offer training on issues relating to equality and discrimination.
Primarily affecting women and minorities, the glass ceiling is a metaphoric barrier that prevents professional advancement, and according to the Matrix Recruitment survey, 74% of people in Ireland believe that it exists for women, however of those, 45% said that things are improving slowing.
More than one in four (28%) said that a glass ceiling for women existed in their workplace, up 7% on last year’s survey. When it came to promotional opportunities in the workplace. More than half (53%) said men had more opportunities for promotion and 43% said it was an equal playing field.
Joanne Foley of Matrix Recruitment said “Over the past four years of our Workplace Equality Survey, data indicates that professional prejudice against women is a problem. Unconscious bias has a huge part to play in inequality in general, and until unconscious bias training is made mandatory for managers and HR teams then the issues surrounding discrimination and the glass ceiling will continue,” .
