As the labor market continues to tighten companies are finding the need to appeal to as many candidates as possible. Part of this means ensuring that their workplace culture attracts and retains diverse talent. To that end, many large companies have started employing professionals that specialize in diversity and inclusion initiatives.
With Indeed data we can see just how demand for these professionals has changed in recent years, and also how job seekers’ interest has evolved as well. We find that employer demand for these roles has jumped substantially in the past two years, while job seeker interest has climbed more steadily.
As of February of 2018, diversity and inclusion postings, as a share of all postings in Indeed, are up 18% from the previous year and 35% higher than levels from two years past. These postings fluctuated around the same level from 2014 through 2016. However, in early 2017 postings hit a historical high, and after slumping later in 2017 rose to another high at the turn of the year. Emphasis on diverse and inclusive work environments has been growing for some now. While it is difficult to point to one particular event behind the spurt in employer demand, growing awareness could be responsible for the ascent in postings.
On the job seeker side, searches for diversity and inclusion jobs have grown more slowly and steadily in recent years. Searches for diversity and inclusion positions, as a share of all searches on the site, have been on an upward trend since 2015. As of January 2018, searches are only up about 8% over the past two years.
Whatever the cause for the recent, dramatic rise in employer demand for diversity and inclusion roles, the good news is that job seeker interest in these roles has consistently escalated over the past several years.
