Diverse employees are struggling the most during COVID-19—here’s how companies can respond New global research shows that despite companies’ recent efforts, diverse employees need more. Businesses should ask themselves new questions for a changed workplace. This article was a collaborative effort by Kweilin Ellingrud, Mekala Krishnan, Alexis Krivkovich, Kathryn Kukla, Ana Mendy, Nicole Robinson, Sandra Sancier-Sultan, and Lareina Yee. © Jules_Kitano/Getty Images November 2020 Almost a year into the COVID-19 crisis, employees heightened loss of connectivity and belonging. are still crying out for more support. Diverse This may contribute to the fact that LGBTQ+ groups—including women, LGBTQ+ employees, employees are more likely to report challenges people of color, but also working parents—are with mental-health issues. having the hardest time, both in the workplace and with balancing work and home life. In majority-white countries, people of color (POC) are especially worried about workplace health and To understand the challenges diverse employees safety, as well as career progression and balancing are grappling with in the COVID-19 environment, responsibilities at home. The disparity compared we recently conducted surveys and interviews and with their white counterparts is particularly stark for examined data across 11 developed and developing POC in the United States. countries (see sidebar, “Our survey methodology”).1 We discovered that workers across demographic What do these results mean for companies? We groups and geographies reported a remarkably find that employers are well aware of the challenges similar set of challenges related to mental health, facing employees, and that nearly all companies work–life balance, workplace health and safety, a have implemented COVID-19-specific policies and missing sense of connectivity and belonging with programming to support workforces during this colleagues, and concerns about job opportunities. unprecedented time. Many of these policies help address the specific challenges highlighted by However, there were also differences. The severity diverse employees. When we asked executives to and prevalence of these challenges, such as what degree their CEO prioritized diversity, equity, with mental health, were far higher in developing and inclusion (DEI) during the pandemic, nine out of countries than in developed nations. Among ten responded that even with the pressures of the diverse groups, these concerns were both higher crisis, DEI remains a moderate, very important, or in number and felt with greater urgency. Women in top priority. Furthermore, two out of five companies particular are worried about the health and safety globally are expanding their investments in DEI of on-site workplaces and mental-health issues. programs even as they make budget cuts elsewhere. They are also more concerned than men about increased household responsibilities—suggesting Still, nine out of ten executives we surveyed report that the stress of the “double shift” continues to challenges in executing their DEI strategies. be a gendered issue around the world. Women in Although companies have responded rapidly, emerging economies such as India and Brazil are employees—and in particular diverse employees two to three times more likely to report challenges and working parents—are still struggling with the as their peers in developed countries, suggesting multitude of challenges posed by the pandemic. The that gender and local context may have a result: only one in six diverse employees feels more compounding effect. supported now. Employees who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, Difficulties related to COVID-19 are unlikely to be transgender, queer, or gender nonbinary (LGBTQ+) resolved soon. For many of the 11 countries in our disproportionately fear losing ground at work and survey, coronavirus case counts are continuing to report feeling isolated. They report more acute rise, and companies are planning responses well work-related challenges than their straight and into 2021. Our survey shows that employees also cisgender peers, including workload increases expect the challenges we highlighted above to and stress over performance reviews, as well as a continue for months. 1 Countries covered by this research are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 2 Diverse employees are struggling the most during COVID-19—here’s how companies can respond Despite this sobering data, leaders now have an the health impacts of COVID-19 more acutely). opportunity to build a more equitable and inclusive Women are highly concentrated in sectors that are workplace that will strengthen their organizations expected to suffer high rates of unemployment in far beyond COVID-19. Businesses that seize the 2020, including hospitality, food services, and retail. moment will not only be better placed to support As of September 2020, only 53 percent of the US their employees but also will drive sustainable adult Black population was employed, compared business performance. with 57 percent of the corresponding white population,2 and 39 percent of jobs held by Black McKinsey research shows that companies in workers are vulnerable as a result of the COVID-19 the top quartile for diverse leadership teams crisis, compared with 34 percent for white workers. outperformed less diverse peers on profitability. Vulnerable jobs are subject to furloughs, layoffs, or Stalled progress on diversity will make a long and being rendered unproductive (for example, workers challenging road even tougher. It may also result kept on payroll but not working) during periods of in negative perception among customers, current high physical distancing. Similarly, 65 percent of employees, and potential talent who increasingly US Hispanics and Latinos work in the five sectors view diversity as a priority. And this may only that are suffering the largest drops in GDP during increase going forward—our 2019 Women in the the pandemic, including leisure and hospitality and Workplace research finds that younger generations retail trade. in particular are twice as likely to raise the need for DEI than older employees. Finally, the qualities Of those still working, mothers may be that characterize diverse and inclusive companies— disproportionately affected. For example, US notably innovation and resilience—will be crucial as mothers with young children have reduced their companies recover and transition to the next normal. work hours at a rate that is four to five times higher than fathers to take on childcare, homeschooling, In this article, we will dig deeper into our global and household responsibilities.3 US mothers are survey data to highlight key trends and concerns also 1.5 times more likely than fathers to spend an and pose questions companies should be asking extra three or more hours a day on housework and themselves about how to better serve diverse childcare—equivalent to 20 hours a week, or half employee populations through this crisis and a full-time job. In India, women report a 30 percent beyond it. increase in household responsibilities.4 Our recent Women in the Workplace 2020 report The COVID-19 crisis and confirmed that in the United States and Canada, diverse employees the burden of this double shift has led one in four women in corporate jobs to consider downshifting The pandemic has amplified earlier inequities her career or leaving the workforce. Even before the pandemic began, progress on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Everyone is struggling, but some more workplace and the economy as a whole had been than others slow. Historical challenges for diverse groups have The crisis is hitting emerging economies the only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. hardest. All employees are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis and report an array of challenges We focus here on impacts in the workforce (though in their lives, particularly in the areas of mental some diverse populations may also be experiencing and physical health, concerns around workload 2 “The employment situation – September 2020,” US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2020, bls.gov. 3 Caitlyn Collins, et al., “COVID-19 and the gender gap in work hours,” Gender, Work & Organization, July 2020, onlinelibrary.wiley.com. 4 Roopa Purushothaman, et al., “Opening with care,” Hindustan Times, June 19, 2020, hindustantimes.com. Diverse employees are struggling the most during COVID-19—here’s how companies can respond 3 Our survey methodology To understand and quantify the variations companies with the same revenues and significant differences in responses cited in employee experiences during the pan- employee size as listed above. The survey by various respondent subgroups (for ex- demic—and how companies are and should also spanned the same countries previously ample, working mothers, LGBTQ+ people) be responding to those needs—McKinsey listed. Of the employee respondents, we applied a two-tailed chi-squared test. recently conducted global surveys with 22 percent of the sample were US-based 1,122 executives and 2,656 employees and 7 percent were part-time employees. To aggregate results globally or by region across 11 countries. from our employee survey, we weighted We examined impacts of COVID-19 on responses for each employee category in The executive survey was in the field from various employee segments: women, a country (for example, women or working August 19