Project Summary
Work Equity partnered with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley to conduct the Boston Workplace Equity Study. The mission of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley is “… to create positive, lasting change for people in need. We call it harnessing the power of people working together. And that means everyone – individuals, nonprofits, companies, and government agencies. We work everyday to achieve our vision and mission by focusing on two foundations of better lives: Financial Opportunity and Educational Success.”
Approach
Working in Partnership with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, Work Equity at the Boston College Center for Social Innovation invited leaders from for-profit (n = 298) and non-profit (n = 733) organizations to respond to the Workplace Equity Survey in September and October of 2021.
Key informants (one per organization) from 178 organizations completed the survey for a response rate of 17%. 87% of the organizations were nonprofit, 3% were government public agencies, 7% were for profit, and the remainder were “other” types of organizations.
The Boston Workplace Equity survey included questions about a number of important issues, including the pressures on their organizations, the perceived equity of their organizational systems, the availability of flexible job structures which employees might be able to use? as they adjust to the volatile business environment, and organizational resilience.This research highlights focuses on the respondents’ perspectives about equity at the workplace.
Key Findings
The findings of the Workplace Equity Study provide evidence that high percentages of organizations who responded to the survey have adopted strategies and tactics to create and sustain equity at the workplace.
The respondents reported that two dimensions of the equity of organizational systems – “Relationships” (2 items) and “Performance/Promotion/ Reward/Recognition” (2 items) were strong components of equity at their workplaces. This finding offers some insight about “levers” that employers might use to strengthen overall equity.
Comparatively low percentages of the respondents indicated rated “Communications” as a strength. Employers might find it possible to introduce innovations that augment internal communications related to equity-related policies and procedures as well as the equity of access that employees have to flexible job structures.
