McKinsey’s research has shown that diversity can help organizations increase innovation, reconsider entrenched ways of thinking, and improve financial performance.  Organizations can take full advantage of the perspectives of a diverse workforce only if leaders and employees enjoy a sense of inclusion, which we define as the degree to which an individual feels that their authentic selves are welcomed at work, enabling them to contribute in a meaningful and deliberate manner. We also know from our work that individuals’ sense of inclusion is influenced by their experiences with the organization as a whole, the organization’s leaders, and peers or team members. For our recent McKinsey Global Survey on the topic,  we approximated inclusion by combin­ing survey respondents’ reported feelings of authenticity, belonging, and comfort participating in the workplace.  Our survey research finds that respondents of all backgrounds encounter barriers to feeling included—and that women, respondents who are ethnic and racial minorities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ encounter additional challenges.

Analysis of the survey results, which were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic and before events in the United States spurred conversations around the world about racial justice and equity, shows that respondents who feel very included in their organizations are nearly three times more likely than their peers to feel excited by and committed to their organizations. What’s more, respondents from all demographics say they have taken organizations’ inclusiveness into account when making career decisions and would like their organizations to do more to foster inclusion and diversity. While leaders may have shifted their focus to urgent strategic needs amid the pandemic, organizations can consider using this time of historic disruption and heightened discourse about injustice to advance inclusion and diversity rather than allowing these priorities to recede. For those seeking to create a more inclusive workplace, the survey results point to specific factors that organizations can address.

Many do not feel a strong sense of inclusion and report barriers to achieving it

According to our latest findings, many employees have considered organizations’ inclusiveness while making career decisions, yet almost half of all respondents do not feel very included at their organizations. Most respondents, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, say they encounter barriers to a sense of inclusion.

A look at demographic segments of the workforce suggests that certain employees are especially prone to feeling less included (Exhibit 1). Entry-level employees through senior managers make up one such group; they are much less likely than senior leaders to report a strong sense of inclusion. Also, the women who responded to our survey are less likely than the men to indicate that they feel a strong sense of inclusion. While LGBTQ+ respondents’ degree of inclusion appears to be a bright spot, this finding is likely influenced by that sample skewing toward more senior employees.  

A sense of inclusion is strongly linked with employee engagement. Respondents who feel very included are much more likely than others to say they feel fully engaged—that is, excited by and committed to their organizations. Among respondents who feel very included, nearly three-quarters say they are entirely engaged. By comparison, just one-quarter of respondents who do not feel very included say they are completely engaged with their organizations. Furthermore, respondents who feel very included are 1.5 times more likely than others to believe their career advancement is outpacing their peers’.

Responses suggest that an inclusive environment, in which employees feel strong positive bonds that enable better performance, is an important con­sideration for employees as they plan their careers. Thirty-nine percent of all respondents say they have turned down or decided not to pursue a job because of a perceived lack of inclusion at an organization (Exhibit 2). LGBTQ+ and racial- or ethnic-minority respondents are more likely than others to report choosing not to pursue a job for this reason. Even still, among respondents who do not identify as LGBTQ+ or as ethnic or racial minorities, 38 percent say they have made such a decision.

Overall, respondents often indicate that their organizations should do more to build inclusion in the workforce. Thirty-five percent of respondents say their organizations put too little effort into creating a diverse, inclusive environment. By comparison, just 6 percent say too much is being done.

The results also point to several issues that might hinder respondents’ sense of inclusion. One is a disconnect between the individual capabilities that employees value most and their perception of which capabilities matter most to their organizations. When asked to identify the leadership competencies they and their organizations value most, 37 percent of respondents say the one that is most important to them is not among the three most valued by their organizations. This mismatch is associated with feeling less included, but primarily among women. Women respondents are much less likely than men—and also less likely than respondents in the other demographic categories—to feel very included if they view their top competency as not being among those their organizations value most (Exhibit 3).

Additionally, the survey found that 84 percent of all respondents have experienced workplace micro­aggressions, which are everyday slights rooted in bias. In every subgroup—by gender, gender identity, minority status, or sexual orientation—more than eight in ten respondents report these indignities. For example, more than a quarter say they have needed to correct others’ assumptions about their personal lives. Those who say they aren’t sure whether they have experienced any of the microaggressions we asked about are significantly more likely to feel very included than respondents who report experiencing one or more. Respondents who have experienced more than one of these microaggressions are even less likely to feel included than those who report just one.