Diversity starts at home: Addressing the diversity dilemma within the Human Resources profession

Abstract

In many organizations, the Human Resources (HR) function is responsible for driving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with the goal of ensuring a workforce that is representative of the population, access to work that is fair and a culture where employees feel included and can belong. This study examines diversity, with a specific focus on the representation of various employee groups within the HR profession itself, focusing on the gender, ethnicity and age composition across various HR roles in the United States. A cross-sectional analysis of 3 million HR professional profiles reveals significant gender imbalance, with 68.2% of HR roles held by women, perpetuating stereotypes that associate HR with caregiving and potentially limiting male participation. Additionally, disparities in ethnic representation are evident, with the underrepresentation of Hispanic professionals and the overrepresentation of individuals of Asian descent, highlighting unequal access to HR careers. The study also identified a lack of representation in gender and age across all levels, which impedes advancement opportunities, particularly for minorities and women. These findings suggest that while HR advocates for DEI across organizations, its internal diversity efforts lag. While the dataset is limited to the HR workforce in the United States of America, the findings also hold relevance for European HR contexts, given shared DEI challenges and global professional standards. Addressing these issues requires targeted recruitment strategies, structured career development and mentorship programs to create a more diverse, equitable, and strategically capable HR workforce.

Keywords

diversity, equity, inclusion, Human Resources, gender stereotypes, career development, workforce diversity

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