Education emerges as an influential factor in how southwestern Pennsylvania residents who took the Pittsburgh Regional Diversity Survey view matters related to diversity in the region and their place of employment.
In the workplace
Survey respondents with higher levels of education are much more likely than those with no more than a high school degree to see value in a diverse workforce. Some 68 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree believe it has value, as do 72 percent of those with a master’s and 72 percent of those with a Ph.D. Only 55 percent of those with a high school degree or less agree.
But residents with a bachelor’s or higher degree are less likely to think highly of the level of diversity they encounter at work or their employer’s efforts to improve it.
For example, 66 percent of workers with a high school education or less see their employers as “very committed” to hiring racial and ethnic minorities. Fewer than 52 percent of workers with a bachelor’s degree, 45 percent of workers with a master’s and 44 percent of those with a Ph.D. share that view.
Similar patterns are seen when workers rate their employer’s commitment to promoting and advancing the careers of minorities and to promoting a generally diverse workforce, as well as their supervisor’s commitment to increasing racial and ethnic diversity.
And the greater their education, the less likely workers are to see their place of employment as “very diverse.” Those who describe it as such range from 50 percent of workers with a high school degree or less to only 22 percent of workers with doctorates.
Workers with a high school education or less are the least likely to receive diversity training, and to know whether their employer has diversity policies and practices or offers diversity-related affinity groups. They also have the highest job satisfaction rate across all education levels.
In the community
The divide of education is just as dramatic in how residents view diversity in the region and their neighborhoods.
More than 42 percent of those with a high school degree or less feel strongly that southwestern Pennsylvania is a place that welcomes and embraces racial and ethnic minorities. But that view is shared by fewer than 22 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree agree, 15 percent of those with a master’s and only 13 percent of residents with a doctorate.
And the more educated they are, the less likely they see southwestern Pennsylvania as more welcoming than other places they’ve lived. Nearly 76 percent of residents with a high school degree or less believe it is more welcoming. By comparison, 61 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree, 60 percent of those with a master’s and 58 percent of those with a Ph.D. agree.
Education also appears to influence views on the importance of living in a diverse neighborhood. For example, only 19 percent of those with no more than a high school degree think it’s “very important” to do so compared with more than 30 percent of residents with a doctorate. Yet, those with a high school education or less are the most likely to live in diverse neighborhoods.
To view a PDF version of the report, click here. To view the complete survey data by category, click here. Separate sections of the report are listed below.