Top Diversity and Inclusion Executives Weigh in on the Presidential Candidates’ Economic Platforms

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Forte Group of Companies today released results of a Diversity Axiom Survey conducted online by True Blue Inclusion from October 2 to 9, 2012, probing how the upcoming election is expected to impact a variety of hot-button issues, with sometimes unexpected results. In this first-in-a-series survey, leading executives in the diversity and inclusion (D&I) field serving U.S. corporations and government entities were asked to weigh in on topics from home ownership, to infrastructure spend, to pay disparity and affordable healthcare.

“ForteLeadership released this study as part of our commitment to increasing bipartisan dialogue and collaboration around issues of critical importance to businesses and organizations today. We believe the perspectives of this group of D&I professionals are an important part of the ongoing dialogue”

Catherine Cornelius Smith, president of True Blue Inclusion and a senior ForteLeadership (www.forteleadership.com) advisor noted, “Chief Diversity Officers in companies often constitute an important voice of advocacy for a diverse and culturally rich group of constituents who are anxious to be heard not only in their organizations but also in the public square. Consequently, the Diversity Axiom Survey represents not only the candid opinions and rich insights of respected diversity professionals, but in large measure, the global corporate communities they represent and serve."

Given their roles, these professionals are more likely to have strong expectations for the Democratic platform when it comes to issues of social importance. To confirm this, or uncover any hints of doubt, respondents rated seven statements with diversity and inclusion implications on a scale of one to five, with one representing “not at all” and five representing “extremely well.” For the most part, the survey supported what had been anticipated, with stronger four and five ratings in all areas for the Democratic versus Republican platform. At the same time, there were some unexpected doubts among members of this group in five of the seven topics covered. These corresponding charts tell the story:


		Republican Party
	Not				Extremely
	at all				Well
	1	2	3	4	5

Expand job opportunities across America's diversity spectrum.	30.9%	39.2%	18.6%	6.2%	5.2%

Provide a fair and equitable Federal tax code.	39.8%	36.6%	18.3%	3.2%	2.2%

Reduce the pay disparity between men and women.	47.3%	34.1%	13.2%	2.2%	3.3%

Make healthcare more available and affordable for those now without.	65.1%	24.4%	5.8%	3.5%	1.2%

Make the American Dream of home ownership more affordable and accessible.	27.5%	48.4%	15.4%	7.7%	1.1%

Expand access and boost completion of higher education for all.	32.6%	44.6%	12.0%	9.8%	1.1%

Spend on infrastructure that serves everyone.	29.3%	40.2%	21.7%	7.6%	1.1%

Key Republican Party Take-Away: When asked to rate the Republican platform on seven social issue statements, the survey’s D&I respondents appear to have low expectations. For this party, their ratings skew to the lower “1” and “2” side of the chart.


		Democratic Party
	Not				Extremely
	at all				Well
	1	2	3	4	5

Expand job opportunities across America's diversity spectrum.	2.1%	6.3%	25.3%	40.0%	5.2%

Provide a fair and equitable Federal tax code.	3.2%	7.5%	29.0%	47.3%	2.2%

Reduce the pay disparity between men and women.	0.0%	13.2%	24.2%	37.4%	3.3%

Make healthcare more available and affordable for those now without.	2.3%	5.8%	17.4%	32.6%	1.2%

Make the American Dream of home ownership more affordable and accessible.	4.4%	17.6%	30.8%	30.8%	1.1%

Expand access and boost completion of higher education for all.	1.1%	8.7%	17.4%	39.1%	1.1%

Spend on infrastructure that serves everyone.	2.2%	6.5%	22.8%	44.6%	1.1%

Key Democratic Party Take-Away: Overall, the survey respondents seem to have quite a different view when asked to rate the same statements from the vantage of the Democratic platform. Here, ratings skew toward the higher side of the chart, indicating far stronger expectations.

But five of the statement ratings revealed some possible D&I doubts

Roughly one-third of respondents provided just a one, two or three rating related to job expansion, suggesting some concerns about prospects for the future.

Forty percent appeared unable to provide more than a one, two or three rating with respect to a fair and equitable Federal tax code.

Regarding pay disparity between men and women, around 25% gave the Democrats a mid-range three and another 13% provided a lower rating of two.

Approximately one in four respondents offered lower marks of one, two or three in regard to healthcare affordability and availability.

And based upon combined ratings of one, two and three, a little more than one-half seem to expect the party’s plan to underachieve in the area of home ownership.

“It is important to recognize that respondents’ underlying reasons for their ratings cannot be construed from the data. While the ratings may have to do with party policies, they could also be related to concerns such as partisan gridlock,” noted Smith.

“ForteLeadership released this study as part of our commitment to increasing bipartisan dialogue and collaboration around issues of critical importance to businesses and organizations today. We believe the perspectives of this group of D&I professionals are an important part of the ongoing dialogue,” said Laura Drexel (www.forteleadership.com/node/7), CEO of the Forte Group of Companies.

Forte has headquarters in Philadelphia with offices in Washington, D.C. and New York. For more information about the Forte Group of Companies and how to join The Forte Executive Network, please visit the Forte Executive Network preview page (www.forteleadership.com/resources/executive-network-special-preview).

About The Diversity Axiom Survey and True Blue Inclusion: True Blue Inclusion is a global diversity & inclusion firm dedicated to empowering chief diversity, ethics, talent and social responsibility leaders to do extraordinary things as they impact their organizations and the planet. This pre-election survey, the first in a series, was conducted online between October 2 and 9, 2012 using the Survey Gizmo software tool. Survey respondents, invited to participate via emails from True Blue Inclusion, included 86 corporate executives responsible for critical diversity and inclusion initiatives across a wide range of U.S. businesses and in government. Clicking on a link in the email, these respondents were presented with seven statements with diversity and inclusion implications for the nation's citizenry and asked to rate, using a five-point scale, how well they expected the Republican versus Democratic Party's economic platform to address each. No estimates of sampling error were calculated because the population invited to participate in this survey is comprised of a professional community with a deeply shared understanding and mission.

About Forte: The Forte Group of Companies serves senior executives in business and government organizations throughout the world by providing leadership development, change management strategies, executive advisory services, and interim placement in times of change, transition, or crisis. ForteLeadership’s mission is to provide these services within the private sector as well as to non-profit organizations. ForteGov’s mission is to serve clients inside or seeking relationships with the U.S. government and military and is a Certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business. The Forte Executive Network is a private communications platform whose members are selected from among a diverse group of highly respected business thought leaders. The Network was designed to foster a free exchange of ideas and content among peers to encourage knowledge sharing to address common challenges. The Forte Executive Network spans both live meeting services such as roundtables and one-to-one coaching as well as cloud-based services including a searchable content library, live webinars and the ability for our members to ask questions and receive answers from designated member experts. Please follow the link for more information on the full range of Forte services (www.forteleadership.com/services).