{"id":104306,"date":"2022-12-22T21:30:17","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T21:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/resourcesandtools\/hr-topics\/behavioral-competencies\/global-and-cultural-effectiveness\/pages\/dei-in-2022-women-rights-lgbtq-support-dominate-news.aspx"},"modified":"2022-12-22T21:30:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T21:30:17","slug":"dei-in-2022-womens-issues-lgbtq-rights-dominate-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/squarehr.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/22\/dei-in-2022-womens-issues-lgbtq-rights-dominate-news\/","title":{"rendered":"DE&I in 2022: Women\u2019s Issues, LGBTQ Rights Dominate News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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?In 2022, employers continued focusing on enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts\u2014 although still hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Companies learned what younger workers want from their workplaces, pay inequity continued to plague women of color<\/a>, a major university launched a DE&I major<\/a> and research offered an unfiltered view of the state of DE&I at work.<\/p>\n

Here’s how DE&I influenced the workplace in 2022.<\/p>\n

Federal Government Prioritized DE&I<\/p>\n

During his State of the Union address in January, President Joe Biden implored Congress to pass the Equality Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The bill would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit checks and jury service. The bill remains with the Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

Later that month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs launched a joint program, the Hiring Initiative to Reimagine Equity<\/a>, to promote hiring and recruiting practices that enhance equal employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

The EEOC also held meetings to discuss issues such as how to avoid hiring discrimination when using AI<\/a>; released a new “Know Your Rights<\/a>” poster; and settled lawsuits involving sexual misconduct<\/a>, harassment against LGBTQ employees<\/a> and a birthday celebration held against the wishes of a worker with mental health issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Women Continued to Face Barriers<\/p>\n

While the federal government moved to protect underrepresented communities, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade<\/em>, a landmark decision that protected women’s right to have an abortion.<\/p>\n

The ruling was praised by some but also sparked outrage, particularly among Black women<\/a>. As some workplaces began providing travel assistance for abortions<\/a>, some HR professionals provided tips for handling Roe v. Wade<\/em> discussions<\/a> in the workplace in a civil manner.<\/p>\n

In March, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) released a report, Women in Leadership: Unequal Access on the Journey to the Top<\/em><\/a>, revealing that female managers are more likely than their male counterparts to aspire to higher-level roles because they would be good at it or because they’re interested in taking on more or different responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Yet the report shows that:<\/p>\n