Employees Say Jewelry Industry Has Work to Do on Diversity

When asked the same question, only about half (55 percent) of jewelry industry employees ranked their company as “very good” overall when it comes to racial justice and equity, and a quarter of respondents said their company was “fair” (19 percent), “poor” (4 percent), or “very poor” (3 percent).

Employees gave their companies the lowest marks for staff diversity, with 37 percent rating their company as “fair” (20 percent), “poor” (9 percent), or “very poor” (8 percent) in this area.

And even in companies where there is some diversity, a number of respondents said it does not extend to the upper ranks of the organization.

A couple survey-takers said their companies had Hispanic employees but they worked in gardening, housekeeping or in the factory.

One respondent said their company “completely lacks representation of people of color in the corporate offices, across all functions.”

Another wrote: “In a previous place of employment, I [heard] racist jokes and comments, and noticed that all employees of non-white racial backgrounds were relegated to lower-paying roles and never considered for promotions.”

For survey-takers who identified as people of color, the percentage who ranked their company as “very good” in matters of race and equity dropped to 52 percent while 32 percent said their company is “fair” (25 percent), “poor” (2 percent) or “very poor” (5 percent).

One employee who rated their company as “fair” explained they chose that ranking “because we are now starting to be serious about diversity and inclusion though we have talked about it for years.”

Another wrote: “I think that there are very few, if any, companies that are doing a good job and are only looking to do so now because of optics.”

Employees of color in the fine jewelry industry gave their employers the lowest marks for having a diverse staff, with 46 percent of respondents ranking their company as fair, poor or very poor in this area, addressing employees about racial justice and equity (40 percent), and receiving employee feedback on racial issues (39 percent).

Employer Inaction
Half of survey-takers are aware of race-based discrimination in the jewelry industry—whether at their current company, a past company or other companies in the jewelry industry (see chart below)—and the vast majority said their employers did nothing to address the problem.

Among respondents of all races, 51 percent said they are aware of race-based discrimination at either the company they currently work for (22 percent), their past employer (15 percent) and/or other companies in the jewelry industry (25 percent).

For employees of color, that number is 58 percent: 22 percent at their current company, 11 percent at past employer, and/or 25 percent at other companies in the jewelry industry.

Employees of color were more likely to report issues of racial discrimination to higher-ups, with 75 percent of respondents of color saying they have made HR or upper management aware there were company issues, compared with just 36 percent of all employees (see chart above).

And almost nobody, whether a person of color or white, was satisfied with how the situation was handled.

Eighty-four percent of all respondents said they were dissatisfied (42 percent) or very dissatisfied (42 percent) with how management dealt with racial discrimination—mostly because it was not addressed at all, survey-takers said.

One Black respondent said their past employer simply paid employees to leave and never directly addressed racist behavior.

A few respondents noted that discrimination and racist behavior spills out from the workplace and onto social media, where racially insensitive—and even outright racist—comments are posted on sites like Facebook.

“I’ve overheard racially insensitive conversations, also witnessed (and screen-shotted) overtly racist comments on [a popular Facebook group for jewelers],” a survey-taker, who identified as Black, wrote.

Another respondent, who identified as white, put it bluntly: “Read the social media posts in many of the industry-focused groups. Lots of racists in our industry.”

Help Needed
Nearly 60 percent of survey-takers, regardless of race, agree—the jewelry industry does not do enough to make Black employees feel accepted.

In addition, 77 percent said the jewelry industry is no better (43 percent), worse (24 percent) or much worse (10 percent) than other industries at supporting Black employees.

It was in response to this question that many survey-takers commented on the “insular” nature of the industry and how the lack of diversity is readily visible.

“There are hardly any people of color in the industry,” one white respondent wrote. “I look around at trade shows and see barely any people of color. It is so homogenous! We need to get more diverse!”

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A handful of survey-takers offered suggestions when asked what resources were needed to better support Black employees.

They included: working with a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant; recognition of racist behavior by both employees and customers; mentors who can coach and guide; more diversity at the executive, senior and mid-level management positions; and recruitment and training so the jewelry industry better reflects the demographics of the nation.

One survey-taker wrote that there needs to be a “proper way for employees to voice their concerns and experience, where they are truly heard and seen.”

“I think oftentimes companies look at the demographics of where they are based to decide if they have enough ‘representation’, but they need to start looking at the nation’s demographics.”

Who Answered
National Jeweler and Jewelers of America’s “Diversity in the Fine Jewelry Industry” survey was made available to take between Sept. 23 and Oct. 14.

A total of 814 qualified individuals responded: 473 who were classified as employers, 200 who were classified as employees, and 141 self-employed individuals.

This story analyzed the results of the employee-directed survey. The results of the employer-directed survey were published on National Jeweler last month.

The vast majority of employees who took the survey (78 percent) said they work for retail stores (53 percent), wholesale jewelry companies (13 percent) or manufacturers (12 percent).

For the most part, these companies employ between 2 and 25 people (52 percent), 26 to 50 people (13 percent) or more than 2,500 people (10 percent).

About 64 percent of employee respondents said they are on the manager level at their respective firms (meaning they have direct reports) while the remaining 36 percent do not.

More women than men (74 percent vs. 24 percent) answered the employee-directed survey, with 2 percent choosing “other” when asked for their gender.

The full results of both surveys are available on Jewelers.org.