Assessment Summary

Summary Statement

This report explores San Diego County’s collective strengths and barriers related to equitable cultures in the workplace.

Overall, our analyses reveal the need for great attention to gender and racial equity. However, the progressive mindset of regional leadership has the potential to establish San Diego as a national model of progress.

San Diego’s regional baseline data was established in June 2021. It demonstrates that women in general, and women of color in particular, experience the highest incidence barriers to feeling equal in status to their co-workers, the greatest barriers to the pipeline, and the least support and respect for their roles as family caregivers.

The data also indicate a significantly higher turnover rate of women and markedly lower profitability for companies that fail to prioritize women’s concerns. Furthermore, there is a disconnect between women’s experience of discrimination and men’s understanding of the problem’s extent.

The Kim Center’s broad pay analysis indicates that men overall earn 40% more than women, and white employees overall outearn employees of color by 20%.

10% of employers have expanded their gender definitions beyond female and male in collecting demographic information. This is out of step with the fact that 8% of regional employees identify as trans or non-binary.