Scientific Opinion Poll: Louisiana Small Businesses Hire Diverse Entry-Level Workforce, More Can Be Done to Increase Diversity in Upper-Management Employees

Washington, DC—A scientific opinion poll released today shows Louisiana small business hiring of lower-level employees is diverse, but more can be done to increase diversity in the hiring of upper-management employees.

The poll, conducted Jan. 15-Feb. 3, 2015, by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on behalf of Small Business Majority, found that Louisiana small businesses hire a diverse set of employees among their non-management level staff. The poll found three-quarters of Louisiana small businesses have at least one female employee (75 percent), 47 percent have at least one African-American employee, 15 percent have at least one Hispanic employee, 12 percent have at least one employee with a disability, 8 percent have at least one Asian or Pacific Islander employee, 7 percent have at least one American Indian or Alaskan native employee and 20 percent report having at least one other non-white employee.

"Small businesses make up 97 percent of businesses in Louisiana and employ more than half of the state's private sector workers," said John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority. "Louisiana small businesses can benefit from hiring more minorities and women, especially at the management level, because having a diverse set of employees can bring together new ideas, foster creativity and spur innovation."

While small businesses have a diverse workforce among their lower-level staff, women and minorities are underrepresented at the management level. Among management or non-entry level staff, 40 percent are women, 16 percent are African-American, 5 percent are Hispanic, 5 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander, 4 percent have a disability, 3 percent are American Indian or Alaskan native and 10 percent represent another non-white minority. However, it's important to note that many small businesses do not have management positions outside the owner, and nearly 9 in 10 poll respondents (87 percent) have 10 or fewer employees. Some Louisiana business owners plan to make it a priority to improve diversity among their high-level employees. Nearly 4 in 10 (38 percent) plan to hire or promote in order to increase the diversity of their high-level workforce within the next few years.

"It's encouraging to see the findings that small business owners are hiring a diverse set of employees that reflects the demographics of their communities," said Loren Harris, director of family economic security for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. "However, this polling shows there's more to do around education and understanding the benefits of increasing diversity at the management level for small businesses."

This poll reflects a telephone survey of 500 small business owners from around the country with an oversample of 106 small businesses in Louisiana. Funding for the poll was provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

For the full Louisiana poll report, please visit:
http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/diversity/LA

For the national poll report, please visit:
http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/diversity