Jewelry Industry Fares Well Overall on Racial Justice

RAPAPORT... Members of the US jewelry industry are happy overall with the level of racial justice and equality found across the trade, according to a diversity survey Jewelers of America (JA) and National Jeweler conducted.Nearly three-quarters of employers polled in the jewelry sector, and more than half of employees, reported their companies ranked very well when it came to these matters, JA said last week. In fact, 73% of employers said the trade ranked as well as, or better than, other industries in supporting Black employees, while 66% of employees said the same.However, owners and workers had different opinions when it came to awareness of racial discrimination, the survey found. Some 95% of employers stated they had not witnessed or been made aware of any race-based discriminatory actions at their company. Meanwhile, 11% of employees said they were aware of race-based discrimination at their current workplace, while 15% had noticed it at a past employer, and 24% had seen or heard about it at other companies in the jewelry industry.Of those employees, only 36% said they brought the matter up with management, and 83% of those respondents noted they were dissatisfied with how the issue was handled.Respondents were split on whether the industry did enough to make sure Black employees felt accepted, with 58% believing it did not, while 42% thought it did. Those surveyed were also divided on whether being Black impeded career advancement in the trade. Approximately half believed it did, while the other half thought it did not present a problem.JA and National Jeweler surveyed 814 people between September 23 and October 14. Of these, 473 were employers, 200 were employees and 141 were self-employed. In addition, 77% of employers and 66% of employees were white, while overall, 5.3% of respondents were Black or African American, 4.9% were Asian and 4.6% were Latino or Hispanic. For more on diversity and inclusion in the jewelry industry, see the January issue of Rapaport Magazine.Image: A jewelry-store display. (Shutterstock)