Members of Generation Z are hesitant to apply to colleges or jobs if they fear racial or gender-based discrimination, a survey has found.
More than 60% of 5,000 high school and college students surveyed said they would be more likely to apply to a college if the recruiters and materials reflected diversity, according to Tallo, a higher ed and employer recruitment platform.
Another 88% of Gen Zers think recruiters should ask for preferred gender pronouns, but less than 20% of them had ever heard the question, the survey found.
One in 4 Gen Z teens said they had decided not to apply to a certain college for fear of being treated unfairly, while 25% said the same thing about seeking a job.
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“The bottom line is that companies and colleges are leaving millions of qualified applicants out of their acquisition pipelines by not communicating – and practicing – a commitment to diversity and inclusion,” said Casey Welch, CEO and co-founder of Tallo. “If you’re in the business of recruiting Gen Z, you need a diversity and inclusion strategy and you need it now.”
More than half Gen Z respondents said that they would be more likely to apply to a college with a recruiter who shared their ethnic or racial identity.
On the other hand, more than half of all students reported experiencing discrimination at school. And more than three-quarters had witnessed someone else being mistreated based on their race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
When it comes to the workplace, 44% said they had experienced discrimination there.
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